Senators Get Shutout Over Rattlers

From CJonline.com
A night after being treated to on-the-field “fireworks,” Mid-Plains League fans witnessed a lights-out performance Wednesday from Topeka Senators pitcher Ryan Colombo.
Colombo, a Drury University product, threw a complete-game shutout, striking out 12 batters — including the last five of the game — in a 7-0 win over the Rossville Rattlers at Lake Shawnee.
The two teams had a benches-clearing brawl the night before resulting in a canceled game in the seventh inning.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better game,” Senators coach Chris Graves said. “The pitching effort was absolutely fantastic and everybody hit the ball.
“With all of the things that have taken place the last couple of games, I told the guys to just drop everything and play baseball. We did that.”
The big inning for the Senators (9-17) came in the sixth, when they strung together five straight hits to plate four runs. Austin Culwell scored in front of a Jaylen Jenkins single, and Kameron Clark would score on a single by Tanner Gragg. To cap the inning, Gragg and Jenkins scored on a two-run single by third baseman Chase Ray.
Clark, a Highland Park product, scored three times, stole two bases and collected two singles.
“Everybody before the game just kept talking about staying focused, and my teammates told me to just work to get on base,” Clark said. “Everything came through for us tonight.”
Jenkins hit two singles and had one RBI while also scoring two runs. His biggest at-bat of the night was a sacrifice bunt in the fifth inning to move Clark to second. Clark would score the first run of the game on a Rossville error.
“I wasn’t hitting that good the past couple of games, so I just came into tonight trying to get more comfortable at the plate,” Jenkins said. “I did not hit the ball too hard, but I made things happen. I put the ball in play.”
Ray would finish with three hits and three RBIs. He also hit one of the two Topeka doubles.
“I was just seeing the ball really well,” Ray said. “Hitting is contagious, and we all hit the ball really well tonight.”
The Senators finished the game with 13 hits. Chase Knott and Colombo joined Jenkins, Clark, and Ray with multi-hit games for Topeka. Knott doubled as part of 3 for 4 night, and Colombo added two singles.
Colombo did not walk a single batter in his 121-pitch complete game.
The game was the final scheduled regular season home game in the Senators’ inaugural season.
The Senators will play a doubleheader Friday and a single game Saturday in Baldwin City to wrap up the regular season.
“The last two games the crowd support was awesome,” Graves said. “They were loud and it made it fun. We’d like to thank them for their support.”

NOTES
■ According to Graves, an official ruling has not been made regarding Tuesday’s shortened game, which has been appealed. Possible results from that process include a win being rewarded to Rossville, a completion of the game from where it left off, or a no-contest ruling.


Rossville     000 000 000 — 0 4 3
Topeka       000 014 02x — 7 13 1

Plassmeyer, Cooper (6), and Srna. Colombo and Gragg. W — Colombo L — Plassmeyer(1-3) . 2B — Rossville: Scribner, Topeka: Ray, Knott.