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Best Individual Performances of the 2020 Roswell Invaders Season
The 2020 Roswell Invaders season was unlike any other in franchise history. With the Pecos League's Central Division playing its games in Houston, Texas, the Invaders spent the summer away from Joe Bauman Stadium and competed against Tucson, Salina and Houston. Despite the unusual circumstances, Roswell produced a number of memorable individual performances at the plate and on the mound.
From Coleton Horner's big offensive games and Darryl Donerson's two-home-run performance to Matt Cronin's dominant pitching and Jonathan Fleckenstein's work in two high-scoring victories over Salina, these were some of the best individual performances of the 2020 Roswell Invaders season.
Taichi Nakamura — 3-for-4 in Roswell's First Victory of 2020
Taichi Nakamura helped get Roswell's unusual 2020 season started with a big offensive performance against the Houston Apollos.
Nakamura went 3-for-4 as the Invaders earned their first victory of the season. His three-hit performance helped Roswell begin its Houston-based season with a win and immediately established him as one of the hitters to watch in the Invaders lineup.
Coleton Horner — 3-for-4 in 11-10 Victory over Houston
Coleton Horner delivered one of his first major offensive performances of the season when Roswell defeated the Houston Apollos 11-10 on July 16.
Horner went 3-for-4 and led the Invaders at the plate in the one-run victory. In a game where every run mattered, Horner's three-hit performance helped Roswell survive a high-scoring battle and earn its fourth victory of the season.
Alexander Merithew — Six Innings and 6 Strikeouts against Salina
Alexander Merithew turned in one of Roswell's stronger starting pitching performances on July 24 against the Salina Stockade.
Merithew pitched six innings and struck out six while allowing eight hits. Although Roswell did not come away with the victory, his six-inning, six-strikeout performance gave the Invaders valuable length from their starter.
Taichi Nakamura — Three Hits in 20-17 Victory over Salina
Taichi Nakamura was right in the middle of one of the wildest games of Roswell's season on July 31 against Salina.
Nakamura went 3-for-4 and led the Invaders at the plate as Roswell defeated the Stockade 20-17. The two teams combined for 37 runs and 32 hits, with Roswell collecting 14 hits and finding a way to outscore Salina in an offensive shootout.
Nakamura's three-hit game was one of his top offensive performances of the season and helped Roswell earn a memorable victory.
Jonathan Fleckenstein — Four Strikeouts in Wild 20-17 Victory
Jonathan Fleckenstein was credited with one of Roswell's most unusual pitching victories of the season in the July 31 slugfest against Salina.
Fleckenstein struck out four as Roswell survived the Stockade 20-17. Pitching in a game where neither offense seemed capable of being stopped was no easy assignment, but Fleckenstein helped Roswell emerge with the victory.
Darryl Donerson — Leads Roswell in 11-3 Victory over Houston
Darryl Donerson delivered at the plate on August 4 when Roswell defeated the Houston Apollos 11-3.
Donerson went 2-for-4 and led the Invaders offense. The victory was one of Roswell's most convincing wins of the summer and Donerson's performance helped provide more than enough offense for a strong outing from Matt Cronin.
Matt Cronin — Five Innings, One Earned Run and 6 Strikeouts
Matt Cronin delivered one of Roswell's best pitching performances on August 4 against Houston.
Cronin pitched five innings, struck out six and allowed only one earned run on seven hits. His performance earned him the victory as Roswell defeated Houston 11-3.
The combination of Cronin's pitching and Donerson's offense gave Roswell one of its most complete victories of the 2020 season.
Darryl Donerson — 3-for-5 with Two Home Runs against Salina
One of the biggest power performances of Roswell's season belonged to Darryl Donerson on August 7 against the Salina Stockade.
Donerson went 3-for-5 and blasted two home runs as Roswell defeated Salina 10-5. It was one of the most impressive individual offensive games by an Invaders hitter during the entire season.
After leading Roswell with two hits in the August 4 victory over Houston, Donerson followed three days later with a three-hit, two-home-run performance against Salina.
Jonathan Fleckenstein — Helps Roswell Beat Salina 10-5
Jonathan Fleckenstein was again part of an important Roswell victory on August 7 as the Invaders defeated Salina 10-5.
The game combined Fleckenstein's work on the mound with Donerson's huge two-home-run performance at the plate. It gave Roswell another victory over the Stockade after the Invaders had beaten Salina 20-17 one week earlier.
Tyler Schmidt delivered one of his biggest performances of the season on August 12 when Roswell defeated Salina 8-4.
Schmidt pitched five innings and faced 23 hitters while earning the victory. Roswell's pitching held the Stockade to four runs while the offense gave Schmidt enough support to record an important late-season win.
Ian Yetsko led Roswell's offense by going 2-for-3.
Ian Yetsko supplied the offense behind Tyler Schmidt's strong start on August 12.
Yetsko went 2-for-3 and led Roswell at the plate as the Invaders defeated Salina 8-4. His multi-hit performance helped Roswell build the offensive support Schmidt needed to earn the victory.
Matt Cronin — Six Scoreless Innings in 11-0 Shutout
One of the finest pitching performances of Roswell's entire 2020 season came from Matt Cronin on August 13 against the Houston Apollos.
Cronin pitched six innings and faced only 21 hitters as Roswell shut out Houston 11-0. He earned the victory and put the Invaders completely in control of the game before turning it over to the bullpen.
Stephen Keller followed Cronin with three innings to complete the shutout.
The combined nine-inning shutout was one of the strongest pitching efforts Roswell produced all season.
Stephen Keller — Three Innings to Complete the Shutout
Stephen Keller finished what Matt Cronin started in Roswell's 11-0 victory over Houston.
After Cronin worked the first six innings, Keller pitched the final three frames to complete Roswell's shutout. Together, Cronin and Keller blanked the Apollos over nine innings while the Invaders offense scored 11 runs.
Coleton Horner — 2-for-3 in 6-5 Victory over Salina
Coleton Horner again led the Roswell offense on August 16 as the Invaders defeated Salina 6-5.
Horner went 2-for-3 in the one-run victory. In a game where Roswell collected eight hits, his two-hit performance helped the Invaders edge the Stockade and earn their 10th victory of the season.
Matt Cronin earned the victory, adding another strong result to his impressive August.
One of the best pure hitting performances of Roswell's season came from Coleton Horner late in the season.
Horner went 4-for-6 and homered, giving the Invaders a huge offensive performance. Four-hit games are difficult at any level, and adding a home run made Horner's performance one of the standout offensive games of Roswell's 2020 campaign.
Taichi Nakamura produced several memorable performances during the shortened 2020 season.
He went 3-for-4 in Roswell's first victory and later matched that 3-for-4 performance in the Invaders' wild 20-17 win over Salina. Nakamura was also hitting .379 when Roswell faced Salina on July 15, illustrating how productive he had been during the first half of the abbreviated season.
Matt Cronin — Roswell's Big-Game Pitcher in August
Matt Cronin put together an especially impressive stretch during August.
On August 4, Cronin allowed only one earned run over five innings and struck out six in an 11-3 victory over Houston. Nine days later, he worked six scoreless innings as Roswell shut out the Apollos 11-0. Then on August 16, Cronin earned another victory when Roswell edged Salina 6-5.
That stretch gave the Invaders several of their biggest wins of the season and established Cronin as one of Roswell's most important pitchers during the final month.
Darryl Donerson — Two Home Runs Highlight a Big August
Darryl Donerson provided some of Roswell's biggest offensive fireworks of the season.
He led Roswell by going 2-for-4 in the 11-3 victory over Houston on August 4. Three days later he was even better, going 3-for-5 and hitting two home runs as Roswell defeated Salina 10-5.
The two-home-run game stands as one of the signature individual offensive performances of Roswell's shortened 2020 campaign.
The 2020 season was completely different from a normal Roswell Invaders season. Instead of playing their summer schedule at Joe Bauman Stadium, the Invaders competed in the Pecos League's relocated Central Division in Houston.
Even under those unusual circumstances, Roswell produced memorable individual performances.
Coleton Horner supplied several of the team's biggest offensive games, including a 3-for-4 performance in an 11-10 victory over Houston, a 2-for-3 game in a 6-5 win over Salina and a four-hit game that included a home run.
Darryl Donerson delivered one of the season's biggest power displays when he went 3-for-5 with two home runs against Salina. Taichi Nakamura produced multiple three-hit games, including a 3-for-4 effort in the 20-17 victory over the Stockade.
On the mound, Matt Cronin was at the center of several of Roswell's best victories. He struck out six while allowing only one earned run over five innings in an 11-3 victory over Houston and later threw six scoreless innings in an 11-0 shutout. Stephen Keller completed that shutout with three innings of relief.
Tyler Schmidt delivered five innings to earn an 8-4 victory over Salina, while Ian Yetsko supplied two hits in that win. Alexander Merithew struck out six over six innings against the Stockade, and Jonathan Fleckenstein helped Roswell win two memorable games against Salina, including the incredible 20-17 slugfest.
The 2020 season will always stand apart in Roswell Invaders history. The team was playing hundreds of miles from home under extraordinary circumstances, but the Invaders still produced plenty of memorable baseball and individual performances worthy of remembering.
