TERRE HAUTE —
With temperatures over 100 degrees Friday, affairs at Bob Warn Field took a walk on the wild side.
The Terre Haute Rex walked 10 times and scored four runs before collecting their first hit against Hannibal Cavemen starter Kevin Lenkman, a Butler University left-hander. That early lead was enough for the Rex — but barely — as the home team gave up four runs with some sloppy defense in the ninth, resulting in a final score of 6-5.
Rex starter Kyle Zimmerman (3-0) retired the first 10 batters he faced in what began as a pitcher’s duel. That changed when Lenkman, who only threw 29 of his 78 pitches for strikes, started to labor.
In the fourth inning alone, the Rex scored four times, taking advantage of five walks, a hit batsmen and a wild pitch. It took a wild play to end the inning too; Jacob Hayes was thrown out at home trying to score on a passed ball.
The Rex finally broke through when Patrick Chandler delivered a pinch-hit single through the right side in the fifth inning.
“It was crazy. I’ve never seen a game like that at any level, never even seen a Little League game like that,” Rex manager Brian Dorsett said. “The guy was pitching to where he was effectively wild, he had a pretty good fastball then all of a sudden he lost his slot, I don’t know.”
Zimmerman was sharp all night except for the top of the fifth inning when Lenkman’s wildness may have become contagious. Zimmerman walked the first two batters in the inning, leading to an unearned run scoring on a throwing error by second baseman Alex Reynolds.
The heat wasn’t difficult at all for Zimmerman, he explained.
“It’s not too bad. Your arm feels great, you’re real loose and everything feels like it’s working pretty good. All you have to do is make sure your hand stays dry,” Zimmerman said. “Me and Brian [Norwood] were on the same page all day. He had a lot of good calls back there.”
Zimmerman lowered his earned-run average to 2.70 on the season.
“He’s just a gamer,” Dorsett said. “He’s using his breaking ball ahead and behind in the count and keeping guys off balanced.”
Billy Timmerman tossed a scoreless eighth and closer Nick Blount allowed two earned runs — four overall — in a sloppy ninth inning for Terre Haute, which is out of contention for a first-half division title.
“We’ve got another tough game tomorrow night. We stay away from the errors, keep the ball low, we’ll be all right,” Zimmerman said.
Terre Haute will play host to Dubois County tonight and visit the Bombers on Sunday for the first-half finale.
The team turns its attention to the second half, which Dorsett was able to manage his team to win in 2011.
“If we clean up our game defensively, it should be a nice opportunity for us to take advantage of going after the second half. But we’ve got to do it defensively,” Dorsett said.
Chandler, who arrived earlier this week, led the Rex with two hits off the bench. The Rockhurst University junior outfielder is 6-for-10 in four games so far with a stolen base.
Rex 6, Cavemen 5
Hannibal ab r h bi Terre Haute ab r h bi
Mangler 2b 5 0 0 0 Hayes lf 4 0 1 1
Golden ss 4 0 1 0 Reynolds 2b 3 0 0 2
Nichols lf 0 0 0 0 Kempf cf 3 0 0 0
Goodman cf 3 0 0 0 Schroeder 1b 3 1 1 0
Sikes dh 3 1 0 0 Johnson ss 2 1 0 0
Filliben 3b 4 1 2 0 Norwood c 2 0 0 1
Foster cf-lf 2 2 1 0 Glore dh 1 1 0 0
Light 1b 3 1 0 1 Chandler dh 2 0 2 0
Wolf rf 4 0 0 1 Mahoney 3b 3 1 0 0
Peters c 4 0 0 1 McCurdy rf 2 2 1 1
Totals 32 5 4 3 Totals 25 6 5 6
Hannibal 000 010 004 — 5
Terre Haute 000 411 00x — 6
E — Reynolds 2 (5), D.Peters (1). LOB — H 5, TH 8. 2B — McCurdy (3). SB — Johnson (6), Chandler (1), McCurdy (2). DP — H 1, TH 0. CS — Hayes (2).
