AA American Association

American Association Recap

August 19, 2006 - American Association (AA) News Release


Pensacola 4, Shreveport 1

@ Shreveport, LA. Time: 2:14 Attendance: 1,933

W: Blake Allen (1-2) L: T.J. Hendricks (7-4) S: Tony Pierce (20)

HR: PN-George Branch 2(10)

Pensacola got a big night offensively from DH George Branch and a great outing from starting pitcher Blake Allen to pick up its 13th win of the second half. Allen allowed just one run on seven hits and struck out two in 8 1/3 innings to improve to 1-2 and closer Tony Pierce picked up his 20th save, striking out the only two batters he faced. Branch was 2-for-4 on the night, including two solo home runs. 1B Tim Dorn was also productive at the plate for the Pelicans going 3-for-4 with a run batted in.

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Lincoln 11, St. Joe 2

@ Lincoln, NE. Time: 2:43 Attendance: 7,278

W: Ben Fox (9-3) L: Jesen Merle (4-6) S: NONE HR: LN-Bryan Warner (9), Brett Cooley (14)

Lincoln got plenty of offense in support of starting pitcher Ben Fox to improve to 29-13 in the second half, good enough to clinch the second half North Division title. Fox did not allow a run on six hits and struck out two in five innings of work to pick up his ninth win of the year. Every Saltdog recorded at least one hit with six posting more than one. RF Bryan Warner was 2-for-5 in the game, including his ninth home run, with a run scored and three runs batted in while 1B Brett Cooley also homered, his 14th, and was also 2-for-5.

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St. Paul 7, Sioux Falls 6

@ Sioux Falls, SD. Time: 3:00 Attendance: 3,464

W: Ivan Hernandez (3-2) L: Aaron Garrison (6-6) S: Matt Hammons (21) HR: SP-Derrick White (2); SF-Chad Hermansen (19)

Despite getting out-hit 15-12, the St. Paul Saints hung on late to edge Sioux Falls 7-6, improving them to 21-21 in the second half and opening their lead in the North Division Wild Card race to 2 1/2 games over St. Joe. Sioux Falls LF Ralph Santana was the offensive star of the contest, turning in a 5-for-5 effort in which he scored once and drove in a pair and CF Chad Hermansen hit his 19th home run of the year in a 2-for-5 night. St. Paul LF Derrick White also homered, his second, and went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two runs batted in. Saints closer Matt Hammons fought off the Canaries for 1 1/3 innings to pick up his 21st save.

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Fort Worth 6, Sioux City 4

@ Fort Worth, TX. Time: 3:02 Attendance: 5,673

W: Jeff Montani (2-1) L: Mike Nunes (3-5) S: Steve Wilkerson (17) HR: SC-Jorge Moreno (19)

Fort Worth improved to 28-13 in the second half after it got three runs in the eighth inning to overcome a two-run deficit. 3B Terrence Green was 3-for-4 with a run scored and a run batted in to lead the Cats at the plate. SS Marc Mirizzi also chipped in a solid effort, going 2-for-4 with two runs batted in. Sioux City LF Jorge Moreno was hit his 19th home run of the season in a 2-for-3 night in which he scored twice and drove in two. Cats closer Steve Wilkerson allowed one hit and struck out the side in the ninth to pick up his 17th save of the season. With the loss, Sioux City is eliminated from the North Division Wild Card race.

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El Paso 10, Coastal Bend 7

@ Robstown, TX. Time: 3:25 Attendance: 3,430

W: David McWatters (4-9) L: B.J. Litchfield (3-5) S: Ned Darley (2) HR: EP-Jorge Alvarez (6); CB-Pat O'Sullivan (4), Stephen Morales (6)

El Paso got a solid offensive effort to come from behind to beat Coastal Bend who scored seven runs in the first two innings and couldn't manage to plate another run. Aviators' DH Pat O'Sullivan was 3-for-5 in the game, including his fourth home run, and C Stephen Morales homered as well, his sixth, in a 1-for-5 effort. Diablos' DH Jorge Alvarez hit his sixth home run of the season and was 2-for-4 with two runs batted in to lead El Paso. C Ben Rosenthal also had a big night. He was 3-for-4 with four runs scored.

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STANDINGS

NORTH DIVISION W L GB

@-Lincoln (31-17) 29 13 --

St. Joe (26-22) 21 20 7.5

St. Paul (29-19) 21 21 8.0

Sioux City (24-24) 18 24 11.0

Sioux Falls (16-32) 16 26 13.0

SOUTH DIVISION W L GB

Fort Worth (24-24) 28 13 --

x-Shreveport (26-22) 23 16 4.0

Coastal Bend (23-25) 22 18 5.5

El Paso (17-31) 12 24 13.5

Pensacola (24-24) 13 28 15.0

x-won first half. First-half record is in parentheses.

@-won first and second half.

If one club should win both halves, then its playoff opponent shall be the team with the second-best winning percentage during the entire season, in that division.

WILD CARD STANDINGS

NORTH DIVISION W L GB

St. Paul 50 40 --

St. Joe 47 42 2.5

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Tomorrow's Schedule (All times are Central):

St. Joe (Andrew Edwards, 2-4) vs. St. Paul (Charlie Ruud, 6-6) 4:05 PM

Sioux City (Chris Swiatkiewicz, 1-2) vs. Pensacola (Todd Androsko, 3-6) 6:05 PM

Coastal Bend (Pedro Flores, 6-4) vs. Shreveport (Eric Wikstrom, 10-3) 7:05 PM

El Paso (Andy Torres, 8-5) vs. Fort Worth (Ryan Weems, 2-8) 7:05 PM

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