Last night, the REX played their rival across the Indiana-Illinois border, the Danville Dans, to end their season opening three-game road trip. The Dans were 1-0 entering last night.
The REX were hot out of the gates again. New catcher Canton Terry, out of Wabash College, started things off for Wabash Valley’s Own in the top of the second inning with a two RBI single. Terre Haute native Will Hayes then scored Terry on an RBI double. The Dans bounced back quickly though as they put four on the board in the bottom of the second.
Fast forward to the top of the fifth and shortstop Kody Putnam started the inning with a bang as he hit a triple down the right field line and then scored on a wild pitch to tie it up at four. Again, the Dans responded and put up three runs to take a 7-4 lead after five innings. New pitcher Jacob LaFary, out of Rose-Hulman, came into the game in the sixth and put on a show as he struck out the side. The Dans came back firing on all cylinder in the bottom of the seventh inning as they added three more runs to take a 10-4 lead. The REX continued to fight though. Hayes had his second RBI and second double of the night to bring the REX one run closer. The next at-bat, third baseman Sean Becker scored on a ground out RBI to bring the score to 10-6 heading into the bottom of the eighth. Unfortunately, that would be the last time the REX crossed home plate as they fell to the Dans 10-6. The REX are now 0-3 to start the season.
Assistant Coach Jacob Harden had this to say after the loss to the Dans, “Our energy has been great, and the guys are swinging it well. We just need to work on the walks and errors. Once we do that, I believe we will be a tough team to beat. We need to keep grinding out at-bats and getting timely hits. We will be okay!”
The REX are home today, Sunday, May 30 at 4:30 PM EST at Bob Warn Field for the home opener to take on the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp.