Hannibal Cavemen Come Up Short in Springfield Sunday

The Hannibal Cavemen led early and fought back late, but lost Sunday night to the Springfield Sliders 7-4 at Robin Roberts Field in Springfield.

Hannibal scored twice in the first on back-to-back doubles by left fielder Wesley Degener and center fielder Justin Blechle and a sacrifice fly off the bat of right fielder A.J. VanMeetren.

Springfield tied the game in the third, then scored single runs in the fourth and fifth, added two more in the sixth and a run in the eighth to take a 7-2 lead into the ninth.

The Cavemen mounted a comeback in the ninth, as, with one out, pinch hitter Seth Soto reached on an error, first baseman Josh Griffith singled and were both driven in on a double by pinch hitter Emilio Lollio. The next two Cavemen were retired to end the game.

Hannibal starter Jake Eikleberry suffered his first loss of the season.

The loss drops the Cavemen's second half record to 1-7 and their overall record to 8-25.

After a day off Monday, Hannibal spends the week in Indiana, with games in Kokomo Tuesday and Terre Haute Wednesday and Thursday. The next Prospect League at Clemens Field is Friday against Terre Haute.