AirHogs Get Out-Hit by Eight But Win by Four

Published on June 8, 2011 under American Association (AA)
Grand Prairie AirHogs News Release


GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas -- It's not often that a baseball team can get out-hit by eight but still win by four, but the Grand Prairie AirHogs did it on Wednesday, leaving only two men on base to the Amarillo Sox's nine as they beat the Sox 6-2 in front of a Summer Camp Day crowd of 2,864 at QuikTrip Park.

Lefty Greg Smith (3-1) only had one perfect inning, but thanks to a double play and a pickoff he had three three-batter frames, and scattered 11 hits through seven frames - with only three doubles and eight singles. Smith also did not walk a batter (although he hit one) while striking out five.

Grand Prairie (17-9) took the lead in the first inning when David Thomas walked with one out and Cesar Nicolas belted a 1-2 pitch for a two-run homer to left-center off Travis Lawler (1-2).

Three straight hits erased that lead in the fourth, when Benji Johnson shot a double down the rightfield line to tie the game. But Smith got leadoff hitter Fehlandt Lentini to ground out with two on to end that inning, and got out of his final jam with a flyout and a strikeout with two on in the seventh.

After Nicolas's homer, Lawler faced the minimum 14 batters through the sixth inning, but he walked Danny Figueroa to start the bottom of the sixth. The speedy centerfielder then stole second, went to third on David Espinosa's grounder to first and scored on Thomas's sacrifice fly, giving the AirHogs a 3-2 lead.

That advantage grew in the seventh, when two doubles and an error brought in John Alonso and Jake Taylor, knocking out Lawler after 6 2/3 innings. Nicolas then picked up his third RBI in the eighth on a base hit to drive in Espinosa after another leadoff walk to end the scoring.

Dustin Cameron and Jon Hunton each allowed a hit in their one inning each of work, but the back end of the AirHogs bullpen kept the Sox off the board to give the AirHogs the series win.

Notes: The AirHogs are now 3-0 in series rubber games and are 6-2 in series finales...Sox pitcher Matt Elliott was 2-for-4 as the designated hitter, with three position players unable to go for Amarillo...AirHogs catcher Zane Chavez, who usually starts against righthanded pitchers, missed his third straight game after bruising his thumb making a tag at the plate on Sunday.

~~~~~ ~~~~~

The AirHogs have Thursday off and then head to El Paso for a three-game series with the Diablos, beginning at 8:05 p.m. Central Time on Friday, June 10. The next home game at QuikTrip Park is Thursday, June 16, at 7:05 p.m. against the El Paso Diablos, with Thirsty Thursday, featuring $2 16-oz. beers. Don't miss the renewed commitment to excellence and affordable family entertainment. All games are available with live, free streaming video on ustream.tv. Individual game tickets are on sale and can be purchased by calling 972-504-9383 or by visiting www.airhogsbaseball.com.

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



American Association Stories from June 8, 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