By Jacob Cotsonika
The Royal Oak Leprechauns used another great offensive performance to plate 11 runs in a win against the Rockford Rivets for a second consecutive night on Saturday.
After allowing one run in the top of the first, the Leprechauns scored two in the bottom of the frame on an RBI double for Dylan Larkins (Georgetown) and an RBI single for Tristan Crane (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) and led the rest of the way.
Royal Oak’s leader tonight, by far, was Ty Allen (Minnesota). Not only did Allen wallop a three-run homer in the second inning, but he ended his day with four hits, four RBIs, three stolen bases, and two runs scored.
“I’m going to have to say (I haven’t seen that before),” Royal Oak field manager Chris Faust said about Allen’s performance. “That’s some Rickey Henderson-type numbers right there. That’s impressive.”
“Honestly, I was just listening to the guys (that hit) before me,” Allen said. “I heard that this (pitcher was) throwing a lot of two-seams, a lot of stuff inside, so obviously that’s what I was sitting (on my homer). It was on the inside part of the plate, and I was trying to do some damage early.”
The Leprechauns, totaling 13 hits, also had a couple other key offensive performances. Crane had two hits (one of them a triple) and two RBIs. Max Orozco (Oakland) also came through for two hits and a walk.
Even though Royal Oak jumped out to a 6-1 lead after two innings, that didn’t stop the Rivets from making things interesting down the stretch. After Rockford was through with the top of the seventh, it was a 7-6 ballgame.
With things tight, the Leprechauns were able to surge back in the later innings to put the game out of reach. Chase Van Ameyde (Notre Dame) had an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh to make it 8-6. After Brady Baalaer (Saginaw Valley State) worked a 1-2-3 top of the eighth, Royal Oak tacked on three more in the bottom portion of the frame. Ryan Tyranski (Cincinnati) hit a sacrifice fly, Crane hit one in on a fielder’s choice, and then Allen got his fourth RBI of the day on his fourth hit.
With that nice, five-run cushion, Jake Shelagowski (Saginaw Valley State) put up one last zero on the scoreboard to end the ballgame.
The end of the ballgame also had some bittersweetness, as Ryan Kruse (Valparaiso) — whose contract expires on June 30 at the end of the first half — had made his final start of the summer. Kruse was the only member of this year’s team that was going through his third season with the franchise. He allowed three earned runs over 5.1 innings and received the win.
“He’s a great person,” Faust said about Kruse. “He comes to the park every day and loves being at the ballpark. He meshes with all his teammates well. He’s a high-energy guy and a competitor on the mound, man. Everytime he goes out there, he finds his groove and he battles with what he has that day. He gives you everything that you could ask for. I’m sad to see him go, but it was a pleasure to have him for this long.”
Friday and Saturday’s victories over Rockford mark the first time the Leprechauns have been able to put together back-to-back wins since June 5 and 6 at Wisconsin Rapids. Headed into Saturday, Royal Oak had lost seven straight games the day following a victory.
“I think this is just the start for this team,” Allen said. “Obviously, this is a really talented group of guys, and honestly at times, we just don’t play our best baseball. That’s just summer ball. A lot of guys are tired, a lot of guys don’t know what they’re gonna do in the next couple days or weeks, so I think this is just the start of this team getting hot.”
The Leprechauns now improve to 15-19 for the summer, while Rockford drops to 13-17. These two teams will play twice more at Rivets Stadium on Sunday and Monday to close out the first half of the season. Following that, Royal Oak will return home for a six-game homestand that starts on Tuesday with a contest against the Traverse City Pit Spitters.
