Beavers say goodbye to TELUS Field

Published on June 29, 2004 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Portland Beavers News Release


Edmonton, AL- Tagg Bozied hit a three-run home run and had four RBIs and Dennis Tankersley worked into the eighth inning as the Portland Beavers drew a series split with a 5-3 victory over the Edmonton Trappers Tuesday night at TELUS Field.

The game was the last for the Beavers in Edmonton, as the Trappers franchise will relocate to Round Rock, Texas, for the 2005 season.

The split in the series matched the Beavers' best effort in four seasons at TELUS. Since the 2001 campaign, the Beavers never won a series in Edmonton and finished 8-24 there, losing all but two series and coming up on the short end of a sweep twice. Portland's 3-5 record this season in Edmonton was its best in four seasons of play.

Portland (39-41) trailed 3-2 entering the eighth, but Bozied clubbed his 13th home run of the season--a three-run shot off former Beaver Jeremy Fikac--to give the Beavers the lead for good.

Bozied earlier drove in a run with a sacrifice fly that gave the Beavers a 2-1 lead in the third.

Tankersley (4-2) worked 7.1 innings for his fourth win and his first with the Beavers since May 9. The right-hander surrendered three runs on six hits, striking out five.

After allowing a pair of runs in the bottom of the third, Tankersley retired 14 straight until Henry Mateo singled as the second batter in the bottom of the eighth.

Mike Bynum picked up his second save of the season by working the final 1.2 innings in relief of Tankersley.

Tankersley helped his own cause with an RBI single to start the scoring in the second inning.

Edmonton (40-39) tied the game in the bottom half of the inning on a run-scoring triple by Paul Hoover.

The Trappers grabbed a 3-2 lead an inning later with a two-run single up the middle from Ron Calloway, who had four hits and drove in seven runs the night before against the Beavers.

Fikac (1-1), who pitched one game with the Beavers in 2001, was saddled with his first loss with the Trappers after giving up Bozied's blast in the eighth.

J.J. Furmaniak doubled among his two hits and had two runs scored for the Beavers, who got at least one hit from each starter except leadoff man Freddy Guzman.

The win pulled Portland to within six games of division-leading Tacoma. After an off-day on Wednesday, the Beavers open a three-game set against the Rainiers at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma on Thursday at 7:05 p.m.

NOTES: In a faceoff with Arizona ace Randy Johnson, Brian Sweeney, who has been with Portland the majority of the season, picked up the win in his first start for the Padres on Tuesday night, giving up a run on four hits in 5.1 innings ... Steve Watkins, who was recently with the Beavers, allowed just one hit and a walk, striking out nine in 8.0 scoreless innings in Class AA Mobile's 5-0 win over West Tenn on Monday night ... the Beavers are now 5-36 when trailing after seven innings ... Tankersley has won his last four decisions with Portland.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from June 29, 2004


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