Index of Sports Press Releases

April 29, 2008

Canaries steal ninth-inning win from DWU
Matt Higgins • The Daily Republic

South Dakota amateur baseball legend Dave Gassman signs autographs for young fans after his pro debut Monday at Cadwell Park. Gassman signed a one-day contract with the Sioux Falls Canaries for their exhibition game against Dakota Wesleyan. Gassman pitched to Mitchell native Scott Schmidt, then officially retired from pro baseball. (Leah Rado/Republic)

With all the festivities and side shows that surrounded Monday’s exhibition at Cadwell Park between the Sioux Falls Canaries and Dakota Wesleyan University, it would have been easy for the baseball to become an afterthought. Instead, both teams wound up stealing the show.

The Tigers played the valiant underdog role to perfection, taking a 3-2 lead into the top of the ninth inning. However, their professional counterparts put together a last-ditch rally to score three runs and steal a 5-3 win. However, one thing they couldn’t steal from the DWU players was the feeling of pushing a pro team to the brink.

“You have to play 27 outs, and we didn’t get 27 outs until they had more runs than us,” said DWU head coach Adam Neisius. “The kids played hard. I’m proud of every one of them."

“I think our kids really competed. It’s one of those things where you just go out, play and have fun and you let your ability take over. … Some of these guys, they’ll tell this to their grandkids.”

Sioux Falls started the final inning with back-to-back singles to right by Ben Van Iderstine and Ryan Grant off of pitcher Cory Marek, who only allowed one base runner and struck out three over the seventh and eighth. Alex Bardeguez dropped a bunt down the third base line, but Marek couldn’t get the ball out of his glove to throw out the lead runner, and the bases were loaded with no one out.

Marek walked the next batter to force in the tying run, and Neisuis brought in Zach Schmidt to try to stop the bleeding. Patrick Reilly tapped a grounder to first baseman Thomas Mack, who scooped up the ball and stepped on first for one out, but he couldn’t get the throw home in time and Grant scored the go-ahead run. An insurance run came in on a wild pitch, and Canaries reliever Kelly Casares retired the Tigers in order to close out the come-from-behind win.

“We still played baseball,” said Sioux Falls manager Steve Shirley, who noted that his team has only been in camp for two days. “We went out; we laid down a bunt. I was pleased us to see us perform (in the ninth) like that.”

“Yeah, we had them in the ninth,” said Neisius. “But a little flair here, a hard hit ball out of reach and a bunt. That’s baseball.”

Sioux Falls started the scoring with an unearned run off of DWU starter Chris Dennis in the first, but the Tigers roared back with a two-out rally in the top of the second.

Schmidt opened the inning with a walk, then after a fly out and a strikeout, Terry Lundeen worked another walk and Scott Schmidt was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Then senior shortstop Josh Pritt laced a sharp two-run single to left field, and DWU star Jake Roy followed with a bomb that one-hopped the left-field wall that scored Schmidt from second. Pritt tried to score from first as well, but he was called out at home on a close play.

However, the damage was done and the Tigers had suddenly taken a 3-1 lead. Neisius said the clutch hits were becoming more and more common for his squad, which brought a four-game winning streak into Monday’s exhibition. He was also thrilled that they came off of Canaries’ ace and former Minnesota Twins pitcher Pat Mahomes.

"The beauty of it was, that’s off Pat Mahomes,” Neisius said. “You’re not going, ‘Who’s this guy?’ It’s Pat Mahomes. He’s their guy. Awesome.”

Sioux Falls pulled within a run when it opened the fifth with a Reilly single to right and an RBI double from Paul Smyth, and the score stayed 3-2 until the Canaries pulled off their ninth-inning comeback.

Both teams finished with five hits, and the Tigers committed three errors to just one for Sioux Falls. Pritt, Roy, Sean Worley, Jeff Bollard and Sean Heary had DWU’s five hits, and Tiger pitchers combined for six strikeouts and four walks. Marek was saddled with the loss and Javier Garcia earned the win with Casares got the save.

The game carried two significant sub-plots. The first only lasted a few pitches, but it was a fitting tribute for one of the state’s all-time amateur greats. The Canaries signed Canova’s Dave Gassman to pitch to the first DWU hitter, and the decorated veteran got Schmidt, a Mitchell native, to lift a harmless fly ball to center.

“It felt great getting back here in Mitchell and getting back on the mound again,” Gassman said. “The opportunity to play with the Sioux Falls canaries is a lifetime dream. It would have been nice if it was 40 years ago, but I’ll settle for this.”

“It was a great tribute to Dave,” Shirley said. “I think that a guy like Dave, with all the years he put in and everything he’s done, he deserved that type of pat on the back.”

Gassman started walking off the mound immediately after Schmidt’s fly was caught, but he held up as Shirley came out of the dugout, prompting the fans to cheer for one more hitter, but Gassman said he wasn’t pleading for more time. The longtime manager of the Canova Gang just wasn’t used to someone coming out to get him.

“When I was coming out, the catcher said, ‘Nope. You have to make him come get you,’ ” Gassman said. “I’ve been manager of the team for 30 years, so when I was done, I’d just walk off. I forgot there was a manager to do that.”

The other involved Tigers’ senior Zach Schmidt. The game doubled as Senior Night for DWU, and Neisius wanted to do something special for Schmidt in his final game at Cadwell, so he spend the night showing off his versatility by playing all nine positions throughout the course of the game.

“I was ready,” Schmidt said. “Honestly, I’ve played everywhere up until this point and I was just going to go out and have some fun. It was my last game on Cadwell. What’s there to lose?”

Schmidt started at first base, moved to catcher in the second, then played third, short, second, left, center and right, all for an inning apiece, before coming out of the bullpen to finish the game on the mound. He finished 0-for-2 with two walks and scored the Tigers’ first run.

“Zach Schmidt, what he was able to do out here tonight was awesome,” Neisius said. “It was fun.”

“Fun” was the prevailing word of the night despite the unseasonably cold temperatures. Mitchell Baseball estimated between 1,800 and 2,000 fans packed into Cadwell, and the result was a perfect atmosphere to celebrate America’s past time.

“It was a celebration tonight for nine innings,” Neisius said. “Two good baseball teams and bunch of coats and stocking hats in the stands, but that lets you know how important baseball is in this town. I’m so happy and thankful for everyone that came out, and Mitchell Baseball did an unbelievable job.”