PCL1 Nashville Sounds

Bottom Of Ninth Rally Nets Sounds 7-6 Win

Published on July 20, 2005 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Nashville Sounds News Release


NASHVILLE - The never-say-die Nashville Sounds scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to erase a 6-4 deficit and score a 7-6 victory over the division-rival Memphis Redbirds on a wild Wednesday afternoon at Greer Stadium.

With the victory, Nashville (55-43) improved to a season-best 12 games over .500 and, more importantly, increased its lead in the PCL American Conference Northern Division to a season-high six games over the Redbirds.

Trailing 6-4 after Memphis second baseman Tim Hummel hammered his second home run of the afternoon, a two-run shot off Sounds reliever Mitch Stetter in the top of the ninth, Nashville quickly got to work in the bottom of the frame. Nelson Cruz, Mike Rivera, and Chris Barnwell opened the inning with consecutive singles off Redbirds reliever Ricky Stone to load the bases. Steve Scarborough followed with an RBI infield single to pull the Sounds within a run at 6-5.

With the bases still loaded, pinch-hitter Tony Zuniga hit a grounder to third baseman Scott Seabol, who threw to the plate to force Rivera for the first out of the inning. Memphis catcher Brad Cresse threw to first in an attempt to complete a double play but his throw sailed over the head of first baseman John Gall and into right field, allowing Barnwell and Scarborough to score the tying and winning runs.

The victory was Nashville's 20th last at-bat win of the year and their second in as many days against the Redbirds. In addition, the win was the Sounds' 16th victory in a game in which they trailed in the seventh inning or later.

Every Nashville starter except Prince Fielder, who contributed an RBI, recorded a hit in the contest.

Nashville's Corey Harts combined to net the Sounds a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Corey D. Hart led off the contest with a double to right, was sacrificed to third, and scored on All-Star Corey Hart's sacrifice fly to left.

Hummel evened things in the third with a leadoff solo homer to left off Sounds starter Ben Hendrickson. The roundtripper was his second of the season and first of two on the afternoon.

The Sounds plated single runs in the sixth and seventh to up the lