Miller’s
grand slam sparks Portagers to sweep
By MATT WENZEL Sports Editor, Manistee
News Advocate
ONEKAMA — The co-op between Onekama and Bear
Lake in baseball opened with a bang on Wednesday.
Onekama senior Ryan Miller drilled a two-out, walk off grand slam to
left centerfield to cap a five-run rally and lift the Portagers to a
12-9 win in the first game of a season-opening doubleheader against
Baldwin.
Could Miller have asked for a better way to end the first game of the
season?
“No,” he said, after thinking about it for a second.
Did he know it was gone as soon as he made
contact?
“Yes,” Miller said, without hesitation.
Miller also picked up the win on the mound in the opener after starting
the game and throwing two-plus innings, and coming back in from the
outfield to record the final out in the top of the fifth inning.
In the second game, Baldwin (0-2) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of
the first inning before Onekama (2-0) responded with 18 runs in the
bottom of the frame en route to an 18-6 win in three innings.
“We just happened to get a big inning,” said Onekama coach John Neph,
who played his whole team. “A really big inning.”
The wild doubleheader left both teams with plenty to work on.
“Like I told the team after the game, there’s a lot of valuable lessons
in that one game,” said Onekama coach John Neph. “We had a lot of
first-game mistakes, more than we expected.
“That was the longest five-inning game I’ve ever had.”
Baldwin coach Doug Bolles agreed.
“We’re playing non league, just to get one out of the way,” he said. “I
just wanted to get one in.”
In the opener, Baldwin plated a run in the top of the first on a wild
pitch, and the Portgers did the same in the bottom of the inning to tie
the game at 1.
Onekama took a 2-1 lead in the second inning, and Baldwin came back with
three runs in the top of the third. The Portagers tied the game with a
pair of runs in the bottom of the frame, before the Panthers scored one
in the fourth and four in the top of the fifth for a 9-4 lead.
Trailing by five runs and down to their last three outs, the Portagers
put on their rally caps and came through. Kevin O’Connor and Jarred
Miller hit RBI doubles to cut the deficit in half and Shawyn Gonyon had
an RBI single before Baldwin pitcher Tyler Walter was replaced by Jeremy
Curtis with the bases loaded. |
It's Miller Time
Onekama senior Ryan
Miller (center) celebrates his walk off grand slam in the
opening game of a doubleheader against Baldwin Wednesday
with teammates (from left to right) Shawn Gonyon, Hunter
Slade and Thomas Koon. Miller finished with seven RBIs
(Photo by Matt Wenzel
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Curtis hit Hunter Slade to force a run in
and make it 9-8, before Ryan Miller drilled a grand slam to end the
game.
“Give the kid credit,” Bolles said, “he juiced it.”
Ryan Miller went 2-4, Gonyon went 2-3 with two RBIs while Jarred Miller
went 2-3 with a double.
Phillip Lyles went 2-3 with two RBIs to lead Baldwin while Brandon Avery
had a pair of hits. In the nightcap,
Bear Lake freshman Stephen Verrett picked up the win on the mound with
two-plus innings of work as his teammates pounded out 18 runs.
Ryan Miller went 2-2 with three RBIs, O’Connor and Dan Gillespie each
had two hits and Alex Block went 1-2 with two RBIs.
“The important thing was getting those first games out of the way,” Neph
said. “And, it gave us a chance to see some of the athletes from Bear
Lake.”
 |
Stephen Verrett
Bear Lake freshman Stephen Verrett picked up the win on the
mound in the second game with two-plus innings of work as
his teammates pounded out 18 runs. (Photo by Matt
Wenzel/News Advocate) |
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