Published May 01, 2009 12:00 am - NetSummary
Ironmen give Milton fits, lose in 10th
By Brian Holtzapple
For The Danville News
DANVILLE -- One night after it took the second place team in the Heartland Athletic Conference Division I to the brink, Danville had the pleasure of facing the division's first place team -- Milton -- on Thursday.
The Ironmen made themselves flies in the Black Panthers' proverbial ointment through the first nine innings of Thursday's game.
But in the 10th inning Milton told Danville to buzz off.
The Black Panthers scored five runs in the top of the 10th inning to break a 1-all tie and take a 6-2 victory over the Ironmen.
With three games remaining on the season, the loss takes Danville (6-11, 4-8 HAC-I) out of contention for a District 4 playoff berth.
"On Wednesday we played the second place team (Jersey Shore) and tonight we played the first place team and we took them both to extra innings," said Danville coach Dwayne Heeter, whose Ironmen fell to the Bulldogs 2-1 in 8 innings.
"I was proud of their performance the past two nights. We proved to some people that we can play at (the level of Milton and Jersey Shore), but we just have to execute better."
Danville shot itself in the foot in the game by committing four errors. Two of those miscues came in the 10th while the international rule was in effect.
With Larissa Luu starting on second base to begin the top half of the 10th for Milton (12-1, 10-1), Nicole Smith singled and Jennalee Williams hit an RBI single to give the Black Panthers a 2-1 lead.
The bases soon became loaded before an error plated two more runs and Milton's lead grew to five.
"It was all real quick," said Heeter.
The Ironmen got a run back in the bottom of the 10th on Autumn Albertson's RBI single that plated Sarah Mullen, but Smith finished her complete-game win by not allowing another base runner after that.
Smith held the Ironmen to three hits. She struck out seven and walked only one.
"The 10th inning deflated us. Up until that point we played a fine game," Heeter said.
Milton took a 1-0 lead in the second by scoring on an error. Danville tied the game in the seventh on Nicole Wallize's fielder's choice that scored Sam Zampetti, who had led off the inning with a double.