Split keeps Marion 1.5 games behind Oilers

Creager

After Thursday's double header split, the Bobcats must win outright with three games on the schedule and hope for some help in order to win the 2011 league crown. It is also still possible that resumption of a July 10 game with Owensboro suspended as a tie could be needed on July 25 to decide the title. That game will not resume at Guess Field unless its outcome could affect league standings.

Marion's 5-4 win over Owensboro in the first game Thursday was thanks to a mix of old and new. Newcomer Ian Creager (1-0) took his first win, giving up four runs in 6 1/3 innings. To end the game, the club's season-long closer, Matt Vollenweider, notched his 11th league save by getting the final two outs of the game before the largest crowd at Guess Field in 2011.

The Bobcats broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the sixth on a Mike Lockett sacrifice fly that scored Landon Weitekamp who had reached on a one-out single. Lockett just joined the team this week, and went 2-for-2 with two RBI on Thursday. Cody Scmitt also drove in two runs without the benefit of a hit, pushing runs across on a fielder's choice and sacrifice fly.

The Bobcats registered only four hits in the game, but Owensboro's Brandon Flora (0-2), who allowed only one hit, took the loss having given up the game-winning RBI in the sixth.

Cameron Chestnut and Weitekamp each scored two runs for Marion, including Weitekamps eventual game-winner.

Lead-off hitter Luis Mila was perfect for the Oilers, going 3-for-3 with a run scored. Ryan Stephens batted in two.

Click here for Game 1 box score.

Kottich

The Bobcats (19-19, 20-19 overall) missed a chance to overtake the Oilers (21-18) in the standings by dropping the second game of the twin bill 8-7. Vollenweider (1-3), having just earned his record 11th save a couple of hours earlier, failed to nail down another, giving up the eventual winning run in on a Ryan Messex single in Owensboro's last time up.

The Oilers had jumped out to a 5-1 lead after their half of the fifth, adding four runs in the inning with the help of an Eric Barnes two-run home run. But Marion marched back with three runs of their own in the bottom half, closing the game to 5-4. Singles in the inning by Desmond Roberts and Cody Kottich drove in one and two runs, respectively.

Roberts would add two more RBI on a three-RBI night in Marion's next at-bat, with Jake Hirniak contributing another RBI in the inning on a sacrifice fly. The back-to-back three-run innings for Marion put them ahead 7-5 over the league-leading Oilers.

Owensboro's seventh-inning rally started of Jeremy Jansen, who put on the eventual tying run in the last frame after giving up two hits. Jansen failed to record an out before manager Kyle Medley called on his closer for the second time on the night.

Of the combined 22 hits—the Bobcats with 10—six were extra-base hits including two doubles from each team, a triple from Marion's Mike Lockett and Barnes' home run.

Lockett, Roberts and Cody Schmitt each went 2-for-4 for the Bobcats. Hirniak and Kyle Vander Ark doubled. Schmitt and Vander Ark scored two runs apiece.

Marion has just one more head-to-head match with Owensboro, and that comes Friday night on the road. After that, only two games remain for Marion, and one for the Oilers. Owensboro controls its own destiny in the hunt for the first-ever Ohio Valley League regular season crown.

Click here for Game 2 box score.

Fulton 4, Tradewater 3
The Railroaders picked up a game on front-running Owensboro with a 4-3 win over Tradewater in the first game of a twi-night double header. The victory ensured a shot at first place remains, being only a half-game behind Owensboro with the Oilers' lost in the first game of a double header at Marion. Second-place Fulton can finish no worse than third.

Fulton 13, Tradewater 9
The Pirates were eliminated from contention for the league crown by being swept with a 13-9 loss in the second game of a double header. In fact, Tradewater can finish no better than third place.