IP H R ER BB SO
Hannibal
Lenkman 3 2/3 0 4 4 9 4
Watson 2 1/3 2 2 1 1 1
Powers 1 1 0 0 0 0
Martin 1 2 0 0 0 1
Terre Haute
Zimmerman (W, 3-0) 7 2 1 0 3 3
Timmerman 1 0 0 0 0 1
Blount 1 2 4 2 1 0
T — 2:25. A — 622.
Next — Terre Haute (15-13) plays host to Dubois County tonight at 7:05 p.m. Hannibal (15-13) plays host to Springfield tonight.
Terre Haute Rex
Related Photos
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Safe: Rex player Casey McCurdy slides safely into third base during game action at Bob Warn Field Friday night.
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Ouch: Rex #3 Jacob Hayes turns his back to an incoming pitch at gets hit in the shoulder during game action against the Cavemen of Hannibal.
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Balloon buster: Ten-year-old Zach Dove sits on a water balloon in a race against another contestant between innings at the Rex game at Bob Warn Field Friday evening.
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Hot time: Fans at the Rex game enjoy bowls of flavored ice to attempt to stay cool Friday evening at Bob Warn Field.
Discussion
Rex score 4 before getting first hit, then hang on for win
- Terre Haute Rex
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Prettyman getting comfortable as boss
At first glance, it would be easy to look at first-year Terre Haute Rex manager Ronnie Prettyman and expect him to have a difficult journey during his maiden voyage as a baseball manager.
Managing in the Prospect League isn’t the easiest job in the world.
Rosters change constantly, especially early in the season when players are still reporting from their college teams. The travel is arduous — a night game in far-off Quincy, Ill., could be followed by a home game, followed by a game at equally far-off Hannibal, Mo. The players have to acclimate themselves to playing every day after having played a maximum of five games a week at the college level. -
Loss drops Rex into first-place tie
In a battle for first place in the West Division of the Prospect League baseball standings, the Terre Haute Rex fell just short Monday night at Bob Warn Field.
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Sliders’ frustration against Rex continues
The Springfield Sliders probably curse the departure of the Dubois County Bombers from the Prospect League more than most.
What do the Bombers, who now ply their trade in the Ohio Valley League, have to do with the Sliders, or for that matter, the Terre Haute Rex?
When the Bombers left the Prospect League it created a situation where the Prospect League’s West Division teams — the Rex and Sliders both being members — had one less opponent to play in intradivision play.
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Sanchez stays hot to lead Rex to victory
Hot seems to be the right temperature for Terre Haute Rex Ricky Sanchez.
After going 3-for-5 in the Rex win on Tuesday at Hannibal, Sanchez drove in four runs with a two hits Wednesday in Terre Haute’s 6-5 win over the same Cavemen at Bob Warn Stadium.
The win allowed the Rex to maintain a one-game lead on Quincy in the Prospect League West Division standings.
Sanchez, a catcher and outfielder out of Notre Dame, started the night hitting .355 and was 2-for-3 at the plate with a double.
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Rex fall at home to Sliders
Zack Evans drilled the second Terre Haute Rex home run of the season Sunday, smashing a line drive into the trees in left field. The ball left Bob Warn Field in a hurry, but the solo shot was not enough to overcome a 3-1 deficit to the Springfield Sliders.
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Rex looking to return to pitching dominance Sunday against Springfield
During a 7-1 start and franchise-best seven-game winning streak, Terre Haute Rex pitching was the catalyst. Through eight games, the Rex led the Prospect League with an earned-run average of 1.11.
Even after giving up 10 runs Friday night in a 10-6 loss to the Quincy Gems, the Rex (7-2) are still the league leader in ERA at 2.09. -
Terre Haute Rex win franchise-record seventh straight game
Having begun its fourth season as a member of the Prospect League, the Terre Haute Rex summer baseball team had never won seven games in a row.
That is, until now. -
Rex pull even with Gems in first place after 14-inning win
It took 3 hours, 45 minutes on Tuesday at Bob Warn Field, but the Terre Haute Rex got even.
The Rex avenged their season-opening loss to the Quincy Gems, and the 5-4 victory in 14 innings also pulled the team even with the Gems atop the Prospect League West Division standings. -
Rex down Cavemen for fourth straight
Five Terre Haute Rex pitchers scattered six hits and four walks over nine innings on Sunday. All 10 baserunners were left stranded by Hannibal, and the Rex hurlers combined for a shutout of the Cavemen.
