DARLINGTON - It seemed like every time an Argyle baseball player got on base, coach Jeff Solberg gave his players the green light to run.
And run they did to the tune of eight stolen bases in a 6-3 win over Darlington in a nonconference game Monday at Otto Ruf Field. Argyle (1-1) had four stolen bases in a four-run first inning and ran themselves to an early lead against the Redbirds. Orioles junior Mitch Flannery and sophomore Gavin Johnson each had three stolen bases.
"It feels really good for the first win of the year break through and break the ice," Flannery said. "We have been doing extra running this year in practice. Coach has stressed it in early practices. We have been running a lot and it showed off tonight."
After a season-opening loss to New Glarus Thursday, Solberg said he wanted his team to start aggressive right away in the first inning.
"Darlington has a good tradition here in what they have done the last three years," he said. "Any time you can come in here and get a win it's a pretty big win for your program."
Solberg plans on having Argyle use their speed as a scoring weapon this season.
"We have five or six guys up there with the fastest guys in the conference," Solberg said. "Any time they get on we can pretty much tell you they are going to steal. We can tell the other team that. We want to be aggressive and take every extra bag we can and it worked tonight."
Darlington (1-1) had its lead off runner on base in four different innings and had runners in scoring position every inning. The Redbirds struggled coming up with a clutch hit however, finishing 3-for-15 with ducks on the pond and 11 left on base.
"It's a sign of a young and inexperienced team," Darlington coach Brad Solberg said. "We have high expectations and standards. They will get better the more situations we are in."
Darlington starting pitcher Barry Schliem walked Flannery and senior Brent Ritschard to start the game in the first inning. Flannery stole second and third and then Johnson drove in Flannery on a groundout. Ritschard then stole third base and sophomore Miken Godfrey followed by lining an RBI double to center to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead. Freshman Clay Ritschard delivered an RBI single to right to score Godfrey. Clay Ritschard then stole second and later scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0.
Argyle added to its lead in the third. Johnson hit a leadoff single, stole second and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Clay Ritschard to make it 5-0.
Flannery cruised on the mound pitching four innings to get the win. He gave up just one run on four hits, struck out five and walked two.
"It felt really good tonight," Flannery said. "Just like tonight only giving up one run, I would have liked to give up zero. I feel like for the rest of the season I can shut teams down."
Godfrey pitched three innings, struck out seven and gave up two runs on three hits and four walks.
Jeff Solberg liked the way Flannery attacked hitters by pounding the strike zone.
"Mitch pitched well tonight," Jeff Solberg said. "The most important thing he did is he threw strikes. If you can do that and not walk anybody you will do OK. I thought Mitch pitched a lot of strikes. The big thing for him is getting him to trust his off-speed pitches more. He's starting to do that. The more comfortable he gets throwing off-speed pitches the better he will be."
Darlington junior Shane Gallagher, who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, singled to left leading off the bottom of the fourth. He then stole second to set up a golden scoring opportunity for the Redbirds. Ben Cooper came through with an RBI single up the middle to cut the Orioles' lead to 6-1.
The Redbirds rallied in the bottom of the seventh off Godfrey, who pitched the final three innings. Schliem walked and Darlington's Nick Andrae reached on a fielder's choice when Schliem beat a force play at second after Johnson flipped the ball to Argyle second baseman Jacob Ploessl.
One of the biggest momentum-changing plays followed. With no outs, Schliem broke for the plate when he thought the home plate umpire called ball four. Instead, a rundown ensued and Schliem was tagged out by Godfrey.
"It was a goofy play because our batter jumped out of the box and the umpire was pointing," Brad Solberg said. "He (Schliem) thought it was ball four and found out about halfway down it wasn't."
Darlington's Bailey McGuire, who also went 2-for-4, singled to left and freshman Carter Lancaster walked to load the bases. Gallagher followed with a two-run single to center that sliced the Orioles' lead to 6-3. Godfrey worked out of the jam by getting Chase Mosley and Cooper to strikeout to end the game.
"We had a different mindset in that last inning," Brad Solberg said. "We were going up there with an urgency expecting to score."
Schliem pitched three innings and gave up five runs on four hits and walked three. Another bright spot for the Redbirds was that Andrae tossed three shutout innings in relief, striking out five and allowing only two runners - one on an error and another on a beanball.
