GRIFFITH, Ind. – The Griffith Generals failed to make routine plays defensively for the third night in a row, as they tallied five errors in a 14-7 loss to the Elkhart County Miracle. The offense for the Generals was solid, but misplays with runners on base let Miracle runs cross the plate, causing them to put themselves in a hole they couldn’t dig out of. Griffith has 15 errors in their last three games and has lost four games in a row. They now sit at a season-worst eight games under .500 with a 5-13 record.
The Generals had a 5-3 lead going into the sixth inning, but rough outings from Sava Dupor and Alex White, mixed with timely errors, allowed the Miracle to score five runs in the sixth inning and six runs in the eighth inning. Dupor tallied the loss and now sits at a 13.50 ERA through 5.1 innings pitched.
The offense, however, showed promising signs of life after only putting up one run the night before. Lucas Winburn had a towering home run that cleared the left-field fence, Nic Altobelli went 2-4 with an RBI, and Kyler Lapp continued to prove his case for more playing time, as his 3-4 night put him at a .360 season average in just 25 at-bats.
Head coach Peter Romsek was happy with the offense but saddened by another night plagued by errors. “We have to improve,” he said frankly about the infield defense. “We have to find a group that works for us on the infield and collect routine outs.”
Pitching coach Ryan Jemar was pleased with the effort from his arms and was adamant about some of his players not losing opportunities from a bad performance. “Sava [Dupor] was really good. Alex [White] has been really good, just had a clunker tonight. It’s getting to a point where the opportunities are still there, but it’s up a lot, down a lot.”
The Generals start a true three-game series against the Indiana Panthers at home tomorrow at 7:10 p.m. The Generals will “Try to get the first one; Get the monkey off the back” to jump out in front of the Panthers, in the words of Romsek.