TERRE HAUTE —
All of the Terre Haute Rex players are enrolled in college, so they fully understand the concept of mid-term exams — as applied to their academics.
In baseball parlance, the Prospect League All-Star break serves as a type of mid-term exam, a measuring stick for the team.
So how are the Rex doing at the mid-point of their inaugural season?
What kind of grade should the team receive?
“If I had to give us a grade now, at least we’re improving toward where we can be in the ‘B’ range,” Rex manager Brian Dorsett said recently.
“I’m not ready to give us an ‘A’ yet,” he said, smiling. “But I think we’re getting better and that the key is for us to put it together all the time. That’s the thing about baseball … that it is difficult.”
Dorsett obviously thinks highly of his team. His assessment was offered while his team was in the midst of a downturn, a season-long four-game losing streak — including a disappointing 0-3 homestand — the last week of June.
The Rex showed their resiliency by winning three of their next four games, but revisited an all-too-often nightmare in a disappointing conclusion to the first half of the season.
On Sunday, the Rex lost a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, falling 3-2 on the road to Dubois County, the last-place team in the Central Division. With the loss, the Rex sport a 14-15 record entering the All-Star break.
Their nemesis all season has been an inability to win close games in a consistent fashion. The Rex have been involved in extremely close encounters in 18 of their first 29 games, but have won just five of those 18 games.
A breakdown of that 5-13 record finds the Rex are 2-4 in extra inning games, 1-6 in games decided in a team’s last at bat and 2-3 in all other one-run games.
Offense
The Rex have been a good hitting team this year, despite lacking in home run power and team speed.
The Rex rank third in the 15-team Prospect League with a batting average of .274. They lead the league in hits (280), are tied for first in being hit by a pitch (32), second in doubles (43), third in runs scored (147), third in runs batted in (119), and fourth in bases on balls (131).
Conversely, the Rex are tied for eighth in home runs with just five. Jase Morgan has three of their five home runs. Morgan is tied for fourth in the league, even though missing a few games due to an ailing Achilles tendon. The Rex rank 14th in stolen bases (29) and have been caught stealing 12 times.
Alex Guthrie leads the Rex with a .324 batting average, followed closely by Kyle Burnam (.322) and Nolan Earley (.315). Earley leads the team in runs scored with 21, while Morgan’s 23 RBI are ranked third in the league.
“Execution-wise offensively we’re getting better,” Dorsett noted. “Still got to get some bunts down, missing the hit-and-run … we’re missing some opportunities in those kind of situations.”
Guthrie and Morgan represented the Rex position players in the Prospect League All-Star game at Quincy, Ill., on Tuesday.
Pitching
The Rex rank fourth in the Prospect League with a respectable 3.55 earned run average.
Clayton Hicks and Alex Sachs lead a solid starting rotation. Hicks is 4-0 in six starts with a 2.41 ERA, while Sachs is 2-0 in six starts with a 3.00 ERA. Hicks, the third Rex player selected for the All-Star game, is tied for second in the league with his four wins. Sachs is tied for fifth in strikeouts with 33.
On the plus side, Rex pitchers have allowed just 230 hits in 266 innings, their opponents being limited to a .228 batting average. On the negative side, Rex pitchers have issued 128 walks.
The Rex bullpen sports a 4-10 record with just five saves. But to be fair to the bullpen, the offense has been lacking late in many of the down-to-the-wire games. The Rex have scored three runs or less in half of their 18 “close” defeats.
“We’ve had great starting pitching all year … that’s been a wonderful thing,” Dorsett stated. “I think we’ve come in and done the job out of the bullpen most times as well. Defensively we’re getting better.”
Second half outlook
The Rex finished the first half two games behind the Danville Dans, the Central Division leader. Richmond (one game behind) and Nashville (one and a half games behind) also finished ahead of the fourth-place Rex.
The second-half title chase begins for the Rex on Thursday.
Division winners of each half will play to determine who qualifies for the three-team, two-game, one-day playoffs in Chillicothe, Ohio. If Danville would win the second-half title, the team with the next best overall record would be their opponent.
The Rex open the second half with four straight divisional games, hosting Richmond on Thursday, then playing a three-game series against Danville on Friday (road), Saturday (road) and Sunday (home).
“Our division is definitely winnable,” Dorsett predicted. “I like our chances. I feel like we’re going to continue to get better.”
After a lengthy college season and playing 29 games in a span of a just 32 days in the first half of the season, Rex players welcomed the three-day All-Star break. Beginning Thursday, it’s back to the grind, playing 27 games in 32 days to finish the regular season.
“The All-Star break comes at the right time,” Dorsett said. “It’s going to give these guys a chance to heal up a bit … nice little break for us. They’ve not been used to playing every day like this. That’s part of the adjustment you make when you come out of college and in summer leagues like this … it’s a grind on your body.
“I love our team. These guys are battlers. I love the fact they are good kids,” Dorsett paused, then said, “They’re good young men I should say.”
Terre Haute Rex
Halfway through season, Rex in contention for Prospect League’s Central Division title
- 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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