Chillicothe, MO
Drive to Chillicothe on July 23, 2009 for game 1.
July 24, 2009, game 2.

CHILLICOTHE, MO-  

Aaron Torres

Jim Dietz has seen a lot of wild games coaching the  Alaska Goldpanners organization.   His 497^th win with the team may have been the craziest yet, as the Midnight Sun Goldpanners beat the Chillicothe Mudcats 9-5 Thursday night.

The very first inning of the game symbolized just how wacky the night would be.

After the Goldpanners quietly went down in order to start the game, Chillicothe came to the plate.  Leadoff batter Darian Sanford started the bottom half of the inning with a single and proceeded to steal second on the next pitch. With Sanford on second base, Bryan Mason hit a slow roller that Goldpanner Eric Lane picked up and fired to first for the out.

But Sanford, who is undoubtedly the most dangerous runner the Goldpanners have seen all summer long, came around, scoring from second on the groundout, just ahead of first baseman David Duetchman’s throw.  The Mudcats led by a score of 1-0.  Sanford, scoring from second on a groundout, was just a beginning of what would continue to be a most memorable game.

There were no additional runs until the top of the 7^th inning, when the Goldpanners tied the score at one, on a zany play of their own. With Josh Kalalau on second base, and one out David Duetchman was at the plate.  Duetchman drew a walk, with the fourth ball bouncing to the backstop, past Chillicothe catcher John Creely.   Kalalau sprinted to third, but rounded the base a little too far, and Creely fired the ball to his third baseman Toby Davis, catching Kalalau in a rundown.  However, Davis ran Kalalau too far toward the plate, allowing the Goldpanner to dive safely into home ahead of Davis’ throw.

But just as quickly as the Goldpanners tied the game, they lost their advantage, giving up four runs in the bottom of the 7^th inning.   Pitcher Carey Schwartz replaced starter Jason Van Skike, but by the end of the inning the Goldpanners were down 5-1.

Midnight Sun would not be denied however, as they had a five run inning of their own in the top of the 8^th inning, taking a 6-5 lead, one they’d never relinquish. They scored the runs on two hits, two walks, two hit batters, a Lane RBI groundout and an Olezsczuk sacrifice fly.

With all the twists and turns, all the game needed was a little controversy, which it got in the top of 9^th inning.  The Goldpanners scored three runs in the inning.   After Josh Ashenbrenner drove in Metcalf and Lane on a 2-RBI triple it was revealed that Metcalf batted out of turn.

When challenged, the umpires on the field first ruled Metcalf was out and two runs would be removed.  They then overturned the ruling, because Chillicothe did not catch the error before Ashenbrenner batted.    Ashenbrenner’s triple held up, and he later scored on a Kalalau single.

That would be the final scoring of the night, as Schwartz closed out the win with a quiet 9^th inning.

The Goldpanners return to action Friday night, when they take on Chillicothe again, in a game this is certain to be tamer than Thursday night’s affair.    Please check out www.goldpanners.com for full coverage.

by Aaron Torres

CHILLICOTHE, MO- Over the past few games the Midnight Sun Goldpanners have made a habit of coming from behind late in games to seal victories. On Friday night they were on the other side of the fence, as the Chillicothe Mudcats scored two runs in the bottom of the 9^th for a comeback.

The inning started innocently enough when Kyle Standridge led off by reaching on an error. Next Darian Sanford reached safely on a fielders choice, eliminating Standridge, but putting the Mudcats most dangerous base runner on.

Sanford proceeded next to steal second, followed by a Bryan Mason walk. Both advanced 90 feet on the very next pitch via steal, setting up runners on 2^nd and 3^rd base with just one out.

Tyson Parks came up to the plate next and did not disappoint. He took an outside pitch to left field, deep enough to score Sanford, tying the game at 5.

But with two outs, and Mason still on second, the inning wasn’t over for the Goldpanners.

The next batter, Toby Davis hit a slow ground ball into the second base hole, that Eric Lane fielded cleanly and threw to first. Unfortunately, because the ball was hit so softly, Davis just beat out the infield single. On the play, Mason came around from second, and ended up scoring the game winning run, despite first baseman David Duetchman making a good throw home.

Stephen Foster, was the hard luck loser in the game, despite pitching four innings of brilliant relief, striking out seven Mudcats.

Offensively the Goldpanners were good early, but could do little late. Travis Andersen was 3-4 on the day, with two runs scored, and Josh Kalalau 2-4, scoring twice as well.

The Goldpanners will look to rebound, when they travel to Junction City, KS on Saturday and Sunday to take on the Junction City Generals. Game-time is set for 7 p.m. both nights, with full coverage available on www.goldpanners.com.