Another late rally helps AirHogs top Diablos

Published on June 18, 2011 under American Association (AA)
Grand Prairie AirHogs News Release


GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas -- In a 4-4 game in the bottom of the ninth inning, Grand Prairie AirHogs catcher Chris McMurray tripled to right-center with one out, putting the winning run 90 feet away. With manager Ricky VanAsselberg serving the first of his five-game suspension after Thursday's brawl, acting manager Barrett Weaver called on Danny Figueroa to try a suicide squeeze to win the game. But Figueroa fouled off the first bunt. Undeterred, Figueroa tried it again, but fouled off the tough pitch from the El Paso Diablos' Albert Montes again. With the count now 0-2, Figueroa changed his approach and sent the next pitch to right-center, deep enough to bring McMurray in from third on a sacrifice fly, as the AirHogs beat the Diablos 5-4 in dramatic fashion in front of a crowd of 2,376 at QuikTrip Park.

Figueroa's game-winning RBI capped another late comeback for Grand Prairie (24-10), as El Paso (9-25) hit two home runs off David Nathanson in the first two innings to take a 3-0 lead. The AirHogs, who knocked out starter Adam Rowe after two-thirds of an inning in their last meeting last Sunday in El Paso, went down in order in the first inning, but knocked Rowe out in the second when Greg Porter's liner hit him in the knee and forced the Diablos starter out of the game.

With three relievers (Jon Plefka, Juan Medina and Ray Silva) suspended after Thursday's brawl, the Diablos were very short-handed. First out of the pen was Scott Vander Weg, and he allowed just an unearned run pitching from the second until the bottom of the sixth. But after the Diablos got an unearned run in the top of the sixth to go up 4-1, the AirHogs comeback began in earnest.

A tiring Vander Weg walked David Thomas to start the bottom of the sixth, and singles by David Espinosa and Porter made it 4-2. After Tyler Henley lined Montes' first pitch to first to start an unassisted double play, Guillermo Martinez in part atoned for an earlier error by dropping a double down the rightfield line to make it 4-3.

An inning later, it was an error on the El Paso third baseman, Johan Garcia, that opened the door for the AirHogs to tie the game. With two outs, his misplay allowed Figueroa to reach, and he immediately stole second on the first pitch to Thomas. The AirHogs leftfielder, who earlier made a great leaping catch at the wall, then stroked a single to left-center to tie the game off Montes (0-2).

Jon Fulton got six outs while allowing a single and a walk, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the seventh, while closer Jon Hunton (3-0) pitched a perfect ninth to set the stage for Figueroa's game-ender, earning the victory in the process.

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American Association Stories from June 18, 2011


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