SAL1 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Game Notes: Kannapolis Intimidators (White Sox) vs. Hagerstown Suns (Nationals) - May 17, 2013

Published on May 17, 2013 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers News Release


KANNAPOLIS INTIMIDATORS (14-23) vs. HAGERSTOWN SUNS (23-14)

OPERATION FAMILY TIME PRESENTED BY CANNON SCHOOL

Friday, May 17, 2013 - 7:05 p.m.

CMC-NorthEast Stadium - Kannapolis, N.C.

Game #37 (14-23) - Home Game #15 (4-10)

RHP Kyle Hansen (0-0, 6.75) vs. RHP Ivan Pineyro (2-2, 3.64)

Today's Preview: On the heels of a four-game skid, the Intimidators (A, White Sox) look to climb back into the thick SAL Northern Division against the first place Suns (A, Nationals) in the second game of this 4-game series. Kannapolis dropped the series opener to Hagerstown, 10-7, Thursday after suffering a 3-game sweep at Lexington to wrap up the team's recent road trip. The Intimidators have dropped to seventh in the division, 9.0 games behind the Suns, who now leads second-place Hickory by 3.0 games.

Intimidating Starter: Kyle Hansen, 22, makes his second start of the season and of his career after moving into the Kannapolis rotation last week. The 6'8" right-hander joined the team May 5 from Extended Spring and made his first appearance out of the bullpen on May 6 against Greensboro, recording a six-out save while striking out four over 2.0 hitless innings. The White Sox picked Hansen in the sixth round of the June 2012 draft out of St. John's University in Queens, NY where he was a First-Team All-Big East selection as a sophomore and a Second-Team All-American by Baseball America in 2010. He led St. Dominic High School (Oyster Bay, NY) to their first state championship as a senior and was twice named First-Team All-State. Hansen is the younger brother of Boston's 2005 first-round pick Craig Hansen, who pitched in the Major Leagues with the Red Sox and Pirates from 2005-09, going 4-9 with a 6.32 ERA in 95 relief appearances. Craig is currently in the New York Mets system.

Hagerstown Hurler: Ivan Pineyro, 21, makes his eighth start of the season and first against a White Sox affiliate. He struck out a career-high 12 over a season-high 6.0 scoreless innings on April 28, limiting Hickory to three hits while walking two. Pineyro has struck out 32 over 29.2 innings this season. The Nationals signed him as a Non-Drafted Free Agent July 2, 2010, and he made his pro debut with the DSL Nationals in 2011. Pineyro split 2012 between the GCL Nationals and Auburn (NYPL), going 3-2 with a 4.26 ERA (27 ER/57 IP) over 13 starts, striking out 50 while walking 15.

Micah on the Move: Leadoff man Micah Johnson stole second base in the first inning on Thursday, upping his Minor League-leading total to 36 in 43 attempts (.837), before scoring later in the inning for his 35th run scored, second-most in the SAL. He has stolen 15 bases over his last nine games. Johnson's seven times caught stealing are tied for third-most in MiLB. He leads the league with five triples. Baseball America rated Johnson as the White Sox No. 25 Prospect this season, naming him the Fastest Baserunner in the organization's 2012 draft class.

Hot on the Corner: Infielder Michael Johnson went 1-3 with a walk and two runs scored Thursday, stretching his on-base streak to 11 games, the longest current streak by an Intimidator. Johnson hit safely in seven straight games May 4-12, batting .474 (9-19) along the way. He has hit safely in nine of his last 11 games, batting .387 (12-31) in that span. Johnson has solidified a spot on the left side of the infield, manning third base in seven of the last nine Intimidators games.

Coats Racks It Up: Outfielder Jason Coats launched a 3-run home run (2) with two outs in the eighth on Thursday, cutting the Suns' 6-run lead in half. He finished the game 3-5 with a career-high 4 RBI, two runs scored and a triple shy of the cycle. He upped his average to .315 (46-146) and now ranks fourth in the SAL in hits and 11th in average, leading the team. Coats has a team-high 29 RBI, tied for seventh in the league. The former TCU Horned Frog dominated over four seasons in Fort Worth, batting .334 in his college career (304-909) and leading the Frogs to the College World Series Final-8 as a sophomore in 2010. The White Sox selected Coats in the 29th round of the June 2012 draft, but he did not play for the Sox last year (injured).

Four Score: Coats drove in four runs on Thursday, the fourth Intimidator to put together a 4-RBI game this season. Kale Kiser did it on opening night in Lakewood (4/4). Rangel Ravelo (4/7 at Lakewood) and Micah Johnson (4/24 vs. Rome) have also driven in four this season.

Kiser Rolls: Kale Kiser led off the home half of the fourth inning on Thursday with his team-leading fourth home run, finishing 1-2 with two runs scored and two walks. He has hit safely in a season-high four straight games, batting .364 (4-11), and he has reached base safely in seven straight games.

Fish Feasts: Catcher Zach Fisher continued a solid streak at the plate, going 1-3 with a double and a walk Thursday, upping his average to .269, just three points shy of his season-high. Fisher has hit safely in five of his last six games, batting .360 (9-25) since May 10, including a pair of 3-hit games May 10 and May 12 during the four-game series at Asheville. Fisher spent three years at New Mexico State, finishing his career with a .368 average. He was named First-Team All-Western Athletic Conference as Third-Team All-American by Louisville Slugger as a senior, leading the WAC in average (.355), hits (82), and RBI (60).

Strikeout Streaks: Infielder Tyler Williams continued a dubious streak on Thursday, striking out three times in an 0-5 night. Williams has now struck out in all 24 games he's played this season, including five games in which he has fanned three times. As a team, the Intimidators have struck out just 295 times this season, fifth-fewest in the SAL. Kannapolis is trying to snap stretch of setting a franchise record for team strikeouts every year since 2010. Prior to that season, the Intimidators team record for most strikeouts in season was 1,081 in 2004 before the I's whiffed 1,089 times in 2010; 1,109 in 2011 and then 1,113 last season.

Here's to you, Mr. Robinson: Kyle Robinson has hit safely in seven of his last eight games, including a 1-4 night with an RBI Thursday against the Suns. After a slow start in his first seven games in which he hit .120 (3-25), Robinson has batted .343 (12-35) with all seven of his RBI over his next eight games.

Two Trot Home: Hagerstown took the lead Thursday on a rare two-run sacrifice fly in the seventh inning. Trailing 4-3, the Suns put runners on second and third to chase starter Brandon Brennan from the game with one out. Reliever Todd Kibby came in to pitch to Tony Renda, the Nationals' No. 12 Prospect according to Baseball America . Renda drove the ball to deep centerfield, and Ruben Sierra Jr. ran it down at the track, but both base runners came home to put the Suns ahead, 5-4. Hagerstown went on to win 10-7.

Radio Broadcasts: All 70 Intimidators home games and select road games will be carried live on intimidatorsbaseball.com with Josh Feldman in his third season as the Voice of the Intimidators.

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