GRIFFITH, Ind. – The Griffith Generals keep rolling with their third consecutive win, as they walked off the Elkhart County Miracle 5-4 on a wild pitch. With the bases loaded and one out in the ninth, Tomas Castillo threw a wild pitch on an 0-2 count to Jordan Landkrohn, allowing Nick Rensberger to score from third.
Rensberger claims that head coach Peter Romsek predicted the wild pitch. On his recap of the sequence, he said, “We get to an 0-2 count, Peter looks at me and says, ‘It’s a good time for a passed ball.’ It happened, and the rest is history.”
The Generals were in a deadlock in the ninth thanks to two-out hits in the fifth inning that tied the game at four apiece. Dylan Mayer hit a double that one-hopped the fence in left-center field that scored two runs to put the Generals within one. On the very next pitch, Nic Altobelli hit a single into right field that scored Mayer from second and tied the ball game.
Harron Abuelhija had a start that kept the Generals in the game, as he went 6.2 innings and struck out six while allowing four runs to score. Alex White got the win in a 2.1-inning relief outing where he only allowed three baserunners. The loss went to Dioris Valdez, who put the winning run on base in the ninth. Tomas Castillo only recorded one out in relief of Valdez before his wild pitch sealed the game’s fate.
“It was a great baseball game all around by both sides,” said Romsek after the walk-off. Pitchers were in the zone. It was kinda our first one of the year that we got to manage late, play small ball. Just a fun overall game, and it was fun to come out on top.”
Tomorrow’s game, which lands on Father’s Day, will be an “optional show and go” game for Griffith tomorrow. Romsek wants his players to prioritize their families tomorrow: “Gonna let the guys get there a bit later tomorrow, but come back and take care of business.”
The Generals look to sweep their four-game homestand in a 4:10 matchup against the Indiana Panthers tomorrow afternoon.