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EL1 Binghamton Rumble Ponies

B-Mets Stay Hot, Top Portland 10-8 for Sixth Straight Series Victory

July 4, 2010 - Eastern League (EL1)
Binghamton Rumble Ponies News Release


Binghamton trailed for six innings until a five-run outburst in the seventh pushed them over the top for a 10-8 win over Portland in front of a season-best crowd of 5,740 at NYSEG Stadium Sunday night. Kirk Nieuwenhuis supplied the game-winning blow with a two-out, two-run double off reliever Mitch Herold. The B-Mets have won six consecutive series dating back to the middle of June.

The rally began after Herold struck out D.J. Wabick to open the seventh inning. Josh Satin worked a walk and was joined on base by Raul Reyes, who singled to center. Mike Nickeas filled the bases with a clean single to left, his third hit of the night. With the bases chucked, Jose Coronado dropped a bloop single into center, plating Satin. Jon Malo followed and hit a groundball to short that looked to be a double-play ball, but Malo beat the rap at first, allowing Reyes to score. It was then that Nieuwenhuis dealt the crippling blow with a screaming double over the head of Che Hsuan-Lin in center, pushing Nickeas and Malo across to give Binghamton (44-39) a 9-8 lead. Sean Ratliff finished the frame off with an RBI knock to center, bringing home Nieuwenhuis.

Portland (41-41) jumped on Eric Niesen in the first inning, reaching with its first four hitters. Lin singled to start the game. Niesen walked the next two hitters to load them up for Luis Exposito, who doubled to the gap in right-center, plating a pair of runs. Ryan Khoury drove in the final run of the frame with a sac fly to right, pitting the Sea Dogs a 3-0 lead.

Nate Spears upped the lead to four with a sacrifice fly to center in the second, driving home Matt Sheely, who had led off the inning with a single. Niesen exited after issuing a two-out walk to Yamaico Navarro. The southpaw failed to make it out of the second inning for the third time this season. He was charged for four runs over 1 2/3 innings. Eddie Kunz came on in relief and stranded the bases loaded to clean up after Niesen.

Binghamton fought back in the last of the second. Wabick reached on an error by starter Stephen Fife, who dropped a feed from first baseman Anthony Rizzo on a routine groundball to first. Reyes followed with a single. With two on and one out, Nickeas doubled to right-center, forcing Wabick across. Coronado completed the scoring with an RBI groundout to first, cutting the lead in half, 4-2.

After the Sea Dogs pushed the lead back to four in the third with three doubles off Kunz, the B-Mets responded with three runs of their own. Nieuwenhuis led off the stanza with a double. Then with one out, Fife walked Nick Evans and allowed a single to Wabick to load the bases. Satin drove in the first run with a single to right. The final two runs came across on a botched play at first on a Nickeas ground ball. Rizzo threw wide of Fife, who was racing to the bag to force Nickeas, allowing Wabick and Satin to score, narrowing the lead to 6-5.

The Sea Dogs stretched their margin to three in the sixth as Kunz loaded the bases with a walk, a hit by pitch and a single. With the bags packed and one out, Roy Merritt spelled the sinkerballer and gave up an RBI single to Chih-Hsien Chiang and a run-scoring fielder's choice to Sheely. Kunz went 3 2/3 innings and allowed four runs on six hits. Merritt notched the win with 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Portland got the tying runs on base in the ninth with a pair of singles off lefty Derrick Ellison. However, Edgar Ramirez bailed out the veteran southpaw by inducing a game-ending double play off the bat of Navarro to nail down his first save.

Nieuwenhuis ripped three hits, highlighted by a pair of doubles, and scored two runs to pace the B-Mets 14-hit attack. Ratliff and Nickeas also managed three-hit performances.

Binghamton takes to the road for a four-game set at Altoona beginning Monday night at 7:00 PM. LHP Mike Antonini (5-6, 4.05) will go for the B-Mets against Major League rehabbing LHP Zach Duke (0-0, 0.00) of Altoona. The radio broadcast on Newsradio 1290 WNBF begins at 6:45 PM with the Horizons Federal Credit Union Pre-Game Show.

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Eastern League Stories from July 4, 2010


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