DANVILLE — For most of Saturday’s doubleheader with the Kokomo Creek Chubs, the Danville Dans were missing an opportunity.
The Central Division-leading Terre Haute Rex lost to the Normal Cornbelters 5-0 and with Danville losing the first game 12-4 and was down 5-0 early in the second, chances were running out to gain ground.
But the Dans would score six in the fifth and three in the sixth to get the 9-5 win in the second game.
“Bouncing back after a rough first game like we had, it was huge to see,” Dans coach Cam Gross said. “We were blanked the first four innings, but then we ran up the starter’s pitch count. We ran him out and then we hammered the next guy. Nick (Palmi) hitting the home run and the triple was great, but I just can’t highlight him, because we had 11 hits and it came from all over the lineup. It was huge to see after getting down 5-0.”
After starter Hayden Trier left in the second inning, Kade Pattom came on and pitched 5⅓ innings with eight strikeouts and gave up only two hits. He would reach his pitch count with two outs in the seventh, leading the way for Pedro Rangel IV to get the final out.
“The thought process was to keep the team in the game because we have scored multiple runs late in the game this season,” Pattom said. “I just needed to keep competing and we would have a chance.”
It was a way for Pattom to get a little revenge on the Creek Chubs for the first time he faced them.
“I came in June 23rd against Kokomo, I gave up three runs in the first and what may have furthest home run in the stadium this season,” Pattom said. “I just kept competing and I knew I had what it took to beat those guys.”
“It was a really gritty performance because in the first few innings, he wasn’t doing great,” Gross said. “He was getting the zeros but it wasn’t pretty. But the longer he stayed in, he was dialed in. I wish he would have gotten the last out, but we put PAR (Rangel IV) in and betting the final out was huge. I also love to see zero in the error column for us.”
Pattom is making the most of his time with the team after injuries kept him out of his seasons at Parkland College.
“I had been hurt for the last two years and I had wrist surgery in November and got back healthy,” Pattom said. “I was in a smaller league before this and I got a call from the Dans and I have been here every since. It is a long wait to come back out here and I have had some great outings and struggled in tow or three, but the last two have been really good in finding my groove and keep going.”
Palmi had four RBIs with a 3-run home run in the fifth and in the sixth, he would get a triple and scored on an error when the throw to third went off the field of play and he got and extra base for the last run of the game.
“I had a big hit and a few RBIs and after that the guys started swinging. We got the bats hot late, but a little late is better than none at all,” Palmi said. “KP dominated and kept us in the game and we scored as much runs as we can.”
Bryce Vorwald and Will Burke each had two hits and one RBI for Danville, while Cannon Vandever had two hits.
In the first game, Palmi had three hits and two RBIs, while Burke had two hits. Kokomo would hit three home runs in the game. Kaleb Thompkins took the loss to go to 2-2 this season and Schlarman Academy product Miles Crosby had a strikeout and only gave up two hits and a run in two innings of action.
The fact that the Creek Chubs scored 12 in the first game, made the second game a big win according to Gross.
“They have great coaches and great players and it was a great win for us,” Gross said. “We were going against a real opponent that has won a lot of game this half and this season.”
The win put the Dans only a ½ game behind Terre Haute at the time with a week left in the second half of the season.
“They have a doubleheader next week and we are going to end up with the same number of games,” Gross said. “We are only down a half a game and if we win and they lose, we can take over the division and we control our destiny. That is the goal.”
“We just have to keep looking forward to the next game,” Palmi said. “We have a game on Sunday, we take Monday off and we start the new week. We are trying to get to the playoffs. We are doing the best we can and we are trying to win as many games as we can to put us in the best spot. It’s awesome and the group of guys are awesome. It is tough to do 14 innings, but guys stay locked in and coming back was pretty awesome.”
The Dans then travel to Alton on Sunday and while they tried to come back after being down 12-0 in the fourth inning, they ended up losing 14-10 to the Alton River Dragons — who won for the first time in 12 days.
Palmi and Mason McReynolds each had two hits and two RBIs, while JJ Baysinger and Amir Streeter each had two RBIs, Chase Bays had two hits and an RBI and Jacob May had two hits.
The Dans are now 1½ back of the Rex after Terre Haute beat Kokomo 10-5 and will return to action today against the Decatur Bean Ballers at Danville Stadium starting at 6:30 p.m.