LocalSportsJournal.com

MACOMB – Patience was key for the Muskegon Clippers on Friday when they hosted Detroit Jet Box for a doubleheader, coming away with the sweep, 7-4 and 7-1.

The first action of the night didn’t see much happen for either side in the early going. With just one hit combined between the two teams in the first two innings, Jet Box were the first to strike.

In the bottom of the third, Jet Box notched to singles to score their first run and give them a 1-0 advantage. Unable to string together many hits, Muskegon found themselves trailing all the way into the sixth inning.

Then the Clippers caught a break in the top of the sixth. Four Muskegon batters were walked, one hit by a pitch and two others reached base on errors. That amounted to six runs scored in that frame on just one hit.

After Jet Box failed to answer in the bottom of that same frame, the Clippers managed to score one more in the game’s final inning on a Jabin Bates single. Jet Box did their best to fight back, notching three hits and three runs in the final half inning, but ultimately fell short 7-4.

Drew Zittel earned the win for Muskegon, allowing just one run on four hits with six strikeouts through five innings. The Clippers were led offensively by Brandon Scheurer who went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

The second game saw a much more stable offensive attack from Muskegon, as they scored runs in all but two of seven innings played. 

Donovon Rinehart scored the game’s first run when he hit a double, bringing home Aaron Piasecki. That was the only action for the first two innings, but Muskegon built their lead up strong in the third.

A Stoney Smith walk and an error by the Jet Box shortstop kicked off the third inning before Rinehart brought Smith across home on a single. After Scheurer was walked one batter later, Luke Kerrins stepped up and found himself a single that would score two more. Now sitting at a 4-0 lead, the Clippers were able to coast to the finish.

Scoring three more runs on three hits through the next four innings, Muskegon walked away with a dominant 7-1 win.

Daniel Gutierrez was the winning pitcher in that game, delivering an outstanding complete game performance. Gutierrez had no runs allowed and allowed just three hits with nine strikeouts.

Rinehart and Kerrins were the top two hitters. Rinehart went 2-for-3 with three RBI while Kerrins went 2-for-4 with one RBI. Scheurer also grabbed two RBI of his own.

Now sitting at 19-3, the Clippers will look to take a three-game lead in the road series with Jet Box at 5:35 Saturday.

The Clippers return home on Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. at Marsh Field.