PCL1 Albuquerque Isotopes

Albuquerque Tops Zephyrs 5-2 in Series Finale

Published on April 29, 2012 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Albuquerque Isotopes News Release


For the third straight contest, the Albuquerque Isotopes (13-11) were beneficiaries of great starting pitching, this time courtesy of Stephen Fife, en route to a 5-2 series-ending win over the New Orleans Zephyrs (14-9) Sunday afternoon at Zephyr Field. The triumph is the second straight for the "˜Topes, who leave the Big Easy with a series split and finish their eight-game road trip with an extremely respectable 5-3 record.

The right-hander Fife (2-2) enjoyed easily his best outing of the season, tossing 6.0 innings in which he allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out three to earn his second win of the year.

Fife's counterpart, Zephyrs starting pitcher Wade LeBlanc, was nearly just as good, holding the Isotopes hitless through the first four innings until Albuquerque finally touched him up in the fifth. Luis Cruz ignited the rally with a one-out single to center and came all the way around to score when the next batter, Jerry Sands, smoked a double off the wall in center to give the "˜Topes a 1-0 lead.

Albuquerque struck again in the sixth, posting a crooked number when Elian Herrera roped a one-out double to left and immediately scored on a single by Trent Oeltjen, making the score 2-0 Isotopes. After Oeltjen alertly advanced to second on the throw home, Josh Fields slapped a single to left, putting runners at the corners for Scott Van Slyke, who lifted a sacrifice fly to right, plating Oeltjen and increasing the lead to 3-0.

Sands started another "˜Topes rally in the seventh with a lead-off single and immediately scored on a double by Tim Federowicz to give Albuquerque a 4-0 cushion. A wild pitch moved Federowicz to third, from where he scored on a pinch-hit sac fly by Jeff Baisley to make the score 5-0 Isotopes.

New Orleans would make the game interesting, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh on a two-run double by Jake Jeffries to trim the lead to 5-2 but the "˜Topes bullpen would slam the door. Cole St. Clair authored a perfect eighth before Ramon Troncoso (1) fired a seven-pitch, one-two-three ninth to secure his first save of the year and seal the 5-2 Albuquerque win.

Albuquerque will return home tomorrow for an eight-game homestand that begins with a series against the Oklahoma City RedHawks, Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. Right-hander John Ely (1-2, 6.64) will make the start for the "˜Topes against "˜Hawks lefty Brett Oberholtzer (No Record), who will be making his Triple-A debut.

The Isotopes' eight-game homestand kicks off tomorrow with the first of three 50-Cent Hot Dog Nights and includes back-to-back weekend fireworks. Tickets for any Isotopes game may be purchased at the Isotopes Park Box Office, at Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, or on-line at www.abqisotopes.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

Check out the Albuquerque Isotopes Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from April 29, 2012


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