Clippers sweep Smoke Shortened Series With Scouts
MUSKEGON, MI – A scheduled three-game series was shortened to just two games after Thursday's series finale was canceled due to a severe air quality warning. However, the Clippers made the most of the two games played on Tuesday and Wednesday, picking up two key wins as they enter the final stretch of the regular season. Isaiah Domey has been everything Muskegon could have hoped for and more, launching three home runs during the series against Xenia.
GAME ONE (TUESDAY)
Game one of the series was tight for nearly the entire contest, as the game remained tied until the Clips scored once in the fifth and once in the eighth to secure a 4-2 victory.
All-Star selection Zander Wills got the start on the mound for Muskegon and turned in another productive outing, tossing six innings while allowing just three hits and two runs and striking out six hitters.
Domey cranked his fifth home run of the season in the first inning to give the Clippers a 2-0 lead. The Scouts answered right back, though, with a home run from Dawson Cleveland before adding another run on a wild pitch.
Justin St. Antoine gave Muskegon the lead for good in the fifth with an RBI single to right field. St. Antoine, another Clipper selected to the All-Star Game, has put together a tremendous season both defensively and at the plate.
Taylor Head added some insurance with a sacrifice fly that extended Muskegon's lead to 4-2.
Carson Merritt relieved Wills out of the bullpen and turned in his best outing of the season. Merritt allowed just two hits and no runs over three innings of work. The Scouts were held scoreless after the third inning, allowing Muskegon to close out the Game One win.
GAME TWO (WEDNESDAY)
The second game was the complete opposite offensively, but the result was still in Muskegon's favor as the Clippers handed Xenia an 11-2 blowout loss.
The strong pitching continued as Andrew Pohlmann tossed five innings, allowing just one run. In the final three frames, Sam Briggs delivered his longest outing of the season. Briggs struck out seven hitters while allowing just one hit and no runs.
Domey launched his sixth and seventh home runs of the season in Game Two and now leads the league in the category.
Muskegon scored two runs in the first inning once again, but it was a five-run fourth that proved to be the difference. Nick Moss ripped a bases-clearing single up the middle to drive in three runs.
The Clippers led 9-2 after the sixth before adding two more runs in the eighth. Briggs never gave the Scouts an opportunity to mount a comeback as Muskegon completed the two-game series sweep.
Muskegon now travels to Lima, Ohio, for a crucial series against the Locos, who currently lead the North Division. The Clips enter the final six games of the regular season holding a one-game lead over the Sluggers for second place in the division.