TERRE HAUTE —
The season-long five-game winning streak of the Terre Haute Rex came to an end Wednesday night at Dubois County.
The Bombers’ 8-4 victory reduced their magic number to just one victory to clinch the Prospect League West Division’s first-half title.
Kyle Kempf led the Rex, who led 3-2 until Dubois County tied the score at 3-3 in the seventh, with three hits.
But on Tuesday, The Terre Haute Rex moved within four games of the first-place Dubois County Bombers, scoring the first 11 runs in a 12-6 shellacking at Bob Warn Field.
Since the first-half division winner secures a playoff spot — and the first half ends Sunday — the Rex have the best shot to overtake the Bombers thanks to three remaining matchups with Dubois County.
With five straight victories, manager Brian Dorsett’s squad has momentum on its side heading into tonight’s game at League Stadium in Huntingburg.
Michael Schroeder had an RBI single and a two-run blast off the scoreboard in right-center field to give put him into the Prospect League lead in RBIs with 27.
“I’m seeing the ball well, I like being up in those situations. As a hitter, if you get a man in scoring position, that’s what you have to do, get them in,” said Schroeder, who has shown power to all fields. His third home run of the season greeted Indiana State veteran Kurt Kudrecki, who came out of the bullpen in the fourth for Dubois County. Schroeder connected on Kudrecki’s second pitch.
“I got a hanging off-speed pitch and just got the barrel out there,” Schroeder said.
Nick Johnson had a two-run double, driving in four runs for the Rex, and Kyle Zimmerman had a season-high three hits.
“Knowing who we are as a team is the big thing, knowing what we all can do in our role on the team. And our pitching staff’s bringing it together right now. It’s just all clicking,” Schroeder said.
While catching Dubois County would be tough — the Bombers’ magic number is two — Dorsett thinks his team could make it interesting.
“That’s our goal, keep pressure on them. We’ll take it one game at a time,” Dorsett said. “The offense is heating up. Kyle Kempf had some really good at-bats today. Nick Johnson, putting the ball in play with two strikes, good situational hitting. Schroeder’s been driving in some big runs for us, and good to see Zimmerman have a big night.”
Starting pitcher Will Robinson had his best outing of the summer, scattering four hits and walking one in six shutout innings.
“He got up to around 90 pitches, just trying to take care of his arm,” Dorsett said. “He was mixing it up really well. He was using the inside part of the plate as well as the outside part of the plate. He just put it in there head that he could throw the breaking ball for a strike at any time.”
Dubois County 000 000 501 — 6 7 1
Terre Haute Rex 004 520 01x — 12 14 1
Sapp (L), Kudrecki (4) and Tavares; Robinson (W, 1-1), Dartnell (7), Timmerman (8), Dove (9) and Norwood.
Highlights — For Terre Haute, Nick Johnson went 2 for 3 with 4 RBIs; Michael Schroeder 2 for 4 with 3 RBIs; Brian Norwood 2 for 3 with an RBI; Kyle Zimmerman 3 for 5 with 3 runs; and Chandler 2 for 4. For Dubois County, Indiana State’s Landon Curry went 1 for 5 with a double and a run.
I I I
n Earning their keep — Terre Haute’s Josh Dove earned a full-time gig with the Rex after tossing four scoreless innings of relief during his seven-day contract.
Earlier this season, when the team was waiting on originally-rostered players to arrive, the Rex picked up Kyle Kempf, a redshirt freshman from University of Southern Indiana, and Alex Reynolds, a junior from East Tennessee State.
Kempf, who starred at Evansville Bosse, found himself a home in center field and has served as the No. 3 or No. 2 hitter, accumulating a .330 batting average in 25 games.
Reynolds joins Kempf among the top 20 hitters in the Prospect League with a .320 average. The Rex offense was a bit inconsistent out of the gate, but Kempf and Reynolds provided some stability.
And “as the season’s gone on, everybody’s starting to hit now, everyone’s found their stroke. It’s been a lot more fun,” Reynolds said.
