EXPRESS DOWN NICKS AND GUSSIES, THROTTLED BY CLIPPERS

July 1, 2006

The Kimball Express faired pretty well this past week considering a blowout loss at the hands of the Watkins Clippers Sunday to end the weekend. The Express went 2-1 on the week picking up CVL wins against St. Nick and St. Augusta before falling to the Clippers.

Sunday the Watkins Clippers were in town as it was a clash of the top two teams in the CVL. The top two teams on paper, but Sunday it was all Watkins as they walked away with a 20-4 drubbing of the Express. It was 8-0 before Kimball blinked and the Clippers didn’t look back as they hammered out 17 hits in a game that was halted after seven innings due to the ten run rule.

Brian Marquardt started for the Express and picked up the loss, Adam Beyer was 2-3 with a homerun, double and all four rbi as he was the only offense for the Express.

Saturday the St. Augusta Gussies were in town and Kimball’s lefty youngster Matt Dingman pitched a complete game three hit shutout in a game that was shortened to seven innings due to rain.

Dingman, the KAHS senior to be, struck out eight in picking up his first ever amateur baseball win. He struck out the side in the first inning to get things started. He was helped out offensively by Jim Brubaker.

Brubaker led off in the bottom of the first inning connecting for his first homerun of the day, the Express scored twice for an early 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the second inning Brubaker blasted another pitch for his second homerun of the day making it 3-0 and in his last at bat of the afternoon he wheeled around the bases recording a triple. He was 3-4 with three runs scored and two rbi.

Wednesday evening the Express were the home team on the scoreboard as they hosted the St. Nicholas Nicks in Watkins and came up with a 4-3 win in 13 innings.

Matt Dingman singled home Brian Marquardt in the bottom of the thirteenth inning to lift the Express.

Kimball was up 3-0 after seven innings of play. In the top of the eighth inning the Nicks got to Express starter Pat Arnold scoring two and chasing him from the game in favor of Jim Brubaker who came on and picked up the win in relief. The Nicks down 3-2, rallied for a run in the top of the ninth to tie the game up and send it to extra frames.

No team really posed a threat in the extra innings until Brian Marquardt led off the 13^th inning with a single, he was sac bunted over to second by Tom Marquardt and scored on Dingman’s single.

Rail Report

The Express are now 11-9 overall and 8-3 in CVL play. They will be in Watkins again this Thursday evening to face the St. Nicholas Nicks in a makeup game with St. Nick being the home team. First pitch is slated for 6:30.

Sunday at 2:00 the Express travel to Luxemburg to take on the Brewers. Kimball beat the Brewers in their first meeting of the season.

The Express are ailing with Brooks Marquardt still on the shelf with a broken hand and Paul Hughes recovering from an automobile accident in which he sprained his knee. Hughes return is unknown at this time. Marquardt could be back in limited action by the end of July in time for playoffs. It looks like he could be back and slap on the leather to play some defense, but holding a bat may take a little longer.

Sunday’s game against Watkins was on aired on KDUZ 1260 AM out of Hutchinson and diversiCOM Melrose Telephone Company was there for the game of the week taping.