Kivett goes deep, Cougars beat Griffons, 7-5

By Eric Wade

Herald-Tribune

NEVADA -- The long ball has long been an enemy of Nevada Griffons starting pitcher Kyle Oestereicher. Friday night was no exception as the Cougar's of Excelsior Springs. Mo., went deep on Oestereicher three different times on their way to a 7-5 victory in the opening game of a five-game homestand and Alumni Weekend.

"Losing sucks, there's no doubt about that," Griffons head coach Ryan Mansfield said. "We definitely had our opportunities and we missed out on those."

Head coach Brandon De Jaynes' Cougars became one of two teams to join the MINK League this season after the Beatrice Bruins and Topeka Golden Giants vacated following last season. In their inaugural season, the Cougars have struggled somewhat, ultimately leaving them with a 5-8 record in league play and brought with them a four-game losing streak into the night.

The Griffons came into the night looking to rebound and get back on the winning track as well after suffering a tough loss to the A's of Clarinda, Iowa, Wednesday night by a final score of 6-5.

The Cougars were the first to find the scoreboard in the contest as left fielder Bryant Lopez came around to score on right fielder Danny Susdorf's RBI double to left. Though his control was a bit sketchy as the contest began, Oestereicher recovered quickly and was ultimately able to to put the Cougars down with no further damage, stranding Susdorf at third.

Designated hitter Zach Carter wasted little time erasing that deficit with an RBI single to right that knocked in Zach Caldwell. Carter was later driven home in the frame by right fielder Patrick Deao, giving the Griffons a 2-1 lead.

Aggressive baserunning seemed to be a major part of Mansfield's game plan right from the outset of the contest. That strategy proved both costly and advantageous all in the same inning as Caldwell got himself into scoring position with two stolen bases, but shortstop Kyle Stiner's aggressive running on the bases brought the inning to an early close as he gave the Cougars an easy double play to end the threat after taking off from first on a lazy fly ball to right.

"That was just bonehead baserunning. We screwed up on the bases," Mansfield said. "It shouldn't happen, let's just hope it doesn't happen again."

Cody Quinn extended the Griffons' lead in the home half of the third as he added to his league-leading .432 batting average and also recorded his league-leading 20th RBI of the year on the same swing of the bat. That RBI came in a slightly different way from most of his others, however, as he blasted his third home run of the year into the trees behind the left field fence -- a solo shot that led off the frame.

The Griffons went on to eventually load the bases on two consecutive hits and an error, but were ultimately only able to come up with one more run in the frame to take a 4-1 lead into the fourth inning.

That was where Cougars starter Tony Schaeffer's day ended. Schaeffer gave up the mound to Michigan State right-hander Taylor Robson after giving up four runs on seven hits with two walks in three innings of work.

Cougars first baseman Seth Kivett echoed Quinn's success at the plate in the top half of the fourth inning as he blasted a solo shot of his own into the trees in left field for his first homer of the year to cut the lead to two at 4-2. "That's just him," Mansfield said of his pitcher's struggles with the long ball. He's still a very good pitcher and I've got no problems throwing him against anybody in our league."

The Cougars finished off the comeback as they plated two more runs in the fifth inning on Adam Gray's two-run single to center. The Griffons' defense was once again able to keep the damage to a minimum and went on to the home half of the frame with a 4-4 tie.

Just one batter into the home half of the frame, the Griffons quickly regained the lead with their second home run of the night -- this time off the bat of first baseman Shaun Hoover. The Cougars once again kept their composure, however and put down the threat with no further damage, sending the game into the seventh with the Griffons up 5-4.

The Cougars offense put an end to Oestereicher's day on the mound in the top of the seventh with three more runs to take a 7-5 lead. Oestereicher's day ended after allowing seven runs on 11 hits with one walk and one strikeout.

That was the end of the offense for both squads in the contest and the Cougars picked up their sixth league win of the season by a final score of 7-5.

With that loss, the Griffons fell to 10-9 on the year, 9-9 in league play and are set to continue their homestand tonight as they host the Ozark Generals in a doubleheader that is set to start at 6 p.m.