Gold Sox hit past Pearl, win streak to 9

Manager Jack Johnson called it the most important series of the season, and for the Marysville Gold Sox, Thursday night's contest against the Neptune Beach Pearl was the perfect start.

Valparaiso left-hander Tyler Deetjen tossed eight strong innings and the Gold Sox rapped out 13 hits to pick up a big 11-5 victory in the opening game of a crucial four-game set at Appeal-Democrat Park.

It was the ninth straight victory for the Gold Sox (28-8-1, 24-8-1), who entered the evening with a 1⁄2-game lead over the Seattle Studs and a three-game cushion over Neptune Beach in the McCullough Division standings with 12 games left to go.

"This is the biggest series of the summer for us," Johnson said. "When a team like that comes in, it's like a playoff atmosphere and that's why these guys are here — to play against that kind of competition."

Things didn't look good for the Gold Sox early when the Pearl jumped on Deetjen to plate three runs in the first inning. All three of Neptune Beach's hits came on the first pitch, including a two-run homer by Mike Senter that just cleared the wall in left field and landed in the net.

However, the Gold Sox wouldn't be denied on this night and answered back in the bottom of the first to score five runs.

A single by Mark Shannon and two errors by Neptune Beach got the Gold Sox rolling before Tyler Kuresa knocked in a run on a groundout to tie the game 2-2. Brent Hottman followed with an RBI single and Mitch Wilhite drove in a pair of runs with a single of his own later in the inning and just like that the Gold Sox had scored five unearned runs to take a 5-3 lead.

The rest of the night belonged to Deetjen, who quickly gained command after the first inning and cruised through the Pearl's lineup for the rest of the game. He allowed just two hits over the next six innings before giving up three hits and two runs in the eighth.

Nevertheless, his eight innings pitched were the most for a Gold Sox starter this summer.

"He was ahead of the hitters all night," said Johnson, who pointed out that Deetjen never fell behind 2-0 to the 33 batters he faced. "He was executing his pitches and keeping it down."

For Deetjen, finding the corners and mixing up his pitches were the key after that rocky first frame.

"It kind of surprised me early, but I talked to coach and he told me to be fine earlier in the count and that's what I did for the rest of the game," Deetjen said. "Sometimes you struggle early, but my teammates had my back tonight."

Shannon finished the night 3 for 4 with two doubles and four runs scored and Hottman went 3 for 5 with a double and three RBIs to lead the Gold Sox at the plate. In all, eight of Marysville's nine starters recorded at least one hit.

"It's a big win because of the caliber of team we're playing and because we're a half-game in first place," Johnson said. "We definitely want to win our division — that's one of the reasons why we play."