Unsure if he’d find a summer team to play for without a collegiate resume yet, Kempf was thrilled to make the two-hour drive to Terre Haute. Kempf quickly adjusted to suggestions to his swing mechanics from manager Brian Dorsett and assistant Ronnie Prettyman.
“After the first couple games, we noticed a couple things,” Dorsett said. “He’s a quick learner. He trusts his hands, he’s got quick hands and keeps his body back.”
• Counting on Creighton righty — Tommy Strunc leads the Rex with a 2.05 earned-run average. He’s 2-2 with 31 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings.
Strunc has made all five of his starts away from Bob Warn Field, including Wednesday night’s game at League Stadium against Dubois County. Strunc tossed 6 2/3 innings with six strikeouts Wednesday.
Strunc was a redshirt freshman for one of Indiana State’s rivals within the Missouri Valley Conference, the Creighton Bluejays, the redshirt status meaning Strunc trained his arm but did not pitch in games. Rex relief pitcher John Oltman, who has a 7.36 ERA, was also a Creighton redshirt in 2012.
“I liked it. We had 13 senior on our roster and another junior that got drafted in the fifth round, eight of those guys are our bullpen,” Strunc said. “Out of high school, I knew I may not get much playing tine, but I just wanted to get better.”
Strunc said he has gained velocity since high school, consistently hitting the upper 80s and low 90s on the radar gun.
“At Creighton we did three bullpens a weekend; it’s tough on your arm, but definitely built up strength and endurance in your arm. But then we did long toss during the week. Arm strengthening stuff, and through the season we continued to lift hard. Now, if I’m not hitting 90-91 in first inning, it’s bad,” Strunc said.
Terre Haute Rex
Rex have winning streak snapped
Dubois rallies for 8-4 win Wednesday night
- 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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Rex cool off against Springfield
It was a game Terre Haute probably didn’t deserve to win, and, despite an outstanding bullpen effort and focused hitting in the last few innings, the Rex did lose Monday for the first time since July 4 at Quincy.
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Rex roll to lead in division
A constant theme repeated by Terre Haute Rex manager Brian Dorsett is how his summer-league collegians adjust to the everyday schedule, rather than the four or five-game slates they’re used to.
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Rex bounce back, dominate Dans
Terre Haute reaped the bounty of three Danville errors in the second inning. The Rex made the Dans pay for each of their errors with eight base hits in the inning and Terre Haute never looked back on its way to an 11-4 victory in front of sweltering crowd of 669.
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Rex open second half with victory at Quincy
The Terre Haute Rex opened the second half of the Prospect League season with a 8-7 victory Tuesday night at Quincy Stadium.
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Head coach could be next stop for Prettyman
Credited in part to some unforgettable memories at Cal State Fullerton, where Ronnie Prettyman scored the winning run in the 2004 College World Series, the Indiana State and Terre Haute Rex assistant coach wants to pursue a future in college coaching.
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Cunningham, McCurdy pace Rex to win over league leader
What was essentially a meaningless baseball game as far as the standings were concerned couldn’t have gone much better for the Terre Haute Rex on Saturday night at Bob Warn Field.
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Rex score 4 before getting first hit, then hang on for win
With temperatures over 100 degrees Friday, affairs at Bob Warn Field took a walk on the wild side.
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Rex duo working overtime
It’s obviously a bonus to recruit a college baseball player that can pitch once a week and take the field and bat in the middle of the batting order the rest of the time.
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Rex fall 7-1 to Hannibal
The Terre Haute Rex lost 7-1 on Thursday, falling behind 4-0 after the first inning at Bob Warn Field.
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Rex have winning streak snapped
The season-long five-game winning streak of the Terre Haute Rex came to an end Wednesday night at Dubois County.
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Rex move within four games of first-place Dubois County
The Terre Haute Rex moved within four games of the first-place Dubois County Bombers, scoring the first 11 runs in a 12-6 shellacking at Bob Warn Field on Tuesday.
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Rex take third straight, move to 12-11 overall
Wildness cost the Terre Haute Rex a precarious lead in the fifth inning, but thankfully for the home team Quincy returned the favor in the bottom of the ninth inning.
- More Terre Haute Rex Headlines
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