NBC WORLD SERIES
Derby Twins vs Pueblo Collegians

August 2nd, 2011

The Twins and their red hot offense stomped the Pueblo Collegians on Tuesday morning by a score of 14-1 (run rule). The Collegians are the third team to be eliminated from the tournament and the Twins move on to play the loser of Wednesday’s 5:00 PM game, the St. Joesph Mustangs vs. the Valley Center Diamond Dawgs. The Twins will play in the second round of the loser’s bracket on Friday at a time that is to be announced.

The Twin's offense was absolutely stellar in the five innings before the run rule. Ryan Walterhouse was the star of the game going 4-4 with three runs and three RBIs. Perez went 3-4 with an RBI,but he could never find his way around the bases. Nearly every one of the Twin's starting line-up got around the bases, with the only exceptions being Joe Post, Andrew Perez and the two pinch hitters, Brandon Alexander and Todd Schultz.

The Twins came out of the gates running with three runs in the first two innings. The first run came on an RBI double from Ryan Walterhouse that brought in Jordan Parr with two outs. Then the next two runs were on an RBI double that brought in Slauter and Yasuhara. In the home half of the inning the Collegians got their only run of the game, a one out RBI double from Lonny Schoon to make the score 3-1.

In the top of the third inning the Twins put four more runs on the board, three of which came on one swing of the bat from Madison Carter. The first run in the inning came on an RBI groundout on a fielder’s choice from TJ Yasuhara that scored Ryan Walterhouse. Madison Carter stepped up next with men on first and third and hit a fly ball to shallow center field. The center fielder JT Greenwood couldn’t get to the ball on time and it jumped over his head and rolled all the way to the warning track. Madison Carter had enough time to come all the way around the bases on a three-run mistake by JT Greenwood.

The Twins struck again in the top of the fourth; this time they put two more runs on the board. Both runs came on a two RBI single from Michael Camporeale. Finally, the Twins put the Collegians away after a five-run fifth inning. The Twins started to crush the Collegian pitching staff for hit after hit. After hitting two batters and walking one, two wild pitches from Cody Sparks and a single from Madison Carter brought in the first two runs of the inning. Then two more came on another two RBI single from Ryan Walterhouse to put the Twins up 13-1. The final run came on Andrew Perez’s only RBI of the game that brought in Ryan Walterhouse to make the score 14-1.

In between all of this offense, there was Phillip Gerber on the mound for the Twins who pitched an outstanding game. He only allowed one run on three hits and only walked two in the five innings he pitched.

The Twins will play in the second round of the NBC World Series loser’s bracket on Friday. Make sure to try to make it out to Lawrence-Dumont Stadium and support your Derby Twins!

by Christian Hardy

NBC WORLD SERIES
Derby Twins vs Nevada Griffons

July 31, 2011

The Twins fell to the Nevada Griffons on Sunday night in a low scoring affair, 1-3. Every inning the Twins had chances to score, but they could never get their offense going. Ed Ras was the losing pitcher after he allowed the winning run in the eighth inning, the only inning he pitched. Strike outs plagued the Twins all night long as the Griffons struck out twelve batters on the night with an inconsistent strike zone that seemed to benefit Nevada pitching.

The Twins first run of the game came on their eighth hit of the night in the eighth inning. Ryan Walterhouse destroyed a solo homerun to left field on a 2-2 count for the Twins only run of the night. The Twins had men on base all night, but were unable to come up with timely hits in order to score runners and ended the night leaving at least one man on in eight of nine innings, and only the single run on ten hits.

The Twins were in need of a clutch hit in the first inning with Walterhouse on second and Burnham on third with two outs. Jordan Parr grounded out to first, leaving the runners stranded. Again, in the third, the Twins were in need of a timely hit with men on first and second and no outs. The next two batters struck out and the following batter grounded out to first. Then in the fifth, Joe Post got on second with no outs. Once again, the next two batters struck out, and Walterhouse flew out to end the inning.

The first run of the game came in the top of the third on a Josh Samuelson RBI single that brought in Brad Wilson with two outs in the inning. That was the only run that starting pitcher Drew Smith allowed in the seven innings he pitched.

