Waves, Cobras, Bison Preseason Scrimmages Summary

Participants

Waves: Brodey Lamb, Anthony Nusbaum

Cobras: Colton Carlson, Cale Johnson

Bison: Gage Metzger, Krister Embree, Joey Hayes

Bison defeat Waves 22-19

Brodey Lamb pitched for the Waves and rookie Krister Embree for the Bison. Embree got off to a shaky start with his command of the zone, giving the Waves a 9-0 opening lead. Conversely, Lamb started the 1st inning throwing some very nice darts and only gave up 1 run. Embree settled into the game during the 2nd inning and the Bison bats began chipping away at Lamb, shrinking the Waves lead. In the bottom of the 4th, with the Waves leading 12-15, Embree took Lamb deep for a 3-run homer to tie things up. After that play, Lamb struggled to finish the inning and allowed 7 more runs. The Waves score 4 in the 5th, but ultimately fell short of regaining the lead.

Bison defeat Cobras 33-24

Rookie Joey Hayes was given the start in the Bison's second game and the Cobras had Colton Carlson throw as an experimental opportunity for the upcoming season. Hayes surprisingly came out on fire, painting the zone with an extra level of heat not previously seen in his bullpen practices and cruised through the first 3 innings with just 2 runs allowed. Carlson struggled in the first couple innings, but got more competitive as the game went on. At one point the Bison lead by a massive 32-2 margin. In the final couple innings Hayes lost his command of the zone and the Cobras got very diligent on offense, scoring several runs with walks and forcing Hayes to throw hittable strikes. The Cobras connected on a few hits including a grand slam by Cale Johnson. In the final inning, Embree subbed in for Hayes at pitcher, but also closed the game out very sloppily, allowing the Cobras to lose by a much more respectable single-digit margin.

Waves defeat Cobras 33-26

Lamb pitched again for the Waves and Carlson again for the Cobras. The game was very competitive to begin with the score 6-5 Waves after the 1st and 12-11 Waves after the 2nd. Lamb eventually found a groove in the 3rd and 4th inning and the Waves pulled away to a 19-11 lead and eventual 33-12 lead by the last inning. Lamb got very sloppy in the final frame and gave the Cobras a multitude of runs, shrinking the final margin to 7.

Biggest takeaways

1. Krister Embree and Joey Hayes are each plenty capable of being starting pitchers right away as rookies.

2. It has been assumed Embree would be the primary backup pitcher to Gage Metzger, but Hayes may have something to say about that.. Embree (probably) has more long-term potential to become a star arm, but Hayes currently has better command of the ball.

3. Brodey Lamb will enter his 2nd season (and first full season) with a slightly bigger arsenal of pitches and significantly more nasty ball movement, but his command of the zone still gets very sloppy at times.

4. As rookies, Embree will likely be an above average hitter with multiple home runs and Hayes will likely be at least average.

5. Colton Carlson can be an okay backup pitcher for the Cobras and has plenty of room to get better, but the team still needs to find an improved ace pitcher.