Birds battle back for win over Spartans

Robby Sutherland rips a double down past third base during
The Birds' six-run third inning.

Matt Ambre's two-out, RBI single in the fifth inning snapped a 7-7 tie and Marcus Barone pitched two scoreless innings to halt Richfield's momentum and pick up a save in Chester Bird's 8-7 South Hennepin League win over the Spartans.

Richfield scored five runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 7-6 lead but The Birds came back in the bottom of the frame when Joe Melles and Gabe MacDonald led off with walks. A balk and a wild pitch would plate Melles and moved MacDonald to third before a strikeout and a groundout threatened to end the rally with the score tied.

Ambre then stepped to the plate and, with an 0-1 count, lashed a single to left field to drive in MacDonald with the eventual game-winning run.

Richfield scored a pair of runs in the first inning to take an early lead but a six-run third inning turned the game around for Chester Bird as Sam Lynch began the rally with a single to left. One out later he stole second base and, following a walk to Keaton Studsrud, Jimmy Heck doubled to drive in both runs.

A Joe Melles single brought home Heck to snap the 2-2 tie and Gabe MacDonald followed with a walk. Robby Sutherland then hit a ball that stayed just inside of third base and rolled into the left field corner for a double, with both Melles and MacDonald scoring and, after advancing to third on a wild pitch, Sutherland scored on John Backes' sacrifice fly.

After giving up the two runs in the first inning, Heck kept the Spartans from scoring again through the next three innings, which included him striking out the side in the fourth and getting a fourth consecutive strikeout to open the fifth inning.

Five hits and three walks later, Richfield had taken a 7-6 lead but the rally ended when Robby Sutherland threw out Hiro Yamashiro at home as he tried to score on Jack Nelson's RBI single, which scored Corban Halbur with the go-ahead run.

Heck worked five innings for his third win of the season. En route, he allowed seven runs, six earned, on eight hits with four walks and seven strikeouts. Barone followed with two innings of work, allowing one hit while striking out the game's final hitter.

Heck also had two hits, two RBI and scored a run. Melles and MacDonald both scored a pair of runs.

Chester Bird is in action again, Wednesday, when it hosts Eden Prairie, the defending American Legion World Series champion, beginning at 6 p.m. at BSM Field.