Braves Blank Twins in 2-0 Battle
July 16, 2007 - Appalachian League (ApL)
Danville Otterbots News Release
DANVILLE, VA - The Danville Braves and the Elizabethton Twins both had four hits on the night, but Danville came out on top as it won 2-0 at American Legion Post 325 Field at Dan Daniel Memorial Park.
After an hour-and-21-minute delay, the Braves cruised to victory on the pitching of starter Jeff Locke (2-1) and relievers Brett Butts and Nick Fellman.
Locke went five innings while allowing two hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Butts also fanned four. He last 2.2 innings with one hit. Fellman tallied his fourth save of the year on 1.1 frames of one-hit ball. He also struck out one.
The Twins staff featured two giants on the mound. The starter Henry Reyes (2-2) is 6-foot-7 inches and reliever Loek Van Mil is 7-foot-1-inch. If Van Mil ever reaches the majors, he would be the tallest player in major league history. Reyes allowed three hits, walked a pair, and struck out four in five innings of work. Van Mil pitched the final three frames with one hit, two free passes, and six Ks. Both allowed an earned run.
The first Braves run came in the second. Brandon Hicks led off the inning and homered to left. It is his third on the year and it is the second straight night he has led off an inning with a home run.
Cole Miles provided the insurance run with a one-out grounder through the middle that plated pinch-runner Eliazar Carmona. The seventh started with a walk to Benji Johnson, who was making his first appearance as a Danville Brave. C.J. Lee sacrificed him over with two strikes on him before Carmona came in to run for Benji Johnson. Miles' hit then made it through the infield to make it 2-0. Miles had half the Braves hits tonight, going 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. During the play, Miles advanced to second on the throw and Michael Fisher followed with a walk. Ernesto Mejia then followed with a grounder to third. Deibinson Romero showed some hesitation and elected to throw to second instead of racing to third and then possibly throwing to first for the double play. Fisher was out at second but the Braves had runners on the corners. A groundout ended the frame, however.
The Twins had chances in the third and fifth. The third started out with a 3-2 walk to Wesley Connor. He moved to second on a passed ball and then to third on a wild pitch in the same at-bat. Eric Santiago then lined to Mejia, who was playing in. The next batter was hit by a pitch and was promptly caught stealing second. A groundout ensued as Brandon Hicks charged the ball and got the out at first.
In the fifth, catcher Greg Yersich was hit by a pitch to start the action. Locke fanned back-to-back hitters to get two outs. With two down, Santiago knocked a single to left. Locke uncorked a wild pitch to move the runners to second and third before tallying another strikeout.
The Braves had a chance in the third, as well. Miles hit one that bounced over the first baseman's head and cruised for a double. Fisher lined right at short and Miles stayed put. Mejia hit a floater in shallow right field that the second baseman failed to catch. With runners on first and second, Cody Johnson struck out on three pitches. Hicks fouled out to first to end the inning. The Braves still had enough runs as they went on to victory.
The game featured five hit batsmen, four of them being Twins. Yesterday's game had three plunked batters, making eight for the series. Each team had four plunked batters in the two games.
The Braves are 3-1 against Elizabethton this year and would be 4-0 if not for one disastrous inning. The team now has a four-game winning streak, longest on the year. The Twins have a four-game losing streak and have been swept twice in a row. Danville is 16-8 and Elizabethton is 19-6, with the Braves handing the Twins half their losses. The Braves are half a game back of Burlington.
This was the last game of the homestand and was the first Faith Night of the year. It featured Sons of Levi before the game. The team will now head to Princeton and Burlington before coming back for three games in two days. Saturday will have a game against Bristol while Sunday is a split doubleheader. The first game is at 1 p.m. and the second is at 7 p.m. Kids can run the bases after both games on the doubleheader.
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Appalachian League Stories from July 16, 2007
- Braves Blank Twins in 2-0 Battle - Danville Otterbots
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