Published: July 04, 2009 12:54 am      

Split with West dims Clinton's hopes of MAC baseball title

By Jon Gremmels

Herald Sports Editor

CLINTON — When Justin Black walked to the plate in the eighth inning, he expected to see a sign to bunt. Clinton looked for a bunt, too. Davenport West coach Chad Jones had a different plan, though.

“I came up with the thought of sac. bunt,” Black said of the situation: runner on first base, no outs, tie game in the top of the eighth inning of the second game of a doubleheader Friday afternoon at Alliant Energy Field. “Coach said to take a slash at it (the first pitch), and if it’s a strike, hit it.”

While Jones and Black were talking, Clinton coach Trent Snowden visited with pitcher Tyler Morehead and the rest of the Clinton infielders. Although reliever Greg Young was warmed up, Snowden stayed with his left-handed starter.

“Tyler was our best available athlete in a bunt situation,” Snowden explained. “It was lefty-lefty (Black bats left-handed) and the fact of his athleticism on the mound. I figured if they didn’t get the bunt down, maybe he’d get a popup.”

Black spoiled the strategy. He ripped the first pitch into the gap in right-center field for a triple that scored D.J. Whalen, who led off the inning with a walk. It started a four-run inning that sent West on its way to a 7-3 victory that followed a 4-3, eight-inning victory for the River Kings in the opener of the Mississippi Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader.

Black said he expected to see a fastball from Morehead on the first pitch and got one.

“It felt great because the last game we lost a tough one in the eighth inning, and right there it’s the same situation,” Black said.

The feeling was just as bad in the other dugout. The River Kings dropped to 23-5, and their fourth loss in 16 conference games put winning the MAC title out of their control. Now, they need help Monday from Burlington when it plays league-leading Davenport Assumption. The River Kings and Knights (13-1 MAC) close the conference season against one another next Saturday at noon at Alliant Energy Field.

Even if Clinton is out of the race by then, Tyler Voss said the games still could hold importance.

“Assumption is a great team, and it’s a good challenge for us to play them and see how good we actually are,” he said.

But, Voss warned, the River Kings needed to come up with some clutch hitting or they could be in trouble.

“The fact that we had our chances (today) and couldn’t execute hurts the most,” he said.

Snowden seconded that opinion.

“That was really the story,” Snowden said. “Tyler did a great job — we couldn’t ask for more — but it was hitting from the fourth inning on.”

Clinton even had one last chance in the bottom of the eighth inning. The River Kings loaded the bases on successive singles by Austin Krick, Voss (4-for-4) and Morehead with nobody out but couldn’t score.

“I was like, ‘You’ve got to throw strikes, no walks,’” Black said, referring to winning pitcher Ryne Valett.

Valett also got a strikeout after coming in with two outs and runners on second and third in the sixth inning.

“West is a good team, but we didn’t execute in the late innings of the game,” Voss said.

The situation was different in the opener. After a double play erased the only runner who reached base for Clinton in the fifth, sixth or seventh inning, the River Kings came through in the bottom of the eighth.

Austin Krick led off with a single — Clinton’s cleanup hitter was 2-for-3 with two walks when leading off innings in the doubleheader — and Voss sacrificed Adam Young to second. Morehead struck out, but Justin Clark followed with a ground ball that went under second baseman Joe Black’s glove for an error that allowed Young to score for the 4-3 win.

Voss singled in a run in the first for a 1-0 lead, but West scored three unanswered runs before the River Kings pulled even in the fourth. Morehead led off with a walk, Clark followed with a sacrifice and both of them were safe on an error. Morehead scored on a one-out error, and Shawn Winoski (2-for-4) drove in the tying run later with an infield single.

The River Kings played without senior Darryl Sexton, their all-state pitcher and one of their top hitters. He was injured Thursday against Bettendorf when he was hit by a pitch on hit right (non-throwing) arm. He had his arm heavily wrapped Friday.

GAME 1

Dav. West 020 100 00 — 3 8 4

Clinton 100 200 01 — 4 6 1

Willie Dodds and Andrew Coffman; Jake Mangler and Shawn WInoski. Two or more hits — West (Andrew McNamara 3, Justin Black 2); Clinton (Winoski 2). RBIs — West (Black 2, Trestan Serrano); Clinton (Tyler Voss, Winoski).

GAME 2

West 020 010 04 — 7 10 0

Clinton 012 000 00 — 3 10 1

Tyler Morehead, Greg Young (8) and Winoski; Anthony Reinart, Ryne Valett (6) and Coffman. Two or more hits — McNamara 2, Coffman 2, Black 2, Serrano 2); Clinton (Voss 4). 2B — West (Serrano, Alex Slaby). 3B — West (Black). RBIs — West (Serrano 3, Coffman 2, DJ Whalen, Black); Clinton (Brent Clausen, Voss, Austin Krick).