The next two runs came in the top of the eighth inning with Ed Ras on the mound. With one out, AJ Krist drove a double to left field on his first pitch. Then Hepworth was walked on a full count to put men on first and second. Left fielder Gavin Stark stepped up next. On a 1-1 count Ras threw a wild pitch that advanced Hepworth to second and Krist to third. Startk then hit a single to right that brought in Krist and advanced Hepworth to third. McKinnon struck out in his at bat, but before he struck out another run scored for the Griffons. Ras pitched a ball low and outside, and catcher Mitch Slatuer could not get his glove down on it: the ball hit the side of his glove, and the Griffons got their third and final run of the night.

In the bottom of the ninth Perez came up with a lead-off single but two more strikeouts and a pop out from the Twins ended the game.

The Twins move on to the loser’s bracket where they will play the Pueblo Collegians on Tuesday at 10:30 AM CST.

by Christian Hardy

Derby Twins At Hays Larks - Game 4

July 25, 2011

The Twins broke even in the series against the Hays Larks after falling in game four, 8-6.

The Larks started the scoring in the bottom of the first after a three run homer from Jon Ryan. Both Aaron Conell and Cody Gougler were on base after being walked. Starting pitcher, Matt Netherton, got out of the inning with two groundouts and a walk after the homerun.

The Twins came right back with four runs in the top half of the second. Perez came up with a lead-off single to center, and then TJ Yasuhara grounded out, but Perez made it to second safely. Catcher Todd Schultz got walked putting a man on first and second. Then center fielder Madison Carter came up with a big RBI double to bring in Perez and put Schultz at third. Brandon Alexander, who came up with a single in his first at bat, grounded to first in this at bat, but Schultz came home, and Carter advanced to third, bringing the score to 2-3 and the Twins weren’t done yet. Burnham got on with a walk right before Micahel Camporeale tripled to center with a ball that slammed the wall after the center fielder missed it. Carter and Burnham came all the way around the bases to give the Twins two more runs before Walterhouse struck out for the third out of the inning.

The Twins put one more on the board in the top of the fourth inning when Brandon Alexander homered to right to make it 5-3 twins.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Larks scored and additional two runs on three hits to make the score 5-5. The Larks loaded the bases on two singles and a pitch that hit Aaron Cornell with only one out. Gougler came up with an RBI single to right, giving him his only RBI of the game. Jon Ryan came up next and popped one up to the center fielder on a sac fly that brought in Aaron Cornell. Cam Brown grounded out after that to end the inning.

The Larks were at it again in the bottom of the fifth. After getting the first out of the inning, Matt Netherton put men on first and second with a double and a walk. Kyle Shaver came in to relieve Netherton and after loading the bases on a walk to Elvin Rodriguez, Shaver was on his game. He struck out the next two batters, Wilson and Cornell, with the bases loaded to get out of the jam.

The Larks finished the Twins off with three runs in the seventh and eighth innings on RBI singles from Rodriguez and Sean Wilson and an error from Twins’ catcher Todd Schultz. The Twins also got a run in the eighth on an RBI single from Kyle Burnham that brought in Todd Schultz.

The Twins’ losing pitcher was Kyle Shaver after he allowed two runs in the bottom of the seventh, and the winning pitcher for the Larks was Gomaz. Michael Burchett got the save.

On the bright side, The Twins sealed a spot in the NBC World Series when Liberal lost their second straight game to El Dorado. Liberal is automatically in the NBC World Series because they won the tournament. Haysville recently got their ticket to the World Series when they won the NBC Midwest Regional. Haysville can choose to vacate that spot and take the Jayhawk League champion's spot in the World Series(they have already been crowned champions because El Dorado has forfeited their final three games due to lack of players). The Twins would take the Heat’s Midwest regional spot if they decide to vacate it. If Hays loses to Liberal tonight then the Twins would take second in the Jayhawk League. Hays and Derby would have the same record if Hays loses, but Derby has the tie-breaker winning the series against Hays 4-2. So Twins can have any of the three spots right now. Here are the possibilities:

1. Hays loses to Liberal, Haysville takes Midwest Regional spot, and Twins get the #1 Jayhawk League spot, Hays gets the #2 Jayhawk League spot.

2. Hays loses to Liberal, Haysville vacates the Midwest Regional spot and take the #1 Jayhawk League spot, Derby takes NBC Midwest Regional spot, Hays takes #2 Jayhawk League spot.

3. Hays wins against Liberal, Haysville takes the Midwest Regional spot, Derby takes #2 Jayhawk league spot, Hays takes #1 Jayhawk league spot.

