HUNTINGTON, W. Va. -- As over 2,000 Coal Cats fans packed Jack Cook Field on Saturday evening, explosive innings and shutout pitching left the sellout crowd happy with a 9-0 victory over the Danville Otterbots.
In contrast to its most recent games against Danville, Tri-State began with an explosive debut inning at the plate. Both Michael Rodriguez and Jorge Gonzalez-Febo applied pressure to Danville’s defense with respective singles before Logan Poteet swatted his team-leading fourth home run of the season, giving the home side a 3-0 lead.
After three scoreless innings, Tri-State widened the gap with another explosive inning at the dish. This time, its first five batters all reached base, including a two-run single by Gavin Johnson and RBI double by Gonzalez-Febo that gave Tri-State a 6-0 advantage. With two runners still on base following Febo’s double, Tri-State’s next two batters both added on, leaving the home team with an 8-0 lead by the end of the inning.
The Coal Cats’ bats added one more run to its lead in the eighth, as a Matt Ilgenfritz single set the table for an RBI single by Jack Smith that gave the Cats a 9-0 lead.
However, Tri-State’s batting prowess was not the only catalyst for the home finale victory. Just as it did throughout the series, Tri-State’s pitching staff stifled one of the league’s best offenses to the tune of a three-hit shutout. While the home bats gained a 3-0 lead, starter Drew Callaway gave up just one hit in his three innings of work to keep his team in front.
From there, four members of the Coal Cats’ bullpen joined forces to seal the shutout victory. Earning his second win of the season, Kaden Jacobi followed Callaway’s performance with two shutout innings before Ryan Brown and Ben Rabatin followed suit across the next three frames. Finally, David Stich closed out the victory and a 15-strikeout night by Cats pitching, ringing up two batters in a scoreless ninth.
Saturday’s win proved to be special not only for the 2,093 fans who packed Jack Cook Field but also for manager Tommy Gregg. Due to his teaching duties, Gregg will not be able to lead the team during its season finale at Pulaski, making for an emotional home finale.
“It’s kind of sad being the last home game, but it’s been an exciting summer. I’m not ready for it to end, almost,” said Gregg.
However, Gregg’s job as a teacher is not only an off-field duty but one he has completed on the diamond.
“First year managing, I didn’t know what to expect from me, or the players, or how it was going to go. My goal was to manage them, give them a good atmosphere, teach them something they could go back with, and hopefully, they enjoyed the season. I think all three of those things were accomplished.”
Not only were these goals accomplished, but the series finale victory also puts the Coal Cats at a 20-25 record heading into Pulaski. This milestone fulfilled another goal of Gregg’s that surfaced in recent weeks.
“We set a goal a while back, or I set it for them after our 10th win, and said ‘Look, there’s no reason we can’t get to 20 wins by the end of the season,’” Gregg said. “Sometimes when you set goals, they don’t seem achievable, but then all of a sudden you get there and it’s a big deal. I’ve had a sign on the wall that says, ‘one more win to 20’ for four days, it just so happened to be the last game and that makes it even better.”
Danville takes three games of four but drops to a 29-16 record following the loss. After a day of rest, Tri-State travels to Pulaski for a Tuesday matchup beginning at 7 p.m.
