The Madisonville Miners opened up the 2015 OVL season on the road in Fulton on Friday night and fell to the Railroaders, 16-6. Click HERE for a link to the box score.
(Summary courtesy of Fulton Railroaders) The Fulton Railroaders (1-0) opened their season at home with a victory over the Madisonville Miners (0-1). The Railroaders put up their 16 runs off of 12 hits, 10 walks, 4 hit batters and 4 Miner errors. Fulton scored 9 runs in the first inning sending 13 men to the plate causing Madisonville to use two pitchers to get out of the inning.
Madisonville led early scoring 2 runs in the top of first inning before the Railroaders answered to out pace the Miners. The Railroaders added a single score in the third before the Miners gained some momentum in the forth inning putting up 3 runs to cut Fulton’s lead in half. The Railroaders added another 2 runs in the sixth and topped off with 4 more in the eighth. The Miners managed their final run in the seventh inning.
Brooks Benson was 3-for-5 with 2 RBI and a double; Wesley Birchmeier went 2-for-4 with a double and a run batted in; and Nolan Ramsey was 2-for-4 and 2 scores.
The win for Fulton goes to Kyle Ward (1-0) pitching for 3 2/3 innings in relief of starter Charlie Hecht who went only 3 1/3 innings. Ward gave up 2 hits and one earned run, striking out 2 and giving a walk. Kyle Estand finished the final 2 innings for the Railroaders. The three pitchers combined to allow 11 hits, 6 runs (one earned), 7 strikeouts and 2 walks.
Taking the loss for Madisonville was J.A. Harville (0-1) who struggled in the first inning 4 walking batters and hitting another. Harville allowed only one hit but was tagged for 6 runs scored (3 earned) and was unable to get an out. Colin Hudson pitched in relief for 2 3/3 innings, followed by Jesse Ellefson and Yancey Pritchet for 2 1/3 innings each, with Austin Lukaschewski finishing the final 2/3 innings.
Both teams combined for 10 errors, with Fulton having 6 and Madisonville 4. Each team turned one double play. The most notable defensive plays came from Miners’ right fielder Nolan Ramsey who made a driving catch of a line drive, a wall jumping catch, and a throw to third base to gun down a runner.
The Miners (0-1) host the Dubois County Bombers (0-1) in the home opener at Elmer Kelley Stadium on Sunday night. The game gets underway at 7:00 pm Central.
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