MWL1 Peoria Chiefs

Chiefs Get Great Pitching, Timely Hitting in 4-2 win

Published on July 13, 2011 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release


Peoria, IL - The Peoria Chiefs did not allow an earned run and picked up two timely hits to knock off the Lake County Captains 4-2 in the first game of a six-game homestand on Wednesday night. The win moves the Chiefs to 8-11 on the second half and 41-48 overall.

Both teams wasted good early chances as the game stayed scoreless into the bottom of the fourth. Lake County put their leadoff batter on second base in the first inning after a single and a stolen base. But Chiefs starter Frank Del Valle struck out the next three Captains. Peoria responded with consecutive singles from Rubi Silva and Elliot Soto to put runners on the corners. Mike Goodnight struck out Ryan Cuneo, Soto was caught stealing and Richard Jones bounced out to keep the game scoreless.

After both teams left runners in scoring position again in the third, the Chiefs broke through against Goodnight in the fourth. Cuneo led off with a double and with two outs Anthony Giansanti drew a walk. Ben Klafczynski, in his first game at O'Brien Field, put the Chiefs up 1-0 with a single to right before Goodnight got out of the inning.

Sosa took over on the mound for Del Valle to start the fifth and immediately got into trouble. Ronny Rodriguez led off with a single to center and Kenny Fontanez laid down a sacrifice bunt. Sosa fielded the bunt but his throw to first landed in the Chiefs bullpen as Rodriguez scored and Fontanez made it to third base. A one-out sacrifice fly by Moises Montero put the Captains on top 2-1.

Peoria came right back in the bottom of the fifth as Silva worked a one-out walk and scored on a two-out double to right by Cuneo. With the game tied, Jones singled to left to bring home Cuneo for a 3-2 Chiefs lead. Jones was thrown out at second on the play to end the inning but the Chiefs had the lead.

As the bullpen dealt with the Captains, the Chiefs tacked on an unearned run in the eighth inning. Jones reached second on a fielder's choice and an error before moving to third on a wild pitch. Micah Gibbs put the Chiefs on top 4-2 with a sacrifice fly to left.

Del Valle threw a career-high four innings and allowed just three hits and no runs. He struck out five and did not issue a walk. Sosa (3-1) allowed two unearned runs on one hit while striking out two over two innings. Yohan Gonzalez allowed one hit over two shutout innings while striking out two. Brent Ebinger picked up his second save with a perfect ninth inning.

Casey's General Store Player of the Game - Ryan Cuneo (1B) - Cuneo doubled to start the fourth and scored the game's first run. He doubled again to bring home Silva and tie the game in the fifth before scoring the go-ahead run. Cuneo added a single in the eighth to finish 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored and a RBI.

Notes: Jones and Cuneo both have eight-game hitting streaks...Jones leads the team with eight game-winning RBI including two wins in a row...Cuneo had his third 3-hit game and 11th multi-hit game of the season...He also had two doubles on Saturday at Cedar Rapids...Gonzalez is now even with Sosa for the team lead in holds with two...Sosa has committed the most errors for all Chiefs pitchers with two...Del Valle threw a career-high four innings in his second Chiefs start and fifth career start...Ebinger has saved the Chiefs last two home wins...Peoria didn't issue a walk for the second time in seven games and they have walked just five batters in the last 37 innings...Peoria is 12-17 in the first game of a series this season and 8-7 at home...This was Lake County's first ever game in Peoria...The Captains joined the Midwest League in 2009 from the South Atlantic League and won the Championship though Peoria was 2-1 at Lake County last July...Peoria also played Cleveland Indians affiliates from 1983-1988 in Waterloo...Wednesday's game starts a 12-game stretch against the Eastern Division with three against Lake County, three versus Fort Wayne, three at Dayton and three at Bowling Green...The Chiefs are 6-7 against the East this season, 4-3 at home...The series continues Thursday at 7:00 p.m. with a Thirsty Thursday and Man Night...All 16 ounce domestic draft beers and fountain sodas are just $2.00 each...Peoria starts LH Austin Kirk (5-5, 2.53) in his first home start since the July 4 no-hitter...Lake County counters with RH Cole Cook (3-9, 4.42)...The broadcast can be heard, starting with the pre-game show at 6:40 p.m. on www.peoriachiefs.com/listenlive which also has downloads for an iPhone/iPad app, a Blackberry app and a Droid app.

Check out the Peoria Chiefs Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Midwest League Stories from July 13, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central