TERRE HAUTE —
The unbeaten Prospect League baseball start by the Terre Haute Rex ended Thursday night, but manager Brian Dorsett had already learned enough not to be discouraged.
Although the visiting Quincy Gems won 6-4 in a rain-delayed home opener, Dorsett had seen plenty of good things in a road sweep at Danville by scores of 17-2 and 5-4.
“I’m pleased with the effort [so far],” Dorsett said Thursday as he and his players waited out a 65-minute rain delay. “We have 15 guys right now — we’re 11 players short [of a full roster] — because we have eight or nine guys in [college] tournaments.
“We’ve been replacing players, and we’ve been very thankful; everybody we’ve brought in has really made an impact.” The Rex and Quincy return to Bob Warn Field for a 7:05 p.m. game today.
The home team got a run after two were out in the bottom of the second inning when Zack Willoughby singled, reached second on a nicely executed delayed steal and scored when Kyle Kempf blasted a long double to left-center.
After retiring the first seven batters he faced, however, Rex starter Clay Manering ran into trouble with the bottom of the Gems’ batting order. Illinois State product Joe Kelch hit a smash off the third-base bag for a single, Zac Zdanowicz added another hit and Caleb Howell of Eastern Illinois was awarded an infield hit when Rex second baseman Alex Reynolds fielded his ground ball, looked to second only to see Zdanowicz was already there, then had no play at first.
A wild pitch brought in the tying run and Brandon Brian doubled to bring in two more, but Rex shortstop Edmond Cheatham turned a line drive into an unassisted double play to end the inning.
The Rex turned double plays in the next two innings as well, although the one in the top of the fifth came one batter too late. With one out and runners at second and third, Brian was walked intentionally to set up a force play at any base, but Zach George delivered a two-run single. Then Nick Tindall hit into the twin killing that stopped that rally and left the Gems ahead 5-1.
The Rex started a comeback in the bottom of the fifth. Kempf walked, Cheatham delivered a one-out single, and after two outs a walk to Michael Schroeder, a wild pitch, a walk to Brett Teschner and a single by Kyle Zimmerman cut the lead to 5-3 — although the Rex left the bases loaded.
Quincy reliever Zac Pearman came on with one out in the bottom of the sixth, however, and held the Rex hitless until Reynolds hit a ninth-inning homer.
Schroeder and Zimmerman were hitting third and fifth respectively in the Rex batting order, even though they are among the eight pitchers available for Dorsett — and Schroeder took the mound in the top of the sixth on Thursday.
Teschner, one of the returnees from last year’s team, had six RBIs in the first two Rex games, Terre Haute South graduate Jacob Hayes had five hits and Billy Timmerman has the early Prospect League lead in pitching victories, earning both the wins at Danville out of the bullpen.
“We had two days to practice and played two games,” Dorsett pinted out. “I don’t ever remember a team scoring 17 runs in its first game, and then after we got behind [on Wednesday] I was really pleased with the effort. We got one run in the seventh, one in the eighth and one in the ninth … [the Rex] have shown a lot of persistence.”
Some of the tournament participants could return to the Rex soon, although one of them — Chris Roglen, another member of the 2011 team — suffered probably a season-ending injury playing in the national junior college tournament. The major league draft could also affect the Rex roster.
But Dorsett can live with the results if his team continues to respond the way it has so far this season.
“I’ve been very pleased with the job they’ve done,” he said. “They are real receptive to the game … this is our third year in a row of having great kids.”
Terre Haute Rex
Related Photos
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RBI: Rex right fielder Kyle Kempf rounds second base after getting the team's first RBI against Quincy Thursday night at Bob Warn Field. (Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis)
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Thief: Rex base runner Zack Willoughby is safe at second base after Quincy Gems� shortstop Joe Kelch can�t come up with the throw.
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Man in motion: Quincy Gems base runner Zac Zdanowicz races to second base as Rex second baseman Alex Reynolds fields a ground ball. Zdanowicz was safe on the play.
Discussion
Rex off to solid start despite loss in home opener
- 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.
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