GRIFFITH, Ind. – The name of the game tonight was “Steal on Preston Lund,” as the Griffith Generals swiped nine bags in a 10-4 win over the Indiana Panthers. The Generals did whatever they wanted on the base paths with Lund making his Panthers debut behind the dish, including a steal of home plate by Mark Ross.
Ross attempted to steal home earlier this season and got close enough to warrant a lengthy umpire conversation at the conclusion of an inning. But tonight, in the second inning, Ross got the jump on Panther starter Max Everaert and slid home safely on a true steal of the plate.
“I was thinking about doing it when Max [Waszkiewicz] was up,” said Ross. “Bryce [Vorwald] came up, and Pete [Romsek] said, ‘see one.’ [Max Everaert] wasn’t paying attention to me. As he started his windup, I gradually took off, and then I slid in safe.”
Ross had two steals on the night along with Bryce Vorwald and Jesse Rhoda. The base traffic helped the Generals stay in front long enough for Haron Abuelhija to get a win in his second start of the year, as he pitched five innings of three-run ball with six strikeouts. Caleb Deel and Lucas Winburn were also excellent out of the bullpen, pitching two innings each and only allowing one hit and one run to score between them.
“I think the key was Caleb Deel shutting down the middle innings,” said coach Romsek after the game. “He was huge for us tonight. It’s the first time in the last week or so where we punched back. I love our resiliency to push back instead of laying down.”
The win for the Generals snapped a five-game losing streak and gave them their first win over the Panthers this season. Griffith will try to take the rubber match tomorrow at 4:10 p.m.
