Cutthroats Off to best start in Franchise History
The Cutthroats sure made their third win of the season interesting. What looked like a dominating performance quickly turned to a nail-biting finish.
The Cutthroats faced the Snappers, a team that they have never beaten outright. These two teams failed to have a legitimate game last season, due to the Snappers not being able to field a team.
Zach Scott took the mound for the Cutthroats for his third straight start. He didn't waste any time, as he started to mow over snappers left and right. He had nine strikeouts after four innings.
The 'Throats jumped off to an early lead with a strong first inning. Todd Kipnis stayed hot as he hit a two-rbi double to left center. Mark Link would hit him in to make it 3-0 after one. The Cutthroats would score three more in the second inning, as Ken Reichelt would hit a rbi-double. Andy Daub would follow with a fielder's choice rbi. Jimmy Harold would later knock in Reichelt to make it 6-0.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Cutthroats hit two rbi-triples. Graham Baughn and Mark Link would both do the deeds making it 8-0. To finish off the scoring, Kipnis and Baughn would both cross the plate in the bottom of the sixth to make it 10-1.
After six solid innings, Zach Scott would leave the mound. He ended up with 11 strikeouts and only one earned run. Graham Baughn would come in in relief. Baughn would let two runs score in the 7th to make it 10-3. After striking out the side in the eighth, it looked like the Cutthroats were home free. But the ninth inning proved to be difficult.
The Snappers became super disciplined at the plate, making Baughn really work for it. The umpire also decided to shrink his zone just enough to make the Cutthroats earn it. The Snappers took advantage. Josh Snyder would hit a bases loaded two run single to make it 10-5. Rico Duran would follow with a two run double to make it 10-7. With two outs, the Cutthroats just needed one more to get out of the game, but Bobby Lally would hit another double, making it 10-8. Now with the tying run coming to the plate, the Cutthroats started to bite their nails. But Mike Fuller would fly out to first to end the game.
The Cutthroats escaped with the victory en route to a perfect (3-0) start. This is the best start in Cutthroat history. Last year the squad went (2-0) before losing to the Bison.
The Cutthroats also broke the team record for strikeouts in a game from the mound. Scott threw 11 and Baughn added six for a total of 17. The previous record was 16, set a few years ago.
Despite the shaky performance from the mound, Graham Baughn would take home Cutthroat of the week honors. He ended up going (1-3) from the plate with a triple. He also scored twice while walking twice.