4. Hays wins against Liberal, Haysville vacates the Midwest Regional spot and take the #1 Jayhawk League spot, Derby takes NBC Midwest Regional spot, Hays takes #2 Jayhawk League spot.

by Christian Hardy

Derby Twins At Hays Larks

July 24, 2011

The Derby Twins broke even with the Hays Larks on Sunday night in a doubleheader to stay in contention for the Jayhawk League championship.

In game one the Twins were home team because it was a make-up from a rainout at Panther Field earlier in the year. Also, because of the doubleheader, both games were only seven innings long.

The starting pitcher for the Twins was Ryan O’Shea and he faced off against Andrew Heck. Game one was a much more offensive game than game two, and that was seen in the very first inning when both teams scored to start the game.

The Larks got a man on first and second with two outs in the inning when Cam Brown stepped up to the plate. He came up with a RBI single to right field to bring in the first run of the game. The third out also came on that same play when Jon Ryan rounded third too far and was thrown out in between third and home.

The Twins answered though. After two outs to start the inning, Michael Camporeale blasted a homer to right field to tie it up on a 1-1 count. That swing of the bat tied the game at one to one at the end of the first inning.

It didn’t stay tied for long though. The Larks destroyed Ryan O’Shea for three runs in the top of the second. All of this (three runs off four hits) came with two outs in the inning. After two quick putouts, Stover and Rodriguez had singles to put men on first and third. Shawn Wilson came up with an RBI single right after that to make the score 2-1. Aaron Cornell came up next and blasted a triple over the left fielders head that brought in two runs and made the score 4-1. Cody Gougler flew out to center to end that inning.

In the home half of the inning the Twins got a man on second and third with only one out. But catcher Todd Schultz grounded out to the pitcher. A passed ball on a 0-1 count to Yasuhara gave Jordan Parr a run and then Yasuhara grounded out to the pitcher to end the inning. Despite the good effort in the inning from the Twins, they were still down 2-4.

The Twins struck once more in the bottom of the third when Ryan Walterhouse hit an RBI single to bring in Michael Camporeale. Camporeale hit a two-out triple just before Walterhouse came up to the plate. The Twins made an attempt at their best rally to make it 3-4, but the Larks weren’t done either.

The Larks came up with two more big runs in the top half of the fourth inning. After a strikeout, the Larks came up with two singles to put men on first and second with one out. Then Gougler flied out to put two outs on the board. Jon Ryan stepped up and hit a RBI single to right that brought in Wilson, and Cornell also scored on a throwing error from the right fielder Michael Camporeale. The third out of the inning came on a groundout; the score at the end of the fourth was 3-6 in the Larks favor.

The next few innings went by quickly and silently. But in the bottom of sixth, the Twins came up with three big runs to tie the game up. Jordan Parr got to third after his single and a passed ball, and he later scored on a RBI single from Andrew Perez. Perez advanced to third on a double from Justin Rahn. Both Rahn and Perez scored on a two-RBI single from TJ Yasuhara and a throwing error by the first baseman Cam Brown. The final out of the inning was a groundout to the second baseman Sean Wilson.

The Larks scored the go-ahead, and eventually the game winning run in the top of the seventh when Oscar Andino scored on a wild pitch from Jason Harris. The Twins couldn’t come up with the big run, and the Larks took game two in the four game series from the Twins.

There was still one more game to be played on Sunday night though. This one was very crucial, and the Twins needed this game very much to have a viable chance to receive the Jayhawk League title.

Ed Ras was the starting pitcher for the Twins and Nick Goza for the Larks.

The Larks were the first to strike despite a great effort in the top of the first in which the Twins had men on first and second with only one out. In the bottom of the second, once again with two early outs, Ed Ras walked designated hitter Andrew Heck. Kelton Rule came up next and on the 0-1 count, Andrew Heck stole second. Soon after, Rule hit an RBI single to center to bring in Heck. After Andino walked to put men on first and second, Sean Wilson grounded out to end the inning. Larks were up 1-0, but this would be the only lead the Larks had all game.

Not only was it their only lead, but it was a very short one as well. Two back-to-back doubles from Carter and Post gave the Twins the tie at 1-1. After those two blasts, the Twins went three up and three down.

In Ed Ras’s last inning on the mound he loaded the bases with two outs with a single and back-to-back walks. But he got out of that jam with his third strikeout of the night.

In the next inning Andy Williams came in for the Twins and a double from Andino was the only hit of the inning. He eventually made his way to third, but Andino was stranded after Williams struck out Elvin Rodriguez.

