As finely-tuned as a baseball team may believe themselves to be, there will come ‘one of those games.’  Last Tuesday’s 9-4 loss to the visiting Edgewood Bulldogs was just one of those games for the Mineola Yellowjackets.  

The first indicator of a rough night ahead was the 35-minute top of the first inning. Starter Matthew Ballew threw 32 pitches in the inning, and the Bulldogs chalked up three runs when their cleanup hitter sent a 2-RBI double to the left field fence. He came in to score on a sacrifice fly. 

The undoing of the Yellowjackets last Tuesday was, however, not pitching. It was errors. Mineola committed five official errors. Those five errors directly contributed to four Edgewood runs.

There were two more unofficial errors – a fly ball which dropped in the 7-8-6 gap in short left field, and a little popper which landed just behind the pitching mound. It was uncharacteristic Yellowjacket baseball.

Despite the rocky start, Mineola was never out of the game. They chipped back at the lead.

In the second, Wyatt Salonen scored on a Kiptyn Rinks single up the middle.  They added another run in the third when Beckham Bowker singled and was chased home by a scorching double to left field off the bat of Ballew. 

Mineola recorded nine hits on the night. Camden Roberts joined Ballew with multiple base hits.

The Jackets added another run in the sixth. Salonen was driven in by a full-count double into the left field corner by Roberts.  

Starter Ballew (4 innings, 9 hits, 5 K, 4 BB) was spelled on the mound in the fifth by righthander Thomas Melvin (3 innings, 3 hits, 2 K, 0 BB). 

Ballew, however, was not done for the night. He continued his extraordinary season at the plate, smashing an extra base hit in the seventh which drove in Lawson Ollive. Ballew was put out on a very close play trying to stretch a double into a triple. 

The Yellowjackets play a brand of baseball which is centered on attention to detail. If that detail is not at hand, the Jackets struggle. This night was certainly one to toss aside and return to the sure-handed brand of baseball that Mineola is known for. 

The next chance to see the Yellowjackets on their home diamond will be Thursday, April 2 when they host Quitman.