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Rex keep rolling with third straight victory
The formula didn’t have to change Saturday night as the Terre Haute Rex extended their winning streak to three games in Prospect League baseball.
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Wampler's three hits, three RBI lead Rex to win at Springfield
Tyler Wampler was 3-for-4 and had three RBI as the Terre Haute Rex earned its maiden victory of the 2013 season with a 6-0 victory over Springfield at Robin Roberts Field.
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Rex edged by Quincy in season opener
Kurt Kudrecki’s defense made a couple costly miscues, and his lineup managed just five hits through seven innings against Quincy, as the Gems held on for a 4-3 victory in the season opener for the Terre Haute Rex.
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2012 an up, down season for Rex
The Terre Haute Rex went through plenty of trials and tribulations during the summer of 2012.
The team got off to a sluggish start to settle for third place during the first half of the Prospect League race, but manager Brian Dorsett rallied the troops to a second-half title. -
Metro Roundup: Dorsett, Rex players honored in Prospect League postseason awards
Terre Haute Rex closer Nick Blount won one award and shared another and Brian Dorsett shared Manager of the Year honors as the Prospect League announced postseason awards Saturday.
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Rex out of playoffs
Successful playoff baseball = clean baseball.
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Rex mix, match their way to win
The Terre Haute Rex clinched a playoff spot last Thursday … but there were still four games to be played.
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Rex turn eye to Prospect playoffs
Fans attending this evening’s Terre Haute Rex game should expect some handouts, some surprises — and probably better start by the home team than the Rex could provide Saturday night.
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Rex drop road game to Sliders 7-1
One night after a dramatic come-from-behind victory, the Terre Haute Rex went down meekly to the Springfield Sliders 7-1 in Prospect League baseball Friday night.
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Rex defeat Springfield twice, clinch spot in playoffs
It was a long but fruitful night for the playoff-bound Terre Haute Rex.
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Playoff march continues: Rex creep closer to postseason with victory over Dans
Hire the band, make the floats, and rent out a street.
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Rex split, retain 3 1⁄2-game advantage in West Division
A five-run ninth-inning rally fell far short for the Terre Haute Rex on Sunday night in Prospect League baseball.
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No no-hitter, but Rex triumphs
Kyle Zimmerman took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, lost his control and the lead, but the Terre Haute Rex offense had an immediate answer Friday night at Bob Warn Field.
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Travel baseball teams enjoy busy summer
So in the past two or three years, the increase in local travel baseball options has been led by three groups, Indiana (formerly Terre Haute) Havoc, Riley Recreation League and Junior Rex.
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First-place Rex top rival Bombers
If you haven’t been to a Terre Haute Rex game yet this season, tonight might be the time to go.
The Rex have a second straight home game against the Dubois County Bombers, a potential Prospect League West Division playoff preview — and a battle between maybe the division’s two biggest rivals. -
Rex top Cavemen, raise record to 14-6
The first-place Terre Haute Rex picked up a 6-4 victory Wednesday at Hannibal, Mo., against the Cavemen.
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Rex win first game of Saturday doubleheader
Terre Haute maintained its stronghold on first place in the Prospect League West Division on Saturday, the Rex defeating Dubois County 6-1 in the first game of a doubleheader.
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Strunc fans 10, Rex win 12-10
Power pitching and power hitting kept a season-high crowd of 1,732 Rex fans on the edge of their seats Friday night at Bob Warn Field.
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Starting role suits Cunningham as Rex win
Nick Cunningham took the mound Thursday in his relatively new role as starting pitcher looking to give the Terre Haute Rex some breathing room atop the Prospect League West Division standings.
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Rex fall at Danville, maintain two-game division lead
The Terre Haute Rex lost 7-4 on Wednesday at Danville, falling to 9-4 in the second half of the Prospect League schedule.
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High drama, but no win
Pinch-hitter Michael Eberle provided patient Terre Haute Rex fans with plenty of excitement by belting a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the score against the Springfield Sliders at 9-9.
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