In the top of the fifth the Twins added three more to break the tie after Matt Schmit came in to relieve Nick Goza. Post started with a walk from Schmit on seven pitches. Schmit advanced to second on a single from Burnham. Both Burnham and Post advanced to the next base on a passed ball during Michael Camporeale’s at bat on a 1-0 count. Camporeale singled to center, bringing in the go-ahead run, Joe Post. Ryan Walterhouse came up next and hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Kyle Burnham and make it 3-1, Twins. In the next at bat Camporeale stole second and on the next pitch he advanced to third on another passed ball. Parr then hit an RBI double down the third baseline that Camporeale scored the Twins fourth and final run of the game.

The Larks never got another good chance to score, and the Twins took game three of four in the series after Juan Guerra came in to the game to close it out.

The Twins take on the Larks for the final game of the series on Monday night at 7:00 pm. Matt Netherton will take the hill for the Twins as he tries to lead the team to a series win over the Hays Larks.

by Christian Hardy

Derby Twins At Hays Larks

July 23, 2011

The Twins took a step towards becoming Jayhawk League champions on Saturday night in game one of a four game series against the Hays Larks. The Twins starting pitcher Drew Smith dominated on the mound, pitching eight scoreless innings to give the Twins the win, 8-1.

Drew Smith was the Madrocks player of the game and he sure earned it.  In addition to the eight scoreless innings he pitched, he also allowed only five hits and fanned six. He didn’t allow a single base runner from the fourth to the seventh inning when Cody Gougler was hit by a pitch, followed by a hit from Jon Ryan.

But the eight runs scored didn’t come from Smith; it came from the motivated Derby Twins offense who were on fire Thursday night. The team as a whole batted a .368 batting average, as they went 14 for 38 on the night. Second baseman Joe Post had a team-leading three hits on four at-bats and brought in two runs on an error by the third baseman in the top of the fifth inning, one of the two crucial errors for the Larks in this game.

The game was scoreless until the Twins scored the first run of the game in the top of the second inning. Mitch Slauter got on first with a lead-off walk. Twin’s shortstop Andrew Perez came up next and flied out to right, then Justin Rahn struck out and the Twins were in danger of leaving a man on base as they did in the first inning. With two outs, center fielder Madison Carter came up to the plate and smacked a double over the center fielder Andrew Heck, who was playing shallow. Mitch Slauter was safe at home after a bad throw to the plate.

Drew Smith continued to pitch excellence and it gave the Twins more and more chances to expand their lead, and in the top of the fourth they did just that. Jordan Parr walked to get the leadoff man on for the fourth straight time in the game. After Walterhouse flew out to center, Mitch Slauter doubled down the line in right on his first pitch, this advanced Jordan Parr to third base. Perez came up next and smacked a solid hit to right field for a base hit that advanced Slauter to third base. The DH Justin Rahn came up with another hit, this one an infield single, to come up with an RBI as well as advancing Slauter to third. Rahn and Perez advanced to the next base on a wild pitch from Andy Lewton, but Madison Carter struck out for out number two on the inning. Joe Post came up next and hit a hard chopping ball to third baseman Brandon Dixon who misread the ball and allowed it to bounced over his head costing him an error, as well as two more Twins runs, part of a four-run fourth inning that would put the Twins on top 5-0.

The next few innings were quiet until the Twins came out with the bats in the seventh inning again. Larks starting pitcher Andy Lewton was replaced by Jesse Hart, and it was an ugly inning for Hart. The Twins started with a base hit from Joe Post on a 2-1 count. Next was the newest addition to the Twins roster, Brandon Alexander, and he grounded into a fielder’s choice that the second baseman tried turning a double play on and it turned ugly. He over threw the first baseman and the ball went into the twins dugout, meaning that Alexander would advance to second. Parr came up with an RBI single that brought in Alexander after the second out of the inning. Walterhouse came up with two more big runs on an absolute blast that was a two-run homer that put the Twins up 8-0.

The Twins nearly found home plate again in the eighth but left two men in scoring position to end the inning after Kyle Burnham flew out to center field. The Larks also had two men on in Drew smith’s last inning on the mound, but he got out of that with help from his infield on a 5-3 putout to end the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, Ian Jones came in to close the game out, and it looked like it was a done deal after two straight outs to start the inning. But for the Larks, it wasn’t over yet. The catcher Sloan Soulia was walked, and then the next batter Cam Brown was hit by a pitch. McKenzie loaded the bases right after that on a single to right field. After that Jones walked in the only run of the game for the Larks and made the game 8-1, Twins on top. The last out of the game came on the second strikeout of the inning for Jones as the Twins came closer to the Jayhawk League title.

