Baseball

The Griffith Generals got their revenge on the Hammond Vikings for their 14-4 run-rule loss on Monday with a 10-run shutout win on Tuesday.

 

"It kind of felt good after the run rule yesterday," said Generals middle infielder Yashion Boswell. 

 

Justin Schassburger was dominant on the mound, as he rang up 10 strikeouts, pushing his season total to 24. Schassburger gave up just two hits over five innings earning the win.

 

"[Schassburger] is confident in his stuff," said Generals manager Amir Wright. Schassburger lowered his season ERA to 3.293. 

 

Graham Gonzalez was a home run shy of the cycle going 3-for-4 with a single, double and triple. Gonzalez led the offense with three RBIs as well. 

 

"I was more relaxed today," said Gonzalez, "I found my pitch and kept trying to put it up the middle." 

 

Gonzalez popped out in his fourth at-bat, he said he knew he was chasing a home run. 

 

Griffith grabbed an early seven runs in the first two innings and then added a run in the fourth, fifth, and seventh. The run in the seventh gave the Generals the run-rule victory.

 

Boswell had the Vikings' number in both games going 6-for-6 between Monday and Tuesday's matchups with Hammond. On Tuesday, Boswell had two singles and a double with one RBI and two walks.

 

"Before [this week] I was in a really bad slump," said Boswell, who added he needed to "keep it simple, keep swinging."

 

"For Ya-ya it was attacking the fastball," said Wright about Boswell, "it's the best pitch to hit, especially for him, who's a high-contact guy."

 

Anthony Mangano toed the rubber for the Vikings to start. Mangano allowed nine runs on eight hits over four innings, only mustering one strikeout while walking four Generals batters. 

 

Cooper Hansen relieved Schassburger tossing two innings of scoreless ball, only allowing two hits and striking out two. 

 

Griffith Generals collected 11 hits in the game. Boswell and Gonzales each collected three hits for Griffith Generals.

 

"We came out early and hit [batting practice]," said Wright. The Generals took an extended batting practice today two hours before the first pitch. "The focus was to hit the ball hard [up] the middle and the other way."

 

The Generals improve to 2-5 on the year and snap a five-game losing streak that featured three losses to the Elkhart County Miracle.

 

Griffith welcomes back the Indiana Panthers to Brian Jennings Field on Wednesday for their next game.