Silver Hawks Bang Bethel
By Ron Haramia
Pilot Sports
PLYMOUTH � The South Bend Silver Hawks paid their annual visit to Bill Nixon Field Wednesday night and did not disappoint.
They played pretty well, too.
In their exhibition game against Bethel College, not only did the Arizona Diamondbacks Class A farm club bring this year�s installment of young baseball talent, but some of the charm that goes along with the minor leagues.
�This is a great event. It is nice to reach out to the Marshall County fans; show them what we have to offer,� said Silver Hawk general manager Christian Carlson. �This is an event, not just a game. We want people to leave with smiles on their faces.�
They did.
�It is a great time for the kids,� said Plymouth resident Kathy Ruffing, who seemed to be having a ball herself while watching the postgame fireworks. �The players are so nice and the kids know some of them from camps and clinics so it is really exciting for them.�
Ruffing�s two boys, AJ (11) and Brady (8), used the free baseballs that were handed out as you entered the stadium for autographs - one for each team.
The baseball giveaway was just one of the many sidelights to the game.
� The Plymouth Chamber of Commerce provided free hot dogs and soda.
� The Silver Hawks� caravan included the Moon Bounce and Speed Pitch inflatable stations, and Swoop, the Silver Hawk mascot, delighted young and old alike.
� Mayor Jim Yeazel threw out the first pitch and the Honorable Judge Dean Culvin the second.
� The Plymouth High School choir sang the National Anthem.
Then came the fireworks.
Not the scheduled ones after the game sponsored by St. Joseph�s Regional Medical Center, but by Silver Hawk leadoff batter Jerry Gill.
On the third pitch to the Hawk shortstop, Gill launched a home run over the centerfield fence, one of three HRs on the night for the young pros.
The offensive fireworks (seven runs, 10 hits, three HRs) is a good news/bad news scenario for the club.
The good news is that the bats are alive and ready. The bad news is that all of the runs came at the expense of Hawks pitchers. In order to keep the game competitive and to provide work for the Hawks� staff, the minor leaguers threw for both teams. They also provided the catcher for Bethel.
Still, it was baseball, and both teams saw the evening as a positive.
�The guys look forward to it,� said Bethel skipper Mike Hutcheon. �They want to see what the next level is like. They read about these guys in the paper and now they get to take the field against them. It is a great situation for the Plymouth community, too � to see both teams. It is definitely a win-win situation.�
Silver Hawk manager Von Hayes likewise saw the plusses for his squad as they prepare for opening day today in Lansing, Michigan.
�Like I tell the players in spring training, �Play every game like it means something�. We wanted to go hard and hope it carries over to tomorrow.�
After Gill�s homer in the first, the Hawks put four more on the board in the third inning.
After Nelson Teilon scored from first on a hit-and-run single by Phil Avlas, 6-foot-5 first baseman Sean Luellwitz blasted a full-count 2-run dinger over the leftfield fence. Two batters later, Kervin Jacobo added a solo shot.
Bethel avoided the shutout when Zach Rodman homered to left.
Despite leading 5-1, the Hawks still batted in the home half of the sixth inning and added two more runs on two hits and a hit batter.
This year�s Hawk roster includes players from 13 different states, as well as Venezuela, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
Their first home game is Friday April 11 when the Lugnuts from Lansing come to South Bend. Pitcher Chad Blasko (Mishawaka HS) is in line to be the starting pitcher for the Lugnuts.
� SILVER HAWKS 7, BETHEL COLLEGE 1
At Bill Nixon Field
Bethel College 000 001 � 1 4 1
Silver Hawks 104 002 � 7 10 2
Mike Davis, Matt Incinelli (3), Sam Taulli (6) and Joe Wilkins; Adriano Rosario, Sergio Lizarraga (6) and Phil Avlas.
HR: Jerry Gill (SH), Sean Luellwitz (SH), Kervin Jacobo (SH), Zach Rodman (B).
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