Twins take on the Larks in a double-header on Sunday night. First game starts at six o’clock with two back-to-back seven inning games. The series will wrap up with a final game on Monday night in Hays.

by Christian Hardy

NBC Midwest Regional
Championship Games 1 & 2

July 21, 2011

The Haysville Heat defeated the Twins in game one of Thursday night’s doubleheader by a tally of 7-3. The Heat essentially took only one inning to get the job done. In that inning the Heat scored five runs on four hits off of Twins starting pitcher Phillip Gerber.

Casey Johnson opened it up for the Heat, hitting an RBI double with no outs. Gerber walked the third batter in the Heat’s lineup. Mike Moore stepped up and blasted a three-run homer on a 0-1 count, that single swing of the bat put the Heat up 4-0.

The Heat weren’t done though. Don Lambert hit a double with only one out, Lambert advanced to third on the next at bat on a ground out. Then an RBI single from PJ Garcia on a 1-2 count put the Heat up 5-0. The Twins ended the inning with a ground out to second baseman TJ Yasuhara.

The Twins started their rally in the fourth inning. They scored three runs in three innings off of RBI singles from Perez in the fourth and Walterhouse in the fifth, along with an RBI triple from Perez to make it 5-3 going into the seventh inning. But that just didn’t do the trick for the Twins, the Heat came back with two runs in the top of the eighth inning. The Heat struck twice on an error from Twins center fielder Madison Carter who misjudged the ball in the outfield. Those two runs put the silver lining on the game for the Heat who forced and a second game to determine the winner of the NBC Midwest Regional.

Game two was a very good baseball game, and it was close throughout. But the Twins came up short once again as the Heat took a check home, but more importantly they took home the Midwest Regional trophy and a ticket to the NBC World Series.

The Heat started hot when they got to the plate. They got two men on base, one on first and one on third, but the Twins escaped that inning when John Moreland flew out to center field. But it was the visiting Derby Twins who put up the first run of the game in the top of the third. Michael Camporeale hit a hard ground ball to the shortstop, who bobbled it and TJ Yasuhara scored from third.

The Twins tried to score again in the top half of the fourth inning, but failed after leaving a man on first and third. The Haysville Heat came back in the bottom half of the fourth inning and got their run back, tying the game at one to one after John Moreland floated a solo homer to right field on his first pitch.

After the fourth inning the Derby Twins replaced starting pitcher Henry Warner with Chris Carlson. Warner pitched four innings allowing one run on five hits, and without a single walk. The Twins got back on top in the fifth inning after a RBI single from Michael Camporeale. Madison Carter scored the run for the Twins after advancing to second on a bad throw to first by the shortstop. Carter advanced to third after a Heat putout, and he later scored from third.

Carlson was outstanding for the Twins in his two innings pitched. He went for two innings and allowed only one hit. When Twin’s management pulled Carlson after the sixth, they replaced him with Kyle Shaver. Shaver ended the game with the loss after allowing a two-run eighth inning.

In the top of the seventh the Twins scored another run which gave them a 3-1 lead. With a man on first and second, Ryan Walterhouse hit an RBI double down the left field line that brought in Kyle Burnham and put men on second and third. But Jordan Parr couldn’t show up for the Twins as he grounded out to the second baseman to end the inning. Leaving men on-base was a killer for the Twins all night, and realistically it was a problem this entire tournament; they left another two men on here. Even more crucially, both of those two men were in scoring position.

The Heat followed with a run from Walker Davidson on an RBI sacrifice fly to center from Mike Moore. The throw from Twins center fielder Madison Carter almost got to the plate, but fell just short and made the score 3-2, Twins.

The Twins were shutout in the top of the eighth inning which gave the Heat a great opportunity, and boy did they take advantage of it. Gabriel Thibodeaux started it off with an RBI single that brought in PJ Garcia. But there were still men on first and second base. Out number two was a very questionable call by the umpire. The shortstop grounded the ball and tossed it to second, and second baseman TJ Yasuhara looked like he came off the bag, but the umpire called it an out. TJ threw it to first in attempt of a double play and was late, but right when the first baseman Walterhouse caught the ball he gunned it to third. The runner was rounding third and Jordan Parr put the tag on him, but not a single one of the three umpires on the field were watching and ended up calling him safe. That play ended up giving the Heat the winning run after an RBI double from Casey Johnson.

