Lansing - With temperatures in the upper 80s and the wind blowing toward the outfield, hitters for the Lansing Lugnuts took advantage of an ideal day for swinging the bats.
Unfortunately the Lansing (12-14) pitching staff suffered as a result of the conditions, losing 15-10 to the South Bend Silver Hawks.
"It's one of those hard days with the wind blowing out, any ball that was up in the air had a chance to go out," Lansing manager Julio Garcia said.
"Billy (Petrick) didn't have all of his stuff today but if the defense would have helped him out in a couple of situations and kept the score down, then the result might have been different."
While the Lugnuts hitters managed nine runs off 16 hits, the pitching staff struggled to hold back the South Bend batters, as did the defense.
The 15 runs by the Silver Hawks(12-14) were the most runs the Lugnuts have given up this season. Along with the record number of runs, the Lansing pitching staff gave up a record 19 hits to South Bend.
Lansing catcher Alan Rick said that while the pitchers may not have had all of their stuff it was the South Bend hitters that really were taking advantage.
"It felt like I was putting down the wrong finger," Rick said. "It was like the pitchers were putting the right pitch in the right place and they were still getting hits."
With their bats swinging well, South Bend got off to a quick lead. A three-run first inning followed by a sacrifice fly score in the second would give the Silver Hawks a 4-0 lead.
This was just the beginning of South Bend's scoring attack. The Silver Hawks scored at least one run in the first eight innings, only going scoreless in the ninth.
Lansing, sparked by designated hitter Drew Larsen's home run to lead off the second inning, managed a streak of its own. After a no-run first running, the Lugnuts put together three straight one run innings before scoring two runs in the fifth and four runs in the sixth.
Larsen would be the star of the day for the Lugnuts. Going 5-5 with two home runs, two singles and a double.
"It seemed like every ball that was coming up to him today looked like a beach ball," Garcia said. "He made some good swings and had good results on them."
Every Lugnuts batter had a hit Wednesday and completed a team cycle. The Lugnuts managed eight singles, three doubles, a triple and four home runs.
"Today everybody hit the ball," Larsen said. "Unfortunately, it's just one of those things, some days our pitchers dominate and we don't get hits. Today, it was the other way around."
The strong hitting game created for a long day at the park. The Lugnuts took 3 hours and 31 minutes, the longest home game of the season.
"You want to keep your pitchers on a short leash when it's hot and humid," Garcia said. "So we had to make adjustments today and it made for a long day."
The Lugnuts hope to get back to their winning ways in game three of the four game homestand tonight at 7:05 p.m.
