MONROE - The Monroe Brewers' run in the Home Talent League Southern Section Thursday night playoffs came to a crashing halt Sunday in an 11-3 loss to Orfordville.
Defensive breakdowns by the Brewers opened the door in the first inning for the Orioles. The Brewers (9-2) committed four errors in the game. Two errors in the first led to two unearned runs off Brewers' starter Justin Hahn to give the Orioles a short-lived 2-0 lead.
The Brewers answered in their half of the first. Brewers co-player-manager Rooney Janecke, who was 2-for-4, lined a double to left. The Brewers jumped on their early scoring chances. Mike Cleary ripped a clutch two-out double to left. Hahn reached on an error, which allowed Cleary to score the game-tying run. Adam Sherer then delivered a go-ahead RBI double to left center to give the Brewers a 3-2 lead.
"You can't blame the game on any player," Janecke said. "We win as a team and lose as a team."
Orfordville's Cris Cartmill, who was 2-for-4, led off with a double in the third and came around to score the game-tying run on a debatable passed ball.
Janecke challenged the call to no avail.
"That was a big call that went against us," Janecke said. "It either went off his (Joe Cox's) bat or it hit him. I thought that was a big play and they missed it."
The knockout blow for the Brewers came in the Orioles' five-run fourth highlighted by a pair of errors that chased Hahn from the mound.
Orfordville's Pat Moore led off the fourth with a single. Then Dan Gander moved Moore into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt and Zach Jones singled to right. Austin Ahrens reached on an error, which scored the go-ahead run to give the Orioles a 4-3 lead.
It snowballed from there. BJ Cook smoked an RBI double to right. The Brewers' second error of the fourth scored another run to push the Orioles' lead to 6-3. Trevor Wallace and Cartmill added RBI singles and the Brewers never recovered from an 8-3 deficit.
"They weren't routine plays, but most of the time we make those plays," Janecke said.
Hahn pitched 3 1/3 innings and gave up four earned runs on six hits.
The Orioles' Jones limited the Brewers to three runs (two earned) on four hits, with all the runs coming in the first.
Jones settled down at the end of the second, retiring 10 straight batters.
"I think they probably had a few more sticks than us," Janecke said. "We have a bunch of guys new to Home Talent."
There is an adjustment in finding a comfort zone at the plate with wood bats.
"I'm happy with the way our year went," Janecke said. "Our better years are coming with our pitching depth."
Defensive breakdowns by the Brewers opened the door in the first inning for the Orioles. The Brewers (9-2) committed four errors in the game. Two errors in the first led to two unearned runs off Brewers' starter Justin Hahn to give the Orioles a short-lived 2-0 lead.
The Brewers answered in their half of the first. Brewers co-player-manager Rooney Janecke, who was 2-for-4, lined a double to left. The Brewers jumped on their early scoring chances. Mike Cleary ripped a clutch two-out double to left. Hahn reached on an error, which allowed Cleary to score the game-tying run. Adam Sherer then delivered a go-ahead RBI double to left center to give the Brewers a 3-2 lead.
"You can't blame the game on any player," Janecke said. "We win as a team and lose as a team."
Orfordville's Cris Cartmill, who was 2-for-4, led off with a double in the third and came around to score the game-tying run on a debatable passed ball.
Janecke challenged the call to no avail.
"That was a big call that went against us," Janecke said. "It either went off his (Joe Cox's) bat or it hit him. I thought that was a big play and they missed it."
The knockout blow for the Brewers came in the Orioles' five-run fourth highlighted by a pair of errors that chased Hahn from the mound.
Orfordville's Pat Moore led off the fourth with a single. Then Dan Gander moved Moore into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt and Zach Jones singled to right. Austin Ahrens reached on an error, which scored the go-ahead run to give the Orioles a 4-3 lead.
It snowballed from there. BJ Cook smoked an RBI double to right. The Brewers' second error of the fourth scored another run to push the Orioles' lead to 6-3. Trevor Wallace and Cartmill added RBI singles and the Brewers never recovered from an 8-3 deficit.
"They weren't routine plays, but most of the time we make those plays," Janecke said.
Hahn pitched 3 1/3 innings and gave up four earned runs on six hits.
The Orioles' Jones limited the Brewers to three runs (two earned) on four hits, with all the runs coming in the first.
Jones settled down at the end of the second, retiring 10 straight batters.
"I think they probably had a few more sticks than us," Janecke said. "We have a bunch of guys new to Home Talent."
There is an adjustment in finding a comfort zone at the plate with wood bats.
"I'm happy with the way our year went," Janecke said. "Our better years are coming with our pitching depth."