In the final chance for the Twins, down 3-4, Madison Carter got into scoring position with only one out, but the Twins went for two straight put outs and the Haysville Heat punched their ticket to the NBC World Series that starts on July 30th. With the Heat winning the tournament, the top two teams in the Jayhawk League, not including the Heat, will make it NBC World Series. It will be a scramble for those two spots and these last games for the Twins are crucial if they want to make it to the World Series.

by Christian Hardy

NBC Midwest Regional Game 3
Twins 2 - Heat 1

July 19, 2011

The Twins came home with another victory and this one even sweeter than the last: a win over the Jayhawk League-Leading Haysville Heat, 2-1. The Heat moves to the loser’s bracket, while the Twins advance to the championship game on Thursday night where they could face the Heat again if the Heat prevails against either the Rangers or the Blue Jays on Wednesday night.

Matt Netherton was Tuesday’s starting pitcher for the Twins. He pitched seven innings and allowed the Heat’s only run of the game on five hits. The Heat’s starting pitcher, Chris Brookey, also pitched a very good game after the Twins scored the first two runs of the game in back-to-back innings. Brookey pitched eight innings and allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits.

The Twins only runs came in the first two innings of the game. In the first inning Madison Carter hit a single in the first at bat of the game. Next, left fielder Kyle Burnham stepped up hitting a single to put Carter in scoring position with no outs. Then Michael Camporeale lined out to center on his first pitch of the night. Clean-up hitter Ryan Walterhouse was up next. During his at bat both Carter and Burnham stole a base, advancing to second and third. Then Walterhouse had an RBI groundout which gave the Twins a 1-0 lead. Jordan Parr grounded out for the last out of the inning.

The Twins weren’t done yet though, Mitch Slauter, the first batter of the second, got on base on a fielding error by the Heat’s first baseman. Slauter later scored on a groundout from TJ Yasuhara.

The Twins defense is what kept them in this game. Heat had a lot of chances to score, and left a lot of runners on base, but the Twins continued to make excellent stops on defense. One such highlight was a fantastic play by Yasuhara drawing Lawrence-Dumont Stadium to their feet. After fielding a sharp hit to deep center, Yasuhara threw an off balance rocket, on target, to first baseman, Walterhouse, to put out Tarango and end the 5th inning. The Heat left a total of eight runners on-base throughout the game. The most important stop by the defense came in the seventh and ninth innings.

In the seventh, the Heat scored their first run of the game from John Moreland who hit a one out double, which put Moreland in scoring position. Shelby Anderson came up for the Heat and came up with the biggest hit of the game for the Heat; an RBI-single that put the Heat on the board. Anderson advanced to second on a putout. But then a fly ball to center ended the inning.

In the final inning the Heat attempted the best rally they could. With two outs, John Moreland was hit by a pitch. The Heat brought in Gabriel Thibodeaux to run for the big first baseman Moreland. Then Shelby Anderson came up with his second hit of the game and put a man on first and third with two outs. The next batter was PJ Garcia who before this at bat was a low-lying 0-2. And that drought continued as Garcia hit a fly ball to left field.

The Twins will play their next and perhaps final game in the Midwest Regional on Thursday at 6:00. A win in that game gives the Twins the tournament trophy and an automatic entry into the NBC World Series. A loss will require an additional game for the Twins, which will also be played on Thursday evening, with a scheduled start time of 9:00.

by Christian Hardy

NBC Midwest Regional Game 2
Twins 6 - Broncos 4

July 18, 2011

Ryan Walterhouse and Jordan Parr led the Derby Twins past the El Dorado Broncos in extra innings on Monday night, 6-4. This time, though, it had a greater meaning: moving on to the finals of the NBC Midwest Regional.

Coming into this game the Twins had beaten the Broncos five out of the seven times the two teams have faced off. This also was the first game between the two teams that has gone to extra innings.

Ryan O’Shea started on the mound for the Derby Twins. He lasted eight innings while allowing three runs on ten hits and also struck out two. John Nasshan started on the mound for the El Dorado Broncos. He pitched six stellar innings, only allowing one run, unearned, on three hits.

