Texas League Update
September 14, 2009 - Texas League (TL1) News Release
Division Series Notes
The first day of the Texas League playoffs, September 9, featured two games with eye-popping storylines rarely seen in Texas League postseason play. In game one between the Naturals and Cardinals, Northwest Arkansas lefthander Anthony Lerew tossed a complete game, two-hit shutout, using just 73 pitches to dispatch of Springfield 6-0. He retired the first nine and final 17 batters he faced, striking out four without walking a batter. Of Lerew's 73 pitches, 57 were strikes while just 16 were balls.
Meanwhile, in an old-fashioned pitchers duel, Midland escaped with a 1-0 victory in 11 innings, holding San Antonio to just two hits in the ballgame. Josh Donaldson's two-out RBI double in the top of the 11th provided all the scoring, while the Missions Cedric Hunter doubled twice, San Antonio's only two base-hits of the game. Stunningly, the eight combined hits between the two teams was the lowest single-game output for any extra-inning postseason game in Texas League history.
Lerew's effort and the 1-0 extra-inning affair provided a great opportunity to revisit the record books. The following are the most noteworthy "lasts" prior to September 9th's drama:
Last post-season complete game:
C.J. Wilson, Tulsa
9/5/2002, Game 3, East Division Series
Tulsa 2, Wichita 1 (Tulsa clinches series)
Last post-season shutout:
San Antonio (combined)
9/7/2007, Game 3, South Division Series
San Antonio 5, Frisco 0 (SA clinches series)
Last post-season complete game shutout:
Jason Stephens, Arkansas
9/4/2001, Game 1, East Division Series
Arkansas 6, Wichita 0
Last time both playoff games were shutouts:
9/4/2001
Jason Stephens, Arkansas
Game 1, East Division Series
Arkansas 6, Wichita 0
and
San Antonio (combined)
Game 1, West Division Series
San Antonio 2, Round Rock 0
Last post-season two-hitter:
Corpus Christi (combined)
9/5/2006, Game 1, South Division Series
Corpus Christi 3, Midland 0
Last post-season complete game shutout, two or fewer hits:
Enrique "Kiko" Calero, Wichita (one-hitter)
9/5/2000, Game 1, East Division Series
Wichita 1, Shreveport 0
Last post-season game tied 0-0 after 10 innings:
9/10/1967, Game 5, Dixie Series
Birmingham defeated Albuquerque 1-0 in 11 innings
Last post-season game between two Texas League teams tied 0-0 after 10 innings:
9/14/1964, Game 1, Texas League Championship Series
San Antonio defeated Tulsa 1-0 in 16 innings
All-time extra-inning playoff games tied 0-0 after nine (5 games ever):
9/14/1948
Game 1, 1st round
Shreveport def. Fort Worth 1-0 (11)
9/14/1956
Game 4, 1st round
Dallas def. Fort Worth 5-0 (11)
9/14/1964
Game 1, Championship
San Antonio def. Tulsa 1-0 (16)
9/10/1967
Game 5, Dixie Series
Birmingham def. Albuquerque 1-0 (11)
9/9/2009
Game 1, 1st round
Midland def. San Antonio 1-0 (11)
ALSO OF NOTE ... The Naturals outscored the Cardinals 20-8, while out-hitting them 28-13 in the three-game sweep ... Prior to game one, the Naturals had not shut out Springfield all season ... Kurt Mertins had five RBI in the series, leading the Northwest Arkansas offense ... Springfield's Andrew Brown was the only Cardinals batter to hit safely in all three games, going 5-for-12 ... San Antonio became the first team in Texas League playoff history to make it into the 11th inning with fewer than two hits (one hit through 10 innings). More remarkably, on September 9, 2002, the Missions won a 10-inning post-season game on just one hit ... Midland reaches the Texas League Championship series despite starting the second half 6-13, including an eight-game losing streak. Meanwhile, Northwest Arkansas had a seven-game losing streak of its own toward the end of the second half ... Missions centerfielder and No. 2 hitter Cedric Hunter went 6-for-17 with three doubles and four RBI ... Midland's Matt Spencer was 7-for-15 in the four-game series, including a pair of solo home runs in game three ... San Antonio lefthander Nathan Culp finished the season with just 33 walks in 161 1/3 innings; 18 in 41 1/3 innings (3.92/9 IP) against Midland, and 15 in 120 innings (1.13/9 IP) against the rest of the league.
Texas League Championship Series Schedule
Game 1: Tuesday, September 15
Northwest Arkansas Naturals @ Midland RockHounds, 6:30 p.m.
Game 2: Wednesday, September 16
Northwest Arkansas Naturals @ Midland RockHounds, 6:30 p.m.
Game 3: Friday, September 18
Midland RockHounds @ Northwest Arkansas Naturals, 7:15 p.m.
Game 4 (if necessary): Saturday, September 19
Midland RockHounds @ Northwest Arkansas Naturals, 1:05 p.m.
Game 5 (if necessary): Sunday, September 20
Midland RockHounds @ Northwest Arkansas Naturals, 6:05 p.m.
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This Week in Texas League History
September 14, 1964...San Antonio opened the league championship series by beating Tulsa 1-0 in 16 innings. It was the second 16-inning loss in the postseason in just five days for the Oilers, after they lost 6-5 at Albuquerque on September 9th in the opening round of the playoffs.
September 15, 1895... Fort Worth's Charlie Meyers stroked the first home run in Texas League postseason play. The poke came in the eighth contest of a series that Fort Worth would eventually win in 13 games.
September 16, 1980... Beaumont businessman Ted Moor, Jr. bought the Amarillo Gold Sox from John Dittrich. Moor, 48, retained Dittrich as general manager.
September 17, 1931... In front of a huge crowd of 20,074 fans at Birmingham, the Barons topped Houston 1-0 in the opening game of the Dixie Series. Birmingham ace Ray Caldwell out-pitched Houston's Dizzy Dean, allowing the Buffs just five hits in an exciting contest. The series would not be kind to Dean. While he turned the tables on Caldwell in game four, winning a 2-0 three-hitter, "Diz" would lose game seven 6-3 when he tired in the ninth inning, giving up three runs.
September 18, 1949... In one of the most unusual and dramatic ends to a league postseason game, relief pitcher Jack Kraus slugged a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving Shreveport a 4-3 win over Fort Worth. The Sports' euphoria was short lived as they were eliminated the next night, losing the game 3-0 and the series 4-1.
September 19, 1931... Houston's George Payne tossed a brilliant, one-hit, 1-0 win over Birmingham in game two of the Dixie Series. Payne walked just one and struck out eight in the masterpiece.
September 20, 1920... Bill Whitaker pitched Fort Worth to a 3-2 win over Little Rock in the first-ever Dixie Series game. Whitaker walked none and struck out five, while giving up eight hits and no earned runs in the complete game effort.
September 21, 1950... In the fourth game of the league championship series, Tulsa erupted for six runs in the top of the 11th inning, on its way to a 13-7 win at San Antonio. The crowning blow in the inning was a booming, bases-loaded triple by rightfielder Wally Post, who had already driven in two other runs in the game. The Oilers benefited from 14 walks issued by Missions pitchers, including five in the 11th inning.
Texas League Stories from September 14, 2009
- Texas League Update - TL1
- RockHounds Start Championship Series On Tuesday - Midland RockHounds
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