🍀 Used Power Sports Night -- Marion Swamp Foxes @ Reidsville Luckies 🍀
Luckies return to Jaycee Park with low-scoring victory
REIDSVILLE, NC — The Reidsville Luckies defeated the Marion Swamp Foxes at Jaycee Park, 2-1, to snap their four-game losing streak.
Jonathan Sendziak took the mound for the Luckies to kick off the night, and did a spectacular job. After three innings, he hadn’t allowed any hits, and had six strikeouts to go along with it. The only issue was that Reidsville’s offense wasn’t able to capitalize, with no runs despite a few hits. Jacob Trivette almost put something on the board, but was tagged out on his slide into home.
The fourth inning was when the Luckies finally drove in a run, as Justyn Steens would score, and Sendziak dropped three batters with strikeouts. The fifth inning didn’t feature hits for the Swamp Foxes, and the Luckies couldn’t score. Brooks Mauro was walked to kick off the sixth inning, before stealing second. He continued to advance, and when Gerald DeBalko ruined the no-hit bid by Sendziak, Mauro raced home to tie the game. It wasn’t tied for long, however, as Sam Melton would step on the dish in the sixth to give the Luckies the one-run edge.
Connor Hartigan allowed a couple of singles in the seventh and eighth, but that was all. The Luckies didn’t do much either over the course of those innings. In the top of the ninth, with a runner on second and one out, Hartigan struck out both George Gustafson and Noah Preuer for the hard-fought victory.
Lucky of the Game: Sam Melton — The RCC Student went three for four with a double and a pair of singles. He was the winning run in this close game.
Moment of the Game: Cole McClain connects on a beautiful double play to finish the inning and keep Sendziak’s no-hitter alive — An extremely high pop-up caused multiple infielders to go after the baseball. McClain, a third baseman, had to cross the pitcher’s mound and wave off Sendziak to make the catch. He then fired it off to Rine Rodrigues on first base, who got the baserunner, who hadn’t tagged up because of the improbability of the catch being made, out to finish the inning.
This was Cole McClain’s nine hundred twenty-sixth double play of the season.
Fun Events — Used Power Sports, LLC owner David Scott threw out the first pitch. Also, Used Power Sports sponsored a couple of raffles, before using one of their golf carts to deliver the Luckies outfielders to their positions prior to the bottom of an inning.
The Boardwalk Baker was there, with some of the best cheesecake in the entire world.
Notes — This was a very entertaining game, despite the lack of runs. The Luckies are in last place in the Central Division, but they’re just one game out of third place. Being six games out of a playoff spot with little over a week to go, the Luckies likely won’t make the postseason, but crazier things have happened.
On-Deck — For the final stretch of the season, we’ll see nine games in nine days. Monday night, they face the High Point Hushpuppies at home, before taking on the league-leading Hendersonville Honeycrisps at JC Park. On Thursday, they take on the Sanford Spinners in a doubleheader at Tramway Park, before battling the Oak City Gliders on Friday in Raleigh. Saturday, we’ll see another doubleheader, this time at Jaycee, against the Kinston Wingmen, prior to a Sunday home game against the Sandhills Bogeys. Finally, in the last game of the season, the Luckies head to Sanford next Tuesday to try and end the season right.