MWL1 Peoria Chiefs

Chiefs Homer Three Times in 6-5 Win Thursday

Published on August 13, 2009 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release


Chiefs Homer Three Times in 6-5 Win Thursday

Burke homers twice; Series and home stand conclude Friday at 6:30 pm

Peoria, IL - Behind three home runs by two players, the Peoria Chiefs defeated the Burlington Bees 6-5 Thursday night at O'Brien Field. The Chiefs are now 27-19 in the second half and 65-50 overall heading into Friday's series-finale.

Burlington jumped on the board early in the first. With one out, Patrick Norris singled and during David Wood's at-bat, was caught stealing second for the second out of the inning. Wood was issued a walk and a home run by Nick Francis to center-field gave the Bees a 2-0 lead.

The Chiefs answered back in their half of the first to take the lead. With one down, Ryan Flaherty singled up the middle and Rebel Ridling ripped his 15th home run of the season to tie the game 2-2. Kyler Burke followed with a homer of his own to give the Chiefs a 3-2 lead.

The Bees did not let the Chiefs keep their lead, scoring two runs in the second against starter Jeff Antigua. With one out, Juan Graterol singled and advanced to third on a double by Jason Morales. Yeldrys Molina doubled to plate Graterol and advance Morales to third. Fernando Garcia grounded out to score Morales and give the Bees a 4-3 advantage.

Peoria tallied a run in the third to tie the game. Brett Jackson led off the inning with a walk and with Flaherty batting, was caught attempting to steal second. Flaherty singled and reached second on a wild pitch by starter Tim Melville with Ridling batting. Ridling was issued a walk and a single by Burke scored Flaherty to tie the game 4-4.

The Chiefs regained the lead in the fourth inning. With one down, Junior Lake ripped a double to left-field and with Jackson batting, stole third. Jackson singled on a slow roller to third to plate Lake and give Peoria a 5-4 lead. Peoria added another run to the board in the seventh on a solo home run by Burke to make it a 6-4 ball game. The homer, his second of the game gives Burke 11 on the year.

Burlington got one run back in the eighth off closer Chris Huseby. Adrian Ortiz led off the inning with a strikeout but reached first on a wild pitch by Huseby. With David Wood batting, Ortiz stole second and he reached third on a ground out by Wood. Francis grounded out to score Ortiz to make the score 6-5.

The Bees threatened in the ninth against Huseby. Shawn Griffin led off the inning with a single but was caught stealing second with Graterol batting. Graterol was hit by a pitch and Ryan Wood came in to pinch-run. With the second out recorded in the inning, pinch-hitter Jose Bonilla replaced Yeldrys Molina and grounded into a force out at second to end the threat and the game.

Antigua (1-0) gave up four runs on seven hits in his five innings of work in his first win in a Chiefs uniform. The left-hander walked one while striking out four. Reliever Marcus Hatley threw two shutout innings, giving up only one hit while walking one and striking out two. Huseby earned his 16th save of the season throwing two innings, giving up one run on one hit while not issuing a walk and striking out three.

Casey's General Store Player of the Game - Kyler Burke (RF) - Burke was 3-for-4 on the night including his two home runs and three RBI.

Notes... Ridling leads the team with nine home runs at O'Brien Field, which ties him for first on the single-season list...Daric Barton also hit nine home runs at home in 2004...It was Ridling's 12th career homer at O'Brien Field which also ties him for first on the Chiefs career list with John Santor who played for the Chiefs in 2003-2004...Thursday's contest marked the second game in a row the Chiefs have had a player hit two home runs in a game...It was the third time this season Ridling and Burke have hit back-to-back homers...It was the fifth time the team has hit back-to-back homers this season...Flaherty had his first four-hit game of the season which is the second of his career...He had a four-hit game with Boise on August 4, 2008...Huseby allowed his first earned run since July 5...Brenly caught three runners attempting to steal while Antigua caught one...The Chiefs are 7-3 against Burlington so far this season...The Chiefs are 47-8 when they score five runs or more... The Chiefs conclude their four-game series and home stand against Burlington on Friday at 6:30 pm...Come out to O'Brien Field and enjoy another spectacular fireworks show presented by Budweiser...It is Illinois State University Night at O'Brien Field with Chiefs players wearing ISU jerseys that will be auctioned off during the game...The Chiefs will send RH Chris Archer (4-4, 2.76) to the mound opposed by RH Tony Pena Jr. (0-0, 0.00) for Burlington...The game can be heard starting with the pre-game show at 6:15 pm on 96.5 ESPN Radio and www.peoriachiefs.com.

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Midwest League Stories from August 13, 2009


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