Quick win for Jackets

Munger dominates for Perrysburg

4/16/2013
BY STEVE JUNGA
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
  • Perrysburg-beats-Maumee

    Perrysburg's Nick Fleming scores as Maumee catcher Brad Cousino watches. The Yellow Jackets started the NLL season with a win over preseason favorite Maumee.

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  • Perrysburg's Nick Fleming scores as Maumee catcher Brad Cousino watches. The Yellow Jackets started the NLL season with a win over preseason favorite Maumee.
    Perrysburg's Nick Fleming scores as Maumee catcher Brad Cousino watches. The Yellow Jackets started the NLL season with a win over preseason favorite Maumee.

    When it comes to the length of a baseball game, there is quick and then there is really quick.

    And, Monday night, there was newly nicknamed Perrysburg pitcher “Quick Nick” Munger.

    His brisk pace and sharp control enabled the Yellow Jackets to breeze through a 5-0 Northern Lakes League victory in just 88 minutes against visiting rival and preseason title favorite Maumee at Leyland Family Field.

    In pushing his season record to 3-0, the senior right-hander threw 62 of his 81 pitches for strikes, and let his defense do the bulk of the work as Perrysburg moved to 6-1 overall and 1-0 in the NLL.

    PHOTO GALLERY: Perrysburg blanks Maumee

    Munger scattered six hits — never more than one in any inning — and walked none while striking out six Panther batters in his complete-game victory.

    “They’re a good team and they come out swinging,” Munger said of Maumee (3-2, 0-1). “They’re going to put the ball in play the first pitch they see. With them being aggressive, and my team making the plays, it really helped keep the pitch count down.

    “My team just made a lot of plays behind me, and they played well offensively and gave me some runs. With the team making plays it’s a lot easier on the mound.”

    The Yellow Jackets got the only run Munger would need in the bottom of the third inning, thanks to some help from the Maumee defense.

    Austin Lee reached on a fielder’s-choice grounder for the second out, advanced on a wild pitch, and then scored after being caught in a rundown on a pickoff attempt.

    With Lee headed toward third, second baseman Steve Duby’s throw eluded third baseman Jordan Spellis, then rolled under a fence gate to send Lee home for a 1-0 lead.

    Perrysburg pitcher Nick Munger tossed a six-hitter against Maumee.
    Perrysburg pitcher Nick Munger tossed a six-hitter against Maumee.

    Perrysburg used small ball to make it 2-0 in the fourth. A.J. Stockwell drew a leadoff walk, advanced on Munger’s sacrifice bunt, then scored on catcher Kyle Durham’s single through the right side of the infield off of Maumee pitcher Allen Brown.

    “If you can string some hits together you give yourself an opportunity to score,” Maumee coach Cam Coutcher said. “We missed out on some opportunities. We missed some signs, and didn’t execute some bunts.

    “But a lot of credit goes to Perrysburg. They did execute, they did hit with runners in scoring position, and their pitcher did a great job of throwing strikes.”

    The Jackets went back to the fundamentals to give Munger some insurance after two were out in the sixth.

    Third baseman Mark Delas led off with a single, and moved up on Stockwell’s sacrifice bunt. After Munger flew out to right, and Brown walked Durham intentionally, Nick Fleming ripped an RBI single to center.

    Designated hitter Spencer George then delivered the crushing blow to Maumee, doubling off the glove of Panther left fielder Tommy Henry near the fence to drive in the final two runs.

    Maumee got a leadoff double from Alex Misko (2-for-3) in the second inning, and Duby hit a one-out double off the center-field fence in the fourth. Munger stranded both of them, and no other Panther runner reached second base over the final three innings.

    “He was throwing strikes and they were swinging at a lot of first and second pitches,” Perrysburg coach Dave Hall said. “We stress not going more than three or four pitches to a batter, and Nick did what we wanted him to.

    “It’s easier to play defense that way. You know a ball is going to be put in play. He’s not usually a strikeout pitcher, but he got some today because he got some guys looking.”

    Munger had command of all three of his pitches.

    “I threw a fastball, a splitter, and a curveball,” he said. “Usually my fastball’s the most effective, and I kind of stick with that. Then, when I get ahead of hitters, I mix it up.

    “It’s a big win for us to beat a ball club like that.”

    Contact Steve Junga at: sjunga@theblade.com, 419-724-6461 or on Twitter@JungaBlade.