Sander's final regular-season games sees Riverdogs baseball rally, drop doubleheader to Millstadt

Charleston Riverdogs coach Paul Sander talks with an umpire prior to a baseball game against the visiting St. Louis Printers in this July 23, 2017, file photo. The Riverdogs dropped a doubleheader to visiting Millstadt (Ill.) in Sander's final regular-season games as head coach on Sunday in Jackson, Missouri.

Josh Mlot ~ Southeast Missourian

In the Charleston Riverdogs' final regular-season games of the year -- and Paul Sander's tenure as head coach -- things felt a lot like they have all season for the baseball team.

There were defensive mistakes and clutch hits that just didn't come through, as Charleston twice tried to rally but twice failed in a doubleheader sweep by visiting Millstadt, Illinois, 10-8 and 6-4, in Mon-Clair League action on Sunday afternoon at Saxony Lutheran High School.

In both contests, the home side trailed by the middle of the first inning but found a late push and had the game-tying or go-ahead runs on base in the final inning. The Riverdogs just couldn't find the big moment they needed to change their fortunes.

"I've got to give our guys credit, man," Sander said. "You're down, and they come back gritty and hard fighting and cut it back to 10-8 in the first game. And we still had a chance there at the end and couldn't come up with the hit, and it was kind of the same thing in that second game. You come back and have men on second and third and can't quite get over the hump, which has kind of been our mojo this year."

Despite the losses, Charleston (13-20) did manage to scrape into the Mon-Clair League playoffs, narrowly securing the final playoff berth by one game.

"We kind of went in the back door, but that's better than not being in at all," Sander said.

As the No. 8 seed, the Riverdogs will face top-seeded Waterloo (22-4). The nine-inning, win-or-go-home game will take place at 12 p.m. Saturday in Valmeyer, Illinois.

It will be an uphill battle for Charleston but offers the program one more contest under the direction of Sander, who helped reboot the Riverdogs in 2012 and has guided the team since.

Next season, Sander will hand the reins to assistant coach Greg Craft.

"I'm not quitting. I'm just stepping back," Sander said. "My wife and I like to travel and, quite frankly, this league is very, very confining from the middle of May to the second week of August -- it's every single weekend. So you don't get any weekends off the whole summer, and that's starting to wear on myself and my wife. We want to step back far enough that if we want to take a couple weeks off, we can."

Even if Charleston isn't competing for a league title yet, Sander feels good about the direction the program is heading in Year 5.

"If we can keep building it, we'll be more competitive in the Mon-Clair League," Sander said. "It takes a while. The St. Louis Printers started five or six years ago in the Mon-Clair, and the first couple years, they didn't make the playoffs. And then they were league champs last year, so it doesn't happen overnight.

"... The guys understand that, even when they're a little down about not being able to get over the hump. But I told them today and last week, too, 'You guys are getting close. You're close to getting over the hump.'"

On Sunday, the hump was still there.

In the opener, mistakes came back to haunt the hosts, as two errors in the first inning and two in the third led to five and four runs for Millstadt, respectively -- the visitors' two big innings.

Unearned runs turned out to be the difference on the scoreboard at the end of the game.

"You just can't open the door to extra outs against teams of this caliber with teams that hit the ball the way teams do in this Mon-Clair League," Sander said.

Millstadt jumped on top in the top of the first, with two runs scoring on a Jordan Mueth base hit and another two scoring on an error. By the time the inning was over, the visitors were up 5-0.

Charleston scored a run in the first on a Triston Thele single and a run in the second on an error and a sacrifice fly, but the Green Machine's four-run fourth inning saw Riverdogs starter Trey Tigart chased form the game, as reliever Ian Householder came on.

Tigart's final line was nine runs -- five earned -- on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings, with one strikeout and three walks as he took the loss. Householder went the final 3 2/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits with two strikeouts and three walks.

Millstadt starter Cory Renois got the win on the mound, allowing seven runs -- six earned -- on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. Andy Barton threw 1 1/3 innings in relief, giving up one run on three hits to earn the save.

Renois gave up three runs in the bottom of the fifth, including a pair on a Blake Gaddis double just inside the first-base foul line, making the score 10-5.

Charleston plated two more runs in the bottom of the sixth to force Renois out of the game and make things interesting at 10-7 going into the final inning.

Gaddis got a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh and later scored on a one-out single by Noah Dillingham, but the Riverdogs couldn't finish the job, stranding two runners in scoring position to end the game, with the game-tying run standing at second base.

Gaddis went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, a double and a run scored for Charleston, while Jonathan Hovelmann and Sander each had two hits and two runs scored.

Rob Beatty went 3-for-5 with two runs scored to pace Millstadt.

Game 2 felt eerily familiar, as the Green Machine took a 2-0 lead in the first inning and never trailed.

Hovelmann singled and scored in the bottom half to make it a 2-1 game, but Millstadt went up 4-1 in the second thanks to three straight hits to open the inning.

The Riverdogs cut the gap in half in the bottom of the fourth, as Nate Finney drew a leadoff walk and scored on a Paris Johnson double.

But the Green Machine built up a cushion with two more runs in the sixth. It turned out to be necessary.

Charleston rallied with four hits and a walk in the bottom of the seventh, pushing one run across before loading the bases with just one out and putting the go-ahead run at first base. But Millstadt pitcher Barton, throwing in relief for the second time on the day, induced a hard-hit 5-3 double play to end the game and hold off the Riverdogs.

"Our guy who hit into the double play to end the second game, he hit the ball hard. He just hit the ball right at him, which kind of seems like our luck a lot of the time," Sander said.

"I give these guys a lot of credit for grinding. It's real easy against these teams when you're down several runs to kind of put your head between your legs and call it a day, but our guys don't do that. We keep battling."

Green Machine starter Parker Beine got the win on the mound, going six innings and allowing four runs on five hits with three strikeouts and six walks.

Alex Beussink took a complete-game loss for Charleston, giving up six runs on 16 hits in seven innings with three strikeouts and three walks.

Hovelmann went 2-for-3 and scored twice for the Riverdogs, who got doubles from Blake Wolferding and Paris Johnson.

Seven of Millstadt's nine hitters had multiple hits in the game.

GAME 1

WP -- Cory Renois. LP -- Trey Tigart. 2B -- Mitch Matecki (M), Blake Gaddis (C). Multiple hits -- Millstadt: Tony Kossina 2-5, Rob Beatty 3-5, M. Matecki 2-4, Jarod Mueth 2-3; Charleston: Jonathan Hovelmann 2-5, Spencer Sander 2-4, Gaddis 2-3.

GAME 2

WP -- Parker Beine. LP -- Alex Beussink. 2B -- Tony Kossina (M), Blake Wolferding (C), Paris Johnson (C). Multiple hits -- Millstadt: Kossina 2-5, Luke Matecki 2-4, Beatty 2-4, Alex Quirin 2-4, Mueth 2-3, Ryan Hurley 2-3, Andy Barton 2-3.