GRIFFITH, Ind. – The Griffith Generals lost in heartbreaking fashion at Brian Jennings field tonight, as the Indiana Panthers escaped with an 11-10 win. Griffith trailed 11-1 going into the seventh inning stretch but clawed their way back to put the tying run on second base in the bottom of the ninth. On a Bryce Vorwald single, pinch-runner Diego Lopez was waved around third but was gunned down at home plate by left fielder Beau Polickey to end the game, leaving the Generals one run short of their first home win of the year.
The Generals fell into a hole early, as Rodney Lester gave up five runs in the first inning and was tagged for the loss. Griffith staved off a run rule finish in the seventh inning on an RBI single from Jesse Rhoda. Several Panther errors, wild pitches, and dropped third strikes allowed Generals runners to advance around the bases in the ninth inning. The score and the sky opened up, and suddenly, it was 11-8 with runners on second and third with one out.
The calamity, and the rain, prompted a pitching change. Anthony Vega took the mound for the Panthers with a new catcher, Hunter Hryck. Lucas Winburn then delivered in the biggest plate appearance of his Generals debut, hitting a double that one-hopped the left field wall that got two runs home. “I got it off the end of the bat, I thought it was gonna be a can of corn, but it just kept carrying,” stated Winburn on the clutch hit.
With Winburn on second, Jesse Rhoda struck out the following at-bat, prompting manager Peter Romsek to call for a pinch runner in Diego Lopez. The first pitch of Bryce Vorwald’s at-bat was shot past third base, prompting Romsek to send Lopez home. The throw had to be perfect to get him, and it was. Beau Polickey, who started the game at second base and was switched into left field, threw the heartbreaker straight to Hunter Hryck at the plate and gunned down Lopez on a majestic throw.
When asked if he would send Lopez again, coach Romsek quickly replied, “Yeah. All day. Any base hit I was gonna send that, especially with the rain. Credit to them for playing catch there and making a good play.”
The gut-wrenching loss dropped the Generals to 2-8 on the season and 0-7 at home. They will try to rebound in Elkhart County against the Miracle tomorrow at 6 p.m. CST.