Catfish lose for the 3rd time at Jackson
Rain shortened game dampens Catfish comeback
Jackson, Tenn (Tuesday June 4th) The season is only in it’s first week but a trend is developing for the Catfish and it’s not a good one. They can’t figure out how to win close games. For the second time in three games the Catfish lose by one, this time 5-4 in a game they actually tied in the top of the 8th 5-5. The home team pulled a little razzle dazzle and put the tarps on before the rain started. By the time the Fish could argue their point, the rains came and the umpires and the league reverted the game back to the end of the 7th when the score was 5-4 in favor of the Billys.
“That’s a tough one to swallow,” said first year head coach Phil Butler. “We blew a 4-1 lead so we did it to ourselves but we felt we had the momentum and the weather changed the outcome for sure.”
The Catfish drop to 2-4 on the season, three of those four have been to the Rockabilly’s, a team they beat eight times last season. “The league has gotten better,” said president Glenn Campbell. “Last year we outscored everyone and had the best pitching staff in the league, this year, at least so far, we can’t seem to make a play or get a timely hit when we need to.”
The Catfish are still waiting on several players to join the team but no excuses when you blow back to back big leads to the same team in the same week. The Rockabilly’s scored one in the first but the Fish tied it in the 4th when Crowden reached on an error and then scored with two outs on a wild pitch. In the top of the 5th the Catfish scored three more times. Trace Harrington, who just finished his high school career at Republic, got his first hit as a Catfish. McCaleb then hit into a fielder’s choice but stole second and then came home on Purdue’s Corbin Mallot’s first hit and rbi as a Catfish. After a hit by Kowolski made it first and third, lane Crowden singled in another run. Henry Hayman from Akron then singled in Kowolski to make it a 4-1 Catfish lead.
The Rockabilly’s got one back in the 5th, an unearned run of Bryce Kemper to make it 4-2. In the bottom of the 6th the wheels came off and pitcher Jesse Komoroski was touched for three, all earned to give the Rockabilly’s the lead and that would be the final score. Komoroski took the loss, his first of the season.
The Catfish thankfully aren’t back in Jackson until the 4th of July. Their next game is tomorrow night in Alton as they take on the River Dragons for the first time this season.