MUSKEGON — The Clippers took care of business over Grand Lake of Celina, Ohio July 24-26, but failed to make the playoffs by just one percentage point to end their season in controversy.
The final scores were 6-3 in game one, 8-7 in game two, and 2-2 in the final game, which was decided by a shootout, which the Clippers won, giving them the win in the game.
According to league rules, if the teams are tied at the end of the game in regulation innings, they play one full inning, and if the game is still tied, there is a shootout.
In the shootout, a coin toss is made, and the team who wins goes on offense, with a runner taking first base to start.
If they score a run, they win, but if the defense holds without a run being scored, they win.
The Clippers had to win their final three games to get the final playoff spot, while the team they were chasing, the Michigan Monarchs, lost their first two games, but were rained out in their season finale against the Lima Locos in Lima, Ohio.
That enabled the Monarchs to advance with a .525 percentage while the Clippers finished with a .524 percentage, and the rainout enabled the Monarchs to retain their hold on the final playoff spot.
This was despite the fact that the Clippers played in and won more games during the season than the Monarchs.
The league issued a statement saying that they decided to use the percentage system because several teams don’t have artificial turf in their baseball fields, and the final decision on playing is made by the league office.
But in that final game, the Clippers struck first in the bottom of the fourth inning as Casey Barnes scored on a Cole Mason single.
Then in the bottom of the fifth, Parker Vaughn was driven home on a Benjamin Meyers single.
However, the Mariners did not give up.
In the top of the eighth inning, the Mariners Salvatore Besztery and Issac Sobieszczyk scored to tie the game.
After the scoreless ninth inning, the teams went into the extra inning and neither team scored.
Per the league shootout rules, the Mariners were given a runner at first base, but could not drive him in as the Clippers held on defensively and got the victory.
Afterward, winning pitcher Lukas Brewer said about missing the playoffs, “It is what it is … it kind of stinks that they played less games and still got in.”
“I would like to see them prove it with their last game but there’s nothing you can do about it,” Brewer said. “Rules are rules and it is what it is at that point.”
Brewer took time to thank the ownership, saying he was treated great.
As far as the game goes, Brewer pitched two innings, giving up no hits, no runs, no walks and struck out one.
Nathan Mesar pitched four and one-thirds innings, giving up three hits, five strikeouts and three walks; Jacob Pallo went two and two-thirds innings, giving up one hit and two strikeouts, and Winston Delp pitched two innings, giving up the two runs on two hits.
Meyers got one hit and one run-batted-in, and Cole Mason got three hits and one RBI.
Also after the game, Head Coach Logan Fleener said, “It was a little too late for us.”
“It doesn’t change how great the season was and how impressive it was, but it’s a weird ending for sure, but sometimes life lives on you,” Fleener said.
About whether another day should have been added to get the game in, Fleener said, “It’s a great question to ask and unfortunately, we can’t change it and we all want to and I’d love to suit up with these guys one more time but it comes to an end tonight, sadly.”
In the second game June 25, the Clippers staged a four-run uprising, highlighted by a solo home run by the first batter of the eighth inning, Barnes.
However, before that, the Clippers opened the scoring in the bottom of the second when Barnes made it to first on an error by the pitcher, and Cole Leclair scored on the play.
Barnes would then score even though the Mariners managed to get a double play.
But the Mariners stormed back in the top of the fifth when they scored four runs to take the lead 4-2 , as Sage Adams, Jake Lopez, Besztery, and Samuel Reczek came home.
Besztery and Reczek scored again for the Mariners in the top of the sixth inning.
But in the bottom of the sixth, the Clippers got a little closer as Barnes led off the inning with a single, and then came home on a bases-loaded walk and Meyers also came in to score.
After Barnes’ solo home run got the eighth inning started, Mason drove in Meyers with a single; Luke Noack came home on a bases-loaded walk, then Nolan Zajac came home on a Vaughn single.
But the Mariners had one last shot at tying up the score when Jake Lopez scored, but the Mariners would not score any more.
After the game, Barnes talked about the Clippers still being in the playoff chase at that point following the game.
“It’s great, man, just keep playing ball, that’s what I came here to do and it’s cool to keep playing,” Barnes said.
Barnes had the biggest game of all the Clippers batters, scoring three runs on two hits, and Meyers scored two runs on one hit.
On the mound, Connor Freeman pitched four and two-thirds innings, giving four runs on five hits, and striking out seven and walking two.
Trevor Raade went one and one-half innings, giving up two runs on two hits, and walked three; Ethan Bowen, who got the win, gave up one run on three hits and had one strikeout in two and two-thirds innings of work.
Brewer got the save after striking out one in one-thirds of an inning of work.
In game one July 24, Vaughn came up with the heroics with a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh, leading to a three-run inning.
But in the top of the second, the Mariners struck first as Sobieszczyk and Chase Alwardt both scored to give them a 2-0 lead.
However, the Clippers got one of those runs back as Meyers scored on a Noak double in the bottom of the second.
And in the bottom of the fifth, the Clippers took the lead as Leclair hit a double, bringing in Taylor Head and Vaughn.
At that point, the score was 3-2.
In the top of the sixth, Sage Adams got the Mariners final run on a solo homer to tie the score.
After that, it was all Clippers.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Jackson Isaacs hit a single and wound up scoring, and then Vaughn hit his homer, driving in Noack.
And that’s the way the game ended, helping the Clippers get started on their playoff quest.
Vaughn shared some thoughts about his homer, saying, “Honestly, I was just trying to find the barrel, do a job, put the ball in the outfield and then he (the pitcher) gave me something to hit and I did a job.”
“It was pretty awesome,” Vaughn said. “I just remember catching the barrel and rounding first and 5,000 fans just screaming.”
“It was an awesome-great experience,” Vaughn said.
Vaughn finished his big night at the plate by scoring two runs on two hits as he drove in three runs.
On the mound, Ty Randall went four innings, gave up two runs, struck out two and walked two.
Delp pitched two innings, giving up no hits or runs and striking out two; Pollack pitched one inning and struck out one, and Alex Hardcare got the win after pitching two innings, giving up one run on four hits, and struck out one.