ADRIAN -- A strong mound performance by Ian Stamer helped the Adrian American Legion baseball team nip Worthington Tuesday night by a 4-3 score.
Post 5 scored twice in the top of the first inning, but the home-standing Adrian outfit stayed close, then scored once in the bottom of the fifth inning to take the lead for good.
Stamer threw the first six and two-thirds innings before having to be pulled due to his pitch count. Grant Jansma got the final out, throwing to four batters before ending it with the bases loaded on a strikeout.
Michael Iverson got the start for Worthington, and he went the first three innings while recording five strikeouts. Brayden Donkersloot went the rest of the way, striking out four.
Post 5 head coach Tim Gaul said mental mistakes -- which resulted in throwing errors -- hurt his team. Stamer’s pitching performance was also an important factor.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Stamer is one of the better pitchers in this area. And he kept us off-balance,” Gaul said. “He threw hard enough that he made his off-speed stuff more effective.”
Noah Reyne had two of Adrian’s six hits.
“They didn’t quit. They did what they needed to,” said Gaul of Adrian’s effort.
Worthington also had six hits. Tommy Bauman had two of them. Iverson had a double.
The loss dropped Worthington to 4-8 on the season.
One of Worthington’s best hitters, Turner Rogers, missed Tuesday’s game while still on vacation. Gaul said he’s got a lot of good athletes on the team, but going forward they’ll need to stay focused.
“It seems like when we lose, it ends up being where we have a lack of focus,” he declared.
Worthington 200 100 0 -- 3 6 3
Adrian 001 210 x -- 4 6 3
ADVERTISEMENT
