TERRE HAUTE —
Apparently the worst thing the three pitchers from the Dupage Dragons could do Friday night at Bob Warn Field was get the second out of the inning.
The Terre Haute Rex were at their best with one out to go, getting eight of their nine hits and scoring all of their runs in that situation in snapping a three-game Prospect League baseball losing streak with a 9-6 win that was more decisive than it looked.
“Pretty clutch,” said Rex pitcher Alex Sachs of that offensive support. “They’ve been getting me a lot of runs, and I appreciate that a lot.”
“That is amazing,” manager Brian Dorsett said when reminded of the two-out production. “The heart and soul of this team is true competitiveness. They don’t give up.”
Dupage had a couple of early leads, scoring in each of the first two innings against Sachs. The Dragons executed a first-and-third double steal in the top of the first, when there appeared to be miscommunication in the Rex infield, and got a pair of doubles in the second inning (although the second was pretty inexpensive, a soft liner that took a 45-degree-angle bounce past right fielder Chris Carlson).
Sachs helped himself get out of that second inning by picking Mike Correa off second base, however, and was all but untouchable for the next few innings. He allowed just two more hits, one of those never leaving the infield.
“[The game] started out rough, but I made some adjustments,” Sachs said afterward. “I focused on hitting my spots better; once I started getting in my rhythm, I was pretty locked in.”
“It’s a rhythm thing with [Sachs],” Dorsett agreed. “He’s trying to command three pitches, take something off his fastball, stay down in the [strike] zone … he made some good pitches early, but [the Dragons] were able to get a couple balls he left up.”
The Rex got their first two-out run in the bottom of the first, when Carlson singled with two out and came home when Nolan Earley doubled over the left fielder’s head. Then, in the bottom of the third, the home team went to work in earnest.
Kyle Burnam walked with one out and stole second, which turned out to be a key play because the Dupage shortstop had no play on Koby Kraemer’s ground ball to the hole that followed the steal. Losing pitcher Kevin Johnson got the second out, and the Rex had him right where they wanted him.
Earley got the game-tying RBI, smashing a single to right that sent Burnam home and Kraemer from first to third. Alex Guthrie broke the tie with a grounder between first and second, and an error on Joe Meggs’ grounder loaded the bases. Jared Broughton singled for two runs, Braden Kline added another run-scoring hit, Ray Hernandez was hit by a pitch to reload the bases and Burnam drew his second walk of the inning for the final RBI.
“We were losing by a run and Sachs was pitching a good game, so we had to give him some runs,” Earley said afterward. “I was just trying to put the ball in play, and it got through … I was trying to make the defense work. As long as I put the ball in play, that’s all I can control.”
“Those two-out hits were huge,” Dorsett said. “[Johnson] got the ball up and we were able to capitalize … that’s the name of the game, put the ball in play hard.”
Sachs controlled the game until leaving after 104 pitches with one out in the top of the eighth, and his teammates gave him two more runs in the seventh.
This time Earley, with four hits and four stolen bases in Thursday and Friday’s games, led off the inning with a walk and was in scoring position after his steal. With two out — of course — Broughton hit a liner to center that went for a triple when a diving catch attempt didn’t work, and Kline added to his best offensive game of the season with his second run-scoring hit.
Those runs made the eighth inning a little more comfortable when Cole Vicars — pitching in relief for the first time in the second half of the season — was victimized by a pair of infield hits that inflated his earned run average and enabled the visitors to get within three runs. But Ryne Purcell got his ninth save with an easy ninth frame.
Coupled with a Friday loss by Nashville at Dubois County, the win built Terre Haute’s second-half division lead back to two and a half games.
“That was a big win,” said Earley. “It put us another game up … but we still need to get two or three [wins] from [Nashville] when we go down there [next week].”
The Rex had their second-largest crowd of the season for a second straight night, bringing 1,293 to the park for fireworks on Friday after 1,264 attended Thursday’s game. Just two regular-season home games remain, Quincy on Wednesday and Danville in the regular-season finale on Aug. 7.
Terre Haute Rex
Rex score eight of nine runs with two outs in inning
- 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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