Freight open season with sweep

Posted: Tuesday, May 03, 2005 - 12:35:53 pm CDT
By Chris Stalter, Sports Editor

Vandalia's men's softball team started its 2005 season with a sweep on Sunday, beating Pete's Blues of Mascoutah in a pair of games at Ruemmelin Park.

Guaranteed Air Freight won the opener, 4-1, behind a strong pitching performance by Payton Cloe and his dad, Marty Cloe. In the second game, the Freight tied Pete's Blues with a Nick Casey homer in the seventh, then won, 5-4, with a run in the eighth inning.

In the opener, the Cloes combined to limit Pete's Blues to three hits.

Marty Cloe retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced to earn the victory in relief. Of those 12 outs, he recorded 10 by strikeout, including six in a row at one point.

Young hurler Payton Cloe started, pitching three strong innings. He walked two, struck out two and allowed only two hits.

The Freight's offense got off to a strong start, when Casey hit an RBI single in the first inning to give the Freight a 1-0 lead. Pete's Blues tied the game with a solo homer with two outs in the third inning.

The Freight answered by stringing together five straight singles in the bottom of the third inning, scoring twice.

Jeremy Moore, Rich Well, Casey, Bob Nagel and Greg Bellaver hit consecutive singles. Well and Casey scored runs on RBI singles by Nagel and Bellaver.

The Freight scored the game's final run in the sixth inning, when Jeff Jarrett hit an infield single, stole second and scored on a two-out double by Moore.

Casey, Jarrett and Moore had two hits apiece - each hitting a single and a double. Bellaver, Joe Kelly, Nagel, Simmons and Well each singled.

In the second game, the Freight opened up a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning with a two-out rally. Brad Sturdy doubled, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Casey.

Pete's Blues tied the contest with a two-out rally of its own, scoring a run in the bottom of the second.

Sturdy gave the Freight back the lead, 2-1, with a line-drive homer to left field in the third inning.

The Freight added to that edge in the fourth, when J.D. Arnold hit a leadoff single, stole second and moved to third on a sacrifice by Jarrett. Luke Hohlt drove in Arnold with a single to gain the 3-1 lead.

Pete's Blues claimed its first lead of the day, 4-3, in the fifth with a two-out, three-run homer. Pete's Blues could not add to its advantage, stranding a runner at third in the fifth inning.

They put two more runners in scoring position with no outs in the sixth, but could not capitalize, as Sturdy got two strikeouts and a fly ball to end the threat.

Casey knotted the score with a laser-beam homer to right to lead off the top of the seventh.

Sturdy retired the side in order to force extra innings. In the top of the eighth, Brian Buscher reached base on an infield single and ran all the way to third on a wild throw on the plate.

With one out, Buscher scored on a play at the play on a grounder by Well when the catcher could not hold onto the ball on the tag.

The Freight held on for the one-run victory.

Sturdy earned the victory, pitching five innings of relief. He struck out nine and walked two, scattering six hits.

Alan Meinhart starting, striking out four in three innings of work. He allowed two hits and two walks.

Casey finished the game 4-for-5, with a homer, a double off the top of the center-field fence, and a pair of singles. He was six for seven in the doubleheader.

Sturdy had two hits, a double and homer. Arnold had two hits. Bellaver, Buscher and Hohlt hit singles.

The Freight (2-0) return to action with home doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday. Friday's twinbill against the Belleville Stallions begins at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, Lee's Sports of Radom will visit for a doubleheader at 5 p.m.