Leonardo Reginatto strokes the game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth, 5-4.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – For eight innings, despite scoring the first run of the game, it appeared the Rochester Red Wings once again were going to squander numerous scoring opportunities against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
For the game, the Red Wings left the bases loaded four times, stranding a total of 15 runners.
However, in the bottom of the ninth, Leonardo Reginatto came up with the key hit, with the bases loaded, to drive in Tommy Field with the game-winning run in the 5-4 victory on Batman Night before a paid crowd of 9,261 fans at Frontier Field.
“That was wild,” said Red Wings manager Mike Quade. “We laid of chase in the ninth inning in a situation where you’re on edge and you’re trying to win a ballgame. That was outstanding. (Pat) Venditte has been really good for them…We were able to be patient with him as he walked three in the ninth and got two big hits.”
In the ninth, Hague laced a single to right. Bengie Gonzalez came on to pinch-run. Field and Goodrum each drew a walk, before John Ryan Murphy fouled off several 3-2 pitches before drawing ball four to walk in the tying run.
Lehigh Valley manager Dusty Wathan brought in his left fielder to play the infield with Reginatto coming up to bat.
“I was watching him pitch and I knew he was kind of struggling with his off-speed a little bit,” Reginatto said. “I was making sure I was swinging at a very good pitch and not trying to rush at all; keep something up in the zone and try to make a good swing on it.”
“Five-man infield, I’ve seen it and I’ve used it,” Quade said. “There are a million things that go into play and Dusty already made his trip to the mound and he was trying to make the play from the dugout, which is a very difficult thing.
“They obviously decided that Reggie was going to stay up the middle or the other way and were going to give him left field. It winds up where are you going to place your fifth infielder, given the hitter’s tendencies…If you happen to hit a ground ball to the wrong place and a double play is turned very quickly, home to first, it can be a very effective play.”
With left field wide open, Reginatto roped a single over the heads of the infielders on the right side for the game-winning hit as Field trotted home with the decisive run.
“I was just trying not to change my swing…and keep the same approach and try to hit the ball the other way, like my natural swing. I was not trying to hit there (left field). I was just trying to make a good swing on a good pitch.
“On the 3-1 pitch I was trying to do something up in the zone that I could hit in the air.”
The Wings got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the first. With one out, Mitch Garver doubled and J.B. Shuck singled. Matt Hague plated Garver with a hit, and Tommy Field followed with a RBI single. Rochester proceeded to load the bases with two outs but could not score again.
The hosts filled the bases in the second inning as well, but also failed to come with the big hit. The Wings also stranded two runners on base in the third inning.
Lehigh Valley got to Rochester starter Chris Heston for a run in the fourth, then forged ahead, 4-2, with three runs in the fifth.
The Red Wings scored a run in the seventh when Niko Goodrum ripped a leadoff double, and scored on a one-out single by Reginatto.
“We still missed some opportunities in the game but we didn’t miss the final opportunity,” Quade said.
*NOTES – Matt Hague extended his hitting streak to 12 games…Mitch Garver has hit in nine straight games…Niko Goodrum has multiple-hit efforts in four straight games…J.B. Shuck has hit in six straight games…Zack Granite’s sixth inning single gave him hits in 22 of his last 23 games…The Wings went 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position after the first inning, prior to Leonardo Reginatto’s game-winning hit…The series and homestand conclude with a 1:35 game on Sunday.
Links
Rochester Red Wings – redwingsbaseball.com
Videos
Leonardo Reginatto GW hit – https://youtu.be/mQoskv-yFcY
Niko Goodrum walk in 9th – https://youtu.be/qTxrcwZQvKY
JR Murphy walk in 9th – https://youtu.be/aBk1_nUSUtY
Leonardo Reginatto interview – https://youtu.be/8T_stJiGogU
Mike Quade interview – https://youtu.be/aoNQ-GE7Vq8