LocalSportsJournal.com
The Muskegon Clippers have struggled against the Royal Oak Leprechauns this season.
That trend continued Saturday night as the Clippers fell to Royal Oak 9-6 at
Marsh Field.
Muskegon has lost five of the six meetings against the Leprechauns and is now 12-11 on the season, which is good for a tie for fourth place in the Great Lakes League’s Northern Division.
The Clippers are now two games behind Royal Oak for the last spot in the postseason with 19 games remaining.
Muskegon will return to action on Tuesday, hosting a doubleheader against the Lima Locos. Both games will be seven-inning contests with the opening game starting at 4:35 p.m. and the nightcap at 7:05 p.m.
The Clippers will host another twin bill on Wednesday against the Michigan Monarchs before heading back on the road on Thursday against the Jet Box Baseball Club.
The Leprechauns led 1-0 after the first, 2-0 through three innings and 5-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth frame.
Muskegon responded with two runs in the fourth and one in the six to cut its deficit to 5-3 heading into the seventh inning.
Both teams exchanged a run in the seventh to make the score 6-4 heading into the eighth inning.
Royal Oak added a run in the eighth before the Clippers added two runs to cut their deficit to 7-6 heading into the ninth inning.
The Leprechauns closed out the scoring with two runs in the final inning.
The Clippers were paced offensively by Wes Mitchell with three home runs, five RBIs and three runs scored while Miko Rodriguez scored two runs.
Gabe Nutter suffered the loss, going 3 1/3 innings while allowing five runs on seven hits and striking out five batters.
