Renegades strand 13 on base, lose 5-3 to Bombers

Renegades first baseman Paul Haupt makes the catch for the out as Cole Taylor of the Bombers races down the baseline during Friday night's game at Vivion Field.
Renegades first baseman Paul Haupt makes the catch for the out as Cole Taylor of the Bombers races down the baseline during Friday night's game at Vivion Field.

The Jefferson City Renegades didn't have a lot of problems getting men on base Friday night.

It was getting them around the bases that was the problem.

The Renegades left 13 runners on base, including nine in scoring position, and dropped a 5-3 decision to the Sedalia Bombers in MINK League action at Vivion Field.

"That's the difference right there," Renegades manager Mike DeMilia said. "We had a lot more baserunners than they did, but they got the hits when they needed them."

The Renegades got off to a good start, scoring twice in the bottom of the first inning.

Dede Cole led off the inning with a double to right-center before Tommy Reuther drew a walk. The pair then moved up by stealing a base before staying put on a grounder to third.

Gaven Strobel then doubled to left-center to score Cole and Reuther. But he ended the inning at second as the next two Renegades struck out.

Strobel, normally a catcher, got his second start of the summer in left field Friday night. He recorded the final out in the top of the second, tracking down a ball in left-center.

"I wasn't sure I was going to get to that one," Strobel said.

After making the catch, Strobel jogged in toward the Renegades' dugout down the third base line and dropped his glove near the bag, just as he had after the top of the first. Bombers third baseman Cole Taylor ran out to his position and put it on to use on defense. And after the bottom of the inning, Taylor left it near the base for Strobel, his college teammate at Central Missouri, to take back to left.

It was trade-off that went for all nine innings.

"We only had one regular position glove between us," Strobel said. "I'm a catcher, he's a first baseman, and he told me he was playing third today and he needed a glove. I told him I was playing left and I needed the glove.

"So we decided to just throw it back and forth."

The Renegades were stuck on two runs after stranding two runners in the second, third and fifth innings. But the Bombers couldn't get much going against Renegades starter Lukas Veinbergs.

Veinbergs, a reliever at Missouri who made 11 appearances for the Tigers this spring, went a season-long five innings Friday night. He allowed one run on three hits and two walks while recording nine strikeouts in throwing 73 pitches.

"It's the best he's pitched," DeMilia said. "You're going to see more from him this summer."

The Bombers converted a leadoff walk into a run in the top of the sixth to tie it at 2. The Bombers then batted around in the seventh, scoring three times on two hits, three walks and an error to take a 5-2 advantage.

The Renegades stranded two more runners in the bottom of the seventh.

"We were getting guys on base, but we couldn't get the timely hits we needed," Strobel said.

The Renegades got a run in the bottom of the eighth. Austin Fennewald led off with a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch before scoring on a double by Cole.

Fennewald got on base three times in the game, hitting doubles in the second and sixth innings.

"He's looking more solid," DeMilia said. "He's coming along with a lot of competitive at-bats."

The Renegades got a runner to second with two outs in the bottom of the ninth before a strikeout ended the game.

"We just couldn't get the one big hit," DeMilia said.

The Bombers are now 12-8 in the MINK League and overall.

The Renegades (14-11, 10-11) will play tonight at St. Joseph against the Mustangs. Game time is 7 p.m. The Renegades return home to host the Chillicothe Mudcats at 6 p.m. Sunday.