Balanced effort sends Captains past El Paso

Published on August 8, 2010 under American Association (AA)
Shreveport-Bossier Captains News Release


SHREVEPORT, La. - Cardoza Tucker tied a Shreveport-Bossier Captains season-high with 128 pitches, throwing eight innings and allowing two runs, as Palmer Karr knocked in three runs and seven Captains had hits to get by the El Paso Diablos 8-5 in front of 1,583 fans at Fair Grounds Field.

The game started 23 minutes late because of a late-afternoon rain storm, but the Captains (44-32, 15-14) got out to a quick start against Diablos righty William Buzhardt (2-3). With two outs in the bottom of the first, Buzhardt walked Christopher Garcia, and Karr made him pay, tying Garcia for the team lead with his 12th home run, a first-pitch moonshot on a hanging breaking ball.

However, Tucker (3-3) immediately surrendered the tying runs, as Bryon Smith singled and Benji Johnson to start the second. After a groundout moved them up, Mike Provencher hit a two-run single to even the score at 2-2.

Shreveport-Bossier retook the lead with an unearned run in the third, but El Paso (26-49, 7-22) scored three unearned runs in the fourth to get their only advantage of the night, as Jeff Vincent swiped home on the back end of a double steal to make it 5-3 Diablos.

The Captains, who scored in all the odd-numbered innings but none of the even-numbered frames, tied things in the fifth when Garcia hit a screaming line drive off the wall in left-center with the bases loaded to bring in Joe Urtuzuastegui and Bryan Sabatella to tie it up again. They went ahead for good in the seventh after a leadoff walk to Sabatella, a sacrifice bunt by Jovanny Rosario and an intentional walk to Garcia that chased Buzhardt.

Just as he did with the first pitch from Buzhardt, Karr drove in a run on the first pitch he saw from reliever Kris Jiggits, lining a single to right to put the Captains ahead for good. Jorge Alvarez and Andres Rodriguez added RBI hits to give Shreveport-Bossier some insurance, as Tucker allowed exactly one base runner but no runs in his final four innings, before Hector Carrasco pitched a perfect, five-pitch ninth with three ground balls to get his 15th save of the season.

Then, after the game, local band the Lost Boys (including bassist/Captains booster club member Joey Percival) played a concert for several hundred fans.

Notes: Osvaldo Rodriguez also threw 128 pitches in his first start of the year on May 14...J.D. Reininger was the only Diablos player with two hits, as seven players had exactly one and Kyle Nichols finished 0-for-4...Rodriguez fouled out three times in a row before his RBI in the seventh...El Paso stole four bases, all in the fourth inning...Sabatella scored three runs...The Captains only had four ground ball outs, two in the ninth inning and one on the sac bunt.

The Shreveport-Bossier Captains continue their nine-game, 10-day, season-long homestand with the final contest of their three-game series against the El Paso Diablos, starting at 6:05 p.m. on Sunday, August 8, for Pepsi Family Night, where a family of five gets in for $5, and Pepsi products are $2 all night. All weekend is also Big Splash Weekend, featuring free water games and slides from Party Central Family Fun Center in the SWEPCO/Party Central Family Fun Park down the rightfield line at Fair Grounds Field for no additional cost. All games are broadcast on ESPN Radio, KRMD-1340 AM as well as streaming live on supertalk1340.com. For information on tickets, promotions, advertising, and other opportunities with the Captains, check out the team's Web site at www.sbcaptains.com, or call the Fair Grounds Field office at (318) 636-5555.

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American Association Stories from August 8, 2010


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