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Ambassadors Hang on and Beat Jackals, 6-5

August 9, 2003 - Canadian American League (Can-Am)
Allentown Ambassadors News Release


The Allentown Ambassadors got a double play with the tying run at third base and the winning run at first in the ninth inning to hang on and beat the New Jersey Jackals 6-5 Saturday night in New Jersey.

Allentown got out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning off New Jersey starter Ryan Darcy when Cedrick Harris led off the game with a single, stole second and moved to third on a throwing error on the play by Jackal catcher Carlos Pagan. Harris then scored on a wild pitch to make it 1-0.

The Jackals would respond in the bottom of the second inning. Scott McKee walked with one out, then Chris Rowan hit a bloop single to left center. Craig Conway followed with a RBI single to tie the game off Ambassadors starter Miguel Perez. John Anderson then hit a grounder to Greg Schmidt at third, who threw wildly to first, allowing Anderson to reach on the error. Rowan scored on the play and would have scored even had the throw been good and Anderson out, so Anderson got an RBI and the run was an earned run.

Perez got out of the inning, but had thrown 58 pitches through two innings. The Ambassadors would strike right back in the top of the third. Luis Melendez began the inning with a single. Then Cedrick Harris singled. Ender Gonzalez attempted to bunt Melendez over to third, but Melendez was thrown at third base. Gonzalez reached first base on the play and scored on Vic Davilla's three run home run down the right field line that put the Ambassadors back out in front. It was Davilla's fifteenth home run of the season.

The Ambassadors would add another run in the fifth, with an RBI single from Davilla driving in Melendez. Davilla finished the night 2-4 with four RBI. He now leads the league in two of the three triple crown categories with a .354 batting average and 62 RBI. He is one home run behind Carlos Rodriguez for the league lead in home runs. Melendez finished the night 2-3 with a double and a run scored.

The Jackals would add an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth that the Ambassadors countered in the sixth. Perez came out of the game after the sixth having thrown 116 pitches and giving up three runs, two earned, on five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. Justin Keeling came in and gave up two runs in the seventh to close the gap to just one run, but stayed in the game and pitched a perfect eighth inning.

That set the stage for the ninth. Keeling walked Joe Kerrigan to begin the inning on two close pitches that the Ambassadors took exception to. Scott Samuels then hit a soft single to left. Kevin Grijak followed with a line out to the wall in right field, which Kerrigan moved to third on. Carlos Gomez then came in and got Travis Bailey to ground into a double play to end the game. After the game was over Ambassador coach Denton Lakatosh yelled and gestured at home plate umpire John Conrad who threw him out of the game, even though it was already over.

Perez picked up the win, moving his record to 6-4. Darcy took the loss and is now 2-1. Gomez picked up his second save. With the win, the Ambassadors are now 10-17 in the second half, while the Jackals fall back to the .500 mark at 13-13. The two teams play the final game of the series tomorrow afternoon in Allentown, with Nolan Fry pitching for the Ambassadors against Joel Bennett for the Jackals. It is Lanyard Night at Bicentennial Park.



Canadian American League Stories from August 9, 2003


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