The game-breaker for the Broncos was pitcher Chase Haines who came in for the Broncos in the seventh inning. He allowed ten hits, leading to 5 runs, four earned in five and two-thirds innings pitched. He also allowed the winning runs in the bottom of the twelfth before Joe Major came in and got the final out of the inning.

The first run of the game came from the El Dorado Broncos. After a leadoff triple from center fielder Andrew Archbold, Miles Silverstein came through for the Broncos with the first RBI of the game, reaching first on an RBI single.

The next four innings came and went without a single run scored. Then, in the top of the sixth the Twins tied it up with an RBI single from star of the game, Jordan Parr. In the top of seventh, the Twins struck twice more, both on a two-run single from the Twins left fielder Kyle Burnham.

El Dorado scored two times in the bottom of the eighth to knot the game up at 3-3. These came on a RBI Double from Robbie Rea, and then an RBI groundout from Josh Camalick tied it up.

The Twins had a man on second in the top of the ninth with only one out and they couldn’t get the job done, leaving a runner on-base. This meant extra innings after the Broncos were also shut down in the eighth inning.

Twins scored in the top of the tenth on a two-out RBI single from Jordan Parr. El Dorado came back with a run in the bottom half of the inning on an error from Jordan Parr on the throw to first. That error almost cost the Twins the game when the Broncos had men on first and second with only one out in the bottom of the 11th. Twins got out of that inning with two straight put outs.

In the top of the twelth a solo homer from Ryan Walterhouse as well as a bad throw to the plate that scored Jordan Parr gave the Twins a two run lead, and they never turned back. Guerra retired the side, and gave the Twins a ticket to the NBC Midwest regional final.

That game will take place Tuesday, July 19th against rival team Haysville Heat at 7:00 pm.

Guerra got the win for the Twins, while Chase Haines got the loss* for the Broncos.

*NBCBaseball.com gave Joe Major the loss when Chase Haines gave up the winning runs. Chase Haines is the correct losing pitcher for this game.

by Christian Hardy

Twins Win Game 1 In NBC Midwest Regional

July 16, 2011

The Twins opened up the Midwest Regional with a win over the Wichita WheatKings on Saturday evening, 8-2.

The Twins offense was in-gear all night, and they were backed up by Saturday’s starting pitcher, Drew Smith. Smith, senior from Emporia State, allowed only six hits, along with two runs while fanning eight in eight innings on the mound to give the Twins offense a chance to open up the tournament with a remarkable win.

The first four men in the Twins lineup scored seven of the Twins eight runs. Not only did they score nearly all of the Twins runs, but they batted in a combined five runs. Leading off for the Twins was Madison Carter who went 3-5 with two runs. Left-fielder Kyle Burnham batted second in the Twins lineup. He went 2-3 with, three runs, two walks, and one RBI, as well as the best game at the plate for the Twins. Third in the order was the right fielder Michael Camporeale, he went 2-4 with one run, and one RBI, as well as a walk. The last of the Twins excellence was in the cleanup spot with first baseman Ryan Walterhouse. Walterhouse went 1-3 with one run and two RBIs.

The WheatKings pitching staff never found an answer to the Twins dominate offense. WheatKings starting pitcher was Darius Iacono, right-handed pitcher from Tabor College. He lasted only three innings and allowed four runs, all earned, on three hits.

Ryan Walterhouse started the party with a two-run double in the top of the first inning on a 1-2 count. Drew Smith allowed two hits in the bottom of the first, but two men were left on for Wichita, and no damage was done. The Twins struck again in the top of the third. Mitch Slauter hit a ground-rule double with the bases jammed to give the Twins a 4-0 lead.

The WheatKings scored their only runs of the game in the bottom of the fifth after quiet third and fourth innings. Shaun Reid had an RBI groundout to put the Wichita on the board. It also put Taylor Douglas at third; he later scored on an RBI single from Tanner Carpenter.

Michael Campreale hit a two-run double in the top on the sixth to go up 6-2 while Drew Smith was still dealing. The Twins finished the game with two runs in the eighth inning.

Ian Jones replaced Drew Smith to close the game for the Twins. He allowed only one hit and finished the game out and the Twins won, 8-2. Drew Smith got the win for the Twins, while Darius Iacono got the loss after allowing four runs in three innings.

The Twins will take on the El Dorado Broncos Monday, July 19th at 7 PM CT in the semi-finals of the 2011 NBC Midwest Regional.

by Christian Hardy