The Springfield Lucky Horseshoes battled back to tie the game early but couldn’t overcome a timely offensive attack from the Quincy Doggy Paddlers, who scored three runs in the fifth inning before adding insurance in the ninth to secure a 6-2 victory Thursday night in Prospect League action.
Despite being held to seven hits, Springfield remained within striking distance for much of the contest before Quincy capitalized on key opportunities late.
Quincy struck first in the top of the third inning when Nick Griffith launched a solo home run to left field, giving the Doggy Paddlers an early 1-0 advantage.
The Lucky Horseshoes answered in the bottom half of the fourth.
After Jacob Buysse reached and eventually came around to score, Lawson Alwan lined a two-out RBI single to center field, knotting the game at 1-1 and giving Springfield momentum heading into the middle innings.
The tie, however, was short-lived.
Quincy regained the lead in the fifth as Kamryn Link delivered an RBI single through the middle to score Brodie Short, making it 2-1. Later in the inning, Raul Ramirez broke the game open with a two-run triple to right-center field, plating Link and Ignacio Gonzalez to extend the Doggy Paddlers’ lead to 4-1.
Springfield responded with a run of its own in the bottom of the fifth. Ian Woita came around to score on Tanay Vyas’ sacrifice fly to left field, trimming the deficit to 4-2.
That would be as close as the Lucky Horseshoes would get.
The Doggy Paddlers added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth when Link connected for a two-run home run to left field, scoring Jamie Rasmussen and pushing Quincy’s advantage to the eventual final score of 6-2.
Quincy finished the evening with 15 hits, led by Link, who went 3-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs, and two runs scored. Griffith also homered and drove in a run, while Short and Rasmussen each collected two hits. Ramirez’s two-run triple proved to be one of the game’s biggest swings, accounting for a pair of RBIs in the decisive fifth inning.
Springfield recorded seven hits, with Ethan Burkhardt leading the offense after going 2-for-4. Woita doubled and scored a run, while Buysse added a hit and crossed the plate once. Alwan finished with Springfield’s lone RBI hit, and Vyas contributed an RBI with his sacrifice fly.
On the mound, Jaden Mathon started for the Lucky Horseshoes, allowing one run over 2.2 innings. Andrew McGee was charged with the loss after surrendering three runs over 3.1 innings of relief, while Marco Lopez finished the final three innings, allowing two runs and striking out one.
For Quincy, Tyler Dance earned the victory after tossing five innings, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out four. Jonny Rossi followed with three scoreless innings of relief before Nick Wilson closed out the ninth.
Although the Lucky Horseshoes managed to answer Quincy’s early lead and stayed within two runs through five innings, the Doggy Paddlers’ timely extra-base hits and late insurance runs proved to be the difference as Quincy left Springfield with a 6-2 victory.