Cole Frenzel believes if as a hitter you can put the ball in play, more times than not, something good will happen.
That’s exactly what Frenzel did Sunday afternoon at Grayson Stadium, and indeed something good happened for Frenzel and the Savannah Sand Gnats as they rallied to beat the Rome Braves 2-1 in 10 innings on Frenzel’s two-out, bases-loaded single.
With many in the crowd of 1,394 long gone after a brief rain shower in the sixth inning followed by thunder in the distance, the Gnats overcame a 1-0 deficit to get their third win in the four-game series.
Savannah’s seven game homestand will continue tonight as 7:05 as the Gnats take on the Hickory (N.C.) Crawdads in the first of a three-game set.
For the third straight game, starting pitching dominated.
However, unlike Saturday night when the Braves’ bullpen closed the door to help snap a three-game Savannah winning streak, the Gnats got clutch hits to even their second-half record at 5-5.
Rome starter Wes Parsons turned in his best performance of the Class A South Atlantic League season as he gave up only three hits and struck out a career high nine in six innings.
Parsons departed with a 1-0 lead thanks to Chase Anselment’s first homer of the season, a high drive which easily cleared the right-field wall.
The Gnats tied it in the seventh when Brandon Nimmo singled, stole second and came home on Kyle Johnson’s single.
After Savannah starter Luis Cessa left with two outs in the sixth, relievers Paul Sewald and Beck Wheeler gave up only one hit in 2 1/3 innings to set the stage for Frenzel’s extra-inning heroics.
Cessa gave the Gnats a quality start, allowing seven hits — three in the seventh as he nearly matched Parsons pitch for pitch.
Prior to Anselment’s homer, the defensive play of the game was turned in by Savannah right fielder Eudy Pina, who threw a perfect strike to second base to nail Rome’s Carlos Franco, who was trying to stretch a single into a double. Anselment homered on the next pitch.
It was the second time this season Frenzel had won a game on Sunday in the Gnats’ last at-bat. His single in the bottom of the ninth on April 28 gave the Gnats a 3-2 win over West Virginia.
“It feels good to get a win, and feels great to get a walkoff hit,” said Frenzel, who, up until his game-winning hit, had experienced a frustrating day at the plate, having struck out four times.
“I don’t think I’ve ever struck out four times, certainly not five,” Frenzel said. “Their pitchers really threw well. But our hitters got better as the game went on and made adjustments.”
The Gnats had only three hits through the first six innings but finished the game with 11. They had 16 hits in the opener, and then came five-hit and two-hit nights before Sunday’s comeback win.
Phillips Evans got the 10th started with a leadoff single against loser Jeff Jadofsky (4-3), and after Yucary De La Cruz popped up on an attempted sacrifice bunt, Brandon Nimmo got a bloop single to left and Kyle Johnson was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Things looked grim for the Gnats when Stefan Sabol struck out, but then Frenzel hit a slow chopper to short, and Evans scooted home with the winning run.
Scouting reports at the South Atlantic League level are sketchy, but Frenzel said he had an idea of what Scoggins might show him.
“We get some information,” Frenzel said. “Our hitting coach (Joel Fuentes) does a great job of telling us what to look for. You get a chance to see a starter a couple of times. It’s a little tougher with relievers.
“I knew (Scoggins) had a good slider,” Frenzel said. “You see what you see and adjust. I just threw the bat out and put it in play.”
While the Gnats had 11 hits, they also struck out 14 times and left 10 runners on base.
Nimmo suffered through a horrible June. The center fielder entered the game hitting only .215 for the month but ended the game and the month on a positive note as he had three straight singles.
A No. 1 draft pick two years ago, Nimmo has struggled since going on the disabled list in April with a thumb injury.
However, he set up the first run of the game with a solid one-out single, stole second and used his speed to easily score on Johnson’s single.
Nimmo also had four putouts, including going to the warning track to pull in Felix Marte’s fly ball for the final out of the game.
Rome ab r h bi Savannah ab r h bi
Wren cf 4 0 1 0 DLCrz 2-3b 4 0 0 0
Pereza ss 4 0 2 0 Nimmo cf 5 1 3 0
Klekoky dh 4 0 0 0 Johnson lf 3 0 1 1 Snchez 1b 4 0 0 0 Sabol dh 4 0 0 0
Edmdsn lf 4 0 1 0 Frnzl 3-1b 5 0 1 1
Frnco 3b 4 0 1 0 Zapata 1b 4 0 2 0
Anslmnt c 4 1 1 1 Pron pr 0 0 0 0
Grcia 2b 3 0 2 0 Zurcher 2b 0 0 0 0
Cordero c 4 0 1 0
Evans ss 4 1 1 0
Totals 35 1 8 1 Totals 37 2 11 2
Rome 000 000 103 0 —1
Savannah 000 000 010 1 —2
E—None. LOB—Rome 5, Savannah 10. DP—Rome 1, Savannah 1. 2B—Edmondson, Garcia, Pina. HR—Anselment (1). SB—Nimmo.
ROME IP H R ER BB SO
Parsons 6 3 0 0 1 9
Scoggin BS,1 2 5 1 1 0 4
Jadofsky L,4-3 1.2 3 1 1 0 1
SAVANNAH IP H R ER BB SO
Cessa 6 2/3 7 1 1 1 3
Sewald 2 1/3 1 0 0 0 3
Wheeler W, 1-4 1 0 0 0 0 1
HBP—De La Cruz (by Parsons), Johnson 2 (by Parsons), (by Jadofsky.
T—2:45. A—1,394.