AirHogs Come Back, Then Hold on to Sweep Lemurs

Published on June 13, 2012 under American Association (AA)
Grand Prairie AirHogs News Release


GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas -- The Grand Prairie AirHogs won for a season-best fifth straight game on Wednesday, scoring six times in the bottom of the sixth inning before holding on in the ninth inning to beat the Laredo Lemurs 7-6 in front of a Summer Camp Day crowd of 2,898 at QuikTrip Park.

Laredo (10-16) got out to a 4-0 lead through two and a half innings against Josh Strawn (3-0), with a passed ball and two errors by Strawn leading to all the runs.

But a triple by David Thomas and a sac fly by Keanon Simon in the third put the AirHogs (16-10) on the board, as they started their biggest comeback of the season.

Lemurs starter Chris Chavez (2-4) retired nine in a row before walking Yasutsugu Nishimoto to start the sixth. After Keanon Simon flied out, Nishimoto stole second and Bryan Frichter singled to put runners at the corners. Brian Myrow walked to load the bases, and Chavez hit Andres Rodriguez with a pitch to force in a run.

Up came Greg Porter against lefty reliever Jesus Martinez, who lined a ball to second. Anthony Scelfo caught it and looked to double up Myrow, who retreated to second, before turning and trying to throw to first to get Rodriguez. But his throw went awry, and the runners moved up to make it 4-3.

Laredo manager Pete Incaviglia then went to the bullpen to bring in righty Garrett Sherrill to face righty-swinging Kenny Held, but AirHogs skipper Ricky VanAsselberg countered with lefty-swinging Trent Lockwood off the bench. Lockwood greeted Sherrill with a sharp single to score two and give the AirHogs the lead, before a double and a walk loaded the bases again for Nishimoto, who singled home two more to cap the rally.

Strawn set down 12 in a row before issuing a walk but getting a double play to end the seventh. Ronnie Morales came in and got the Lemurs out in the eighth, and turned it over to closer Justin Dowdy in the ninth. The lefty ran into some control problems, walking Stephen Pearson on four pitches to start the frame. Then, behind 3-1 to John Allen, Dowdy got strike 2 before Allen hit a two-run homer to left to make it a one-run game.

But Dowdy got the next three outs in routine fashion, picking up his fifth save of the season to finish the four-game sweep.

Notes: This is the second game in a row that the AirHogs had a six-run inning...Each team struck out eight times...The Lemurs had 21 hits in the four games...No player had more than one hit.

The 2011 American Association Champion Grand Prairie AirHogs now begin a three-game series against the Newark Bears, the first interleague matchup in franchise history. Thursday, June 14, is a doubleheader, starting at 6:05 p.m. It is Thirsty Thursday, with $2 beers, as well as Grand Prairie Chamber of Commerce Night, with fans able to win the shirts off the AirHogs' backs that night. All games are aired live and for free on Ustream by clicking on the link on the AirHogs' home page or visiting http://www.ustream.tv/channel/airhogs-baseball with selected contests aired on Time Warner Cable's Texas Channel. For information on tickets, promotions, advertising, and other opportunities with the AirHogs, check out the Web site at www.airhogsbaseball.com, or call the QuikTrip Park office at (972) 504-9383.

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American Association Stories from June 13, 2012


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