Blasters Display Complete Performance in 5-4 Win
Published on June 4, 2016 under American Association (AA)
Joplin Blasters News Release
The Joplin Blasters won their second consecutive game against the Texas AirHogs on Saturday night at Joe Becker Stadium, clinching a series victory with a 5-4 victory on Star Wars Night. The team was wearing special Star Wars-themed jerseys for the occasion, which were auctioned off for charity.
Charlie Valerio started the Blaster offense in the bottom of the second inning with a double up the hill in right. The catcher, who threw out three baserunners behind the plate, took third base on a wild pitch and scored on an Aaron Brill groundout to the second baseman.
Josh Hodges pitched another solid outing for the Blasters, working into the seventh inning. He allowed just one hit and one walk between the second and fifth innings, maintaining Joplin's 1-0 advantage.
The Blasters broke through in the bottom of the fifth with three runs to lengthen the lead. Will Soto and Mitch Glasser started the innings with singles, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Soto would score on a wild pitch, giving the Blasters a 2-0 lead. With one out, Willie Cabrera stepped to the plate and launched his second home run of the season, a two run shot that gave the outfielder 19 RBIs on the season. The homer pushed the Blasters' lead to 4-0.
Texas cut the Blaster lead in half in the top of the sixth, scoring a pair of runs against Hodges. After a walk to Juan Sanchez, Burt Reynolds hit his seventh home run of the season to trim Joplin's edge to 4-2.
Jesus Solorzano answered the Texas homer with one of his own, a deep shot to left field. It was Solorzano's first home run of the season, and allowed the Blasters to retake a three-run lead at 5-2.
Another Texas home run pulled the AirHogs within a run. Cody Lenahan walked to lead off the inning, and remained on first base until Michael Miller hit a two-run homer. Miller's longball trimmed the lead to 5-4 in the top of the seventh inning.
From there, the Joplin bullpen took over and shut down the AirHogs' power attack. Jose Ortega, Victor Capellan, and Winston Abreu combined to record the final eight outs for the Blasters, five of which were strikeouts. Abreu picked up his second save, striking out Will Dupont with a runner on first to close out the victory, which kept Joplin in second place in the South Division.
Hodges defeated Texas starter Cody Hebner, who also worked six innings. It was Joplin's fourth win in five tries against South Division competition, and clinched a second straight series win over divisional opposition.
The Blasters will play for a sweep on Sunday afternoon in Joplin, with first pitch set for 2:05 p.m. Texas lefty Griffin Russell will face an unannounced Blaster starter at Joe Becker Stadium, where it will be Sunday Family Fun Day.
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- Saints Not Taking Waite and See Approach, Sign Right-Handed Pitcher - St. Paul Saints
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- American Association Results - AA
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