Clarke homers, but Catfish come up short in loss to Rockabillys

All night it felt like the Cape Catfish were about to break the game open.

Chance after chance was squandered away as the Catfish fell 4-3 at the hands of the Jackson Rockabillys on Tuesday at Capaha Field.

“We just didn’t get it done,” Catfish outfielder Jeff Clarke said. “We didn’t get that big hit we needed.”

Things were looking bright for the Catfish early as Clarke blasted a solo home run over the Southeast Health Party Deck in right field to give the Catfish a 1-0 lead.

“I was just looking for a fastball,” Clarke said. “And he gave me one right down the middle.”

The Rockabillys didn’t take long to respond as they tied the game on a sacrifice fly by Griffin Cameron.

Dalton Rudd would give Jackson its first lead of the night when he stung a two-run double to left to make it 3-1 Rockabillys.

Seemingly the biggest play of the game came in the bottom of the eighth with the Catfish trailing 4-3 and designated hitter Landon Godsey at the plate.

After a leadoff double by infielder Justin Carinci, Godsey lined a ball to second that everyone with the Catfish thought bounced first, but the umpires ruled it a catch and Carinci was doubled up diving back into second base.

“I was trying to get back and dive in,” Carinci said. “I knew in that situation I wasn’t getting to third anyways so I was focused on getting back.”

The Catfish would make things interesting with two outs in the bottom of the ninth as they loaded the bases. Creek Robertson worked the count full before popping out to right field to end the game.

“I thought we played well,” Carinci said. “I think there were times where we wanted to get jobs done where we couldn’t. It’s the little things that hurt and that’s why we didn’t come out on top.

Getting the start on the mound for the Catfish was Jorge Romero who tossed six innings allowing four runs on eight hits in the loss.

The Catfish (19-5) suffered their third-straight loss with Tuesday’s defeat to to the Rockabillys.

“It’s baseball,” Carinci said. “It’s going to happen. You’re going to lose games and it’s only our fifth loss. I think if we just stick to it, it’ll come back.”

The Catfish are back in action at 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday, June 28, when they travel to take on the Thrillville Thrillbillies in Marion, Illinois.

They will return home at 6:35 p.m. on Thursday, June 29, to take on the Thrillbillies at Capaha Field.

“We just have to stick to what we’re doing,” Carinci said. “We’re going to keep swinging and we’re going to keep pitching and it’s going to come back.”