Almario Hits Walkoff Homer to Give St. George 10-9 Win
June 16, 2009 - Golden Baseball League (GBL)
St. George RoadRunners News Release
ST. GEORGE - Yosvany Almario's only hit of the ballgame in the 11th inning flew over the scoreboard in left-center for a walk-off home run giving the St. George RoadRunners a 10-9 comeback win over Tucson at Bruce Hurst Field on Monday night.
The victory improves the RoadRunners to 15-7 on the year and secured the series two games to one over the Toros.
In the final frame, the Toros took a two-run lead on a blast to right field by 1B Jim Rushford, his second homer of the series.
In the home half, Almario may have never gotten a chance if not for a dropped ball by Andre Marshall in the outfield on a Juan Serrano fly ball with one out. After the error put Serrano at second, Ryan Stevenson drew a walk from Jordan Muir (L, 1-1). With a 1-1 count, Almario lifted a pitch deep into the Utah night to cap the comeback.
Bartolome Fortunato notched the win (2-0) by striking out C Luis Apodaca with two out in the eleventh. Fortunato followed a yeoman's effort by reliever Raymar Diaz who tossed 5.2 innings allowing the Rushford homer and striking out six. Starter Luis Gonzalez scattered six runs, three earned, over five frames.
Almario's homer was not the lone one for St. George. Angel Sanchez, playing in LF for an ailing Ruddy Yan, lifted two solo homers (7, 8) to lead off the fifth and seventh innings. Jose Rodriguez hit his fourth of the year, a three-run laser to left, as part of the RoadRunners five run first inning.
Tuscon responded to STG's opening statement by scoring seven runs unanswered including five to take the lead in the third. Curt Miaso highlighted the spurt with a two-run double.
The Toros outhit St. George 17 to 11. Rushford and Miaso each had four base hits. For St. George, Sanchez had three extra-base hits while A.J. Valentine was the only other RoadRunner with a multi-hit game.
Starting Tuesday night, the defending GBL champion Orange County make their first trip to Bruce Hurst Field. The Flyers have the longest current winning streak at seven games.
First pitch on Tuesday night is scheduled for 7:05pm. The RoadRunners are expected to start RHP Eric Van Slyke (2-1, 5.11) who won his last start in Calgary.
Live audio coverage begins with the Infowest Pre-Game Show with John Potter at 6:45pm.
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Golden Baseball League Stories from June 16, 2009
- Flyers Extend Win Streak to Eight - St. George RoadRunners
- Flyers Sell Contract of RHP Brian Lawrence to the San Diego Padres - Orange County Flyers
- Long Beach Armada to host "Jon Wilhite Fundraiser Night" on June 27 - Long Beach Armada
- Seals Stage Comeback In Calgary - Victoria Seals
- Almario Hits Walkoff Homer to Give St. George 10-9 Win - St. George RoadRunners
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