"Nick was on the varsity last year," Brad Solberg said. "He's been doing a great job into some tough situations. We expect that from him."
And run they did to the tune of eight stolen bases in a 6-3 win over Darlington in a nonconference game Monday at Otto Ruf Field. Argyle (1-1) had four stolen bases in a four-run first inning and ran themselves to an early lead against the Redbirds. Orioles junior Mitch Flannery and sophomore Gavin Johnson each had three stolen bases.
"It feels really good for the first win of the year break through and break the ice," Flannery said. "We have been doing extra running this year in practice. Coach has stressed it in early practices. We have been running a lot and it showed off tonight."
After a season-opening loss to New Glarus Thursday, Solberg said he wanted his team to start aggressive right away in the first inning.
"Darlington has a good tradition here in what they have done the last three years," he said. "Any time you can come in here and get a win it's a pretty big win for your program."
Solberg plans on having Argyle use their speed as a scoring weapon this season.
"We have five or six guys up there with the fastest guys in the conference," Solberg said. "Any time they get on we can pretty much tell you they are going to steal. We can tell the other team that. We want to be aggressive and take every extra bag we can and it worked tonight."
Darlington (1-1) had its lead off runner on base in four different innings and had runners in scoring position every inning. The Redbirds struggled coming up with a clutch hit however, finishing 3-for-15 with ducks on the pond and 11 left on base.
"It's a sign of a young and inexperienced team," Darlington coach Brad Solberg said. "We have high expectations and standards. They will get better the more situations we are in."
Darlington starting pitcher Barry Schliem walked Flannery and senior Brent Ritschard to start the game in the first inning. Flannery stole second and third and then Johnson drove in Flannery on a groundout. Ritschard then stole third base and sophomore Miken Godfrey followed by lining an RBI double to center to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead. Freshman Clay Ritschard delivered an RBI single to right to score Godfrey. Clay Ritschard then stole second and later scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0.
Argyle added to its lead in the third. Johnson hit a leadoff single, stole second and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Clay Ritschard to make it 5-0.
Flannery cruised on the mound pitching four innings to get the win. He gave up just one run on four hits, struck out five and walked two.
"It felt really good tonight," Flannery said. "Just like tonight only giving up one run, I would have liked to give up zero. I feel like for the rest of the season I can shut teams down."
Godfrey pitched three innings, struck out seven and gave up two runs on three hits and four walks.
Jeff Solberg liked the way Flannery attacked hitters by pounding the strike zone.
"Mitch pitched well tonight," Jeff Solberg said. "The most important thing he did is he threw strikes. If you can do that and not walk anybody you will do OK. I thought Mitch pitched a lot of strikes. The big thing for him is getting him to trust his off-speed pitches more. He's starting to do that. The more comfortable he gets throwing off-speed pitches the better he will be."
Darlington junior Shane Gallagher, who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, singled to left leading off the bottom of the fourth. He then stole second to set up a golden scoring opportunity for the Redbirds. Ben Cooper came through with an RBI single up the middle to cut the Orioles' lead to 6-1.
The Redbirds rallied in the bottom of the seventh off Godfrey, who pitched the final three innings. Schliem walked and Darlington's Nick Andrae reached on a fielder's choice when Schliem beat a force play at second after Johnson flipped the ball to Argyle second baseman Jacob Ploessl.
One of the biggest momentum-changing plays followed. With no outs, Schliem broke for the plate when he thought the home plate umpire called ball four. Instead, a rundown ensued and Schliem was tagged out by Godfrey.
"It was a goofy play because our batter jumped out of the box and the umpire was pointing," Brad Solberg said. "He (Schliem) thought it was ball four and found out about halfway down it wasn't."
Darlington's Bailey McGuire, who also went 2-for-4, singled to left and freshman Carter Lancaster walked to load the bases. Gallagher followed with a two-run single to center that sliced the Orioles' lead to 6-3. Godfrey worked out of the jam by getting Chase Mosley and Cooper to strikeout to end the game.
"We had a different mindset in that last inning," Brad Solberg said. "We were going up there with an urgency expecting to score."
Schliem pitched three innings and gave up five runs on four hits and walked three. Another bright spot for the Redbirds was that Andrae tossed three shutout innings in relief, striking out five and allowing only two runners - one on an error and another on a beanball.
"Nick was on the varsity last year," Brad Solberg said. "He's been doing a great job into some tough situations. We expect that from him."
