By Anvil Welch

awelch@joplinglobe.com

Nevada’s Griffons, coming off a “lost weekend” in the non-pro baseball Jayhawk League, found an antidote on Monday night in the Joplin Slashers.

Nevada, scoring three runs in the sixth inning to snap a 2-2 tie, beat Joplin 5-2 at Joe Becker Stadium.

Nevada, which lost three league games at defending champion Derby over the weekend, improved to 8-3 overall and 6-3 in the Jayhawk. Joplin fell to 3-6, 2-6.

Nevada, aggressive on the bases, parlayed solid pitching, an errorless defense and 11 hits into its second victory of the season at Joplin.

Right-hander Michael Ratigan, who allowed two runs in the third, worked 5 1/3 innings for his second win of the season without a loss. Left-hander Brett Carroll followed by permitting a harmless hit in 2 1/3 frames and right-hander Patrick Lemmond, a standout out of the bullpen for Ouachita Baptist in the spring, finished for his first Griffon save.

“Hats off to the Nevada pitchers,” Joplin coach Denny Vilela said. “They threw very well (limiting the Slashers to six hits).

“But we just didn’t get it done on offense,” Vilela said. “We again had bad approaches at the plate. We aren’t making adjustments.

“The pitching was OK,” Vilela said. “Still, from a pitching standpoint — and I don’t want to be negative — the fifth and sixth innings (middle relief) have been our Achilles heel frequently this season.”

Shortstop Andrew Thigpen was hit by a pitch to start the Nevada sixth. Right-hander Josh Cruse retired two batters — Thigpen advancing to third — before catcher Daniel Dellasega lined a run-scoring single.

Dellasega, from St. Mary’s-Colgan and Kansas State, moved to second on a wild pitching before scoring on a single by right fielder Tyler Reddick.

Reddick moved up on the throw home and tallied on left fielder Eric DeBlanc’s double off right-handed reliever Lee Henry.

Henry allowed only one more hit in 2 1/3 innings and struck out four.

Joplin, in its third, took a 2-1 lead on a walk to first baseman Kevin Enkelman, a sacrifice by left fielder Jeffery Meadows, a bad-hop single by center fielder Jared DeLong, a run-scoring single by second baseman Patrick Walsh and a run-scoring ground-out by right fielder Will McGinnis.