LocalSportsJournal.com
HOWELL – The Muskegon Clippers earned all of their runs over the course of two innings on Sunday, completing a sweep of the Michigan Monarchs, 14-2.
The Clippers started the evening red hot as Caleb Sanders blasted a solo home run to start the contest. Sanders’ effort was followed by four additional hits as Aaron Piasecki, Brandon Scheurer and Colin Cornwell all singled and Donovan Rinehart earned a ground rule double. In the blink of an eye, Muskegon was on top 5-0.
Defenses took over from there as only one run was scored over the next four innings. That run came from the Monarchs in the bottom of the second inning and had the Clippers rocking a 5-1 lead entering the fifth.
Patient at-bats to start the top of the fifth put Muskegon in prime position for another big inning. After three runners reached base on walks, Cornwell drove in all three on a double. Six additional Clippers walked in succession after that, scoring four more runs without putting the bat on the ball. Scheurer knocked in a run with a single and Aidan Arbogast forced Piasecki home after being hit by a pitch to end the inning with a commanding 14-1 lead.
The Clippers allowed three hits over the remainder of the game, with the Monarchs scoring once in the bottom of the seventh before the game was ended.
Drew Zittel earned the win on the mound, allowing four hits and one run while striking out six through five innings of work. Zittel was spelled by Blake Gedrich, who threw two innings in relief.
Several Clippers had success at the plate with seven earning at least one hit. Scheurer went 3-for-3 on the day with a pair of RBI while Cornwell went 2-for-4 with a whopping five RBI.
With the win, Muskegon pushed their win streak out to eight and remained perfect to start their season.
The Clippers will be back in action at 7:05 Tuesday when they travel south to Ohio for the first of a three-game series with the Sandusky Bay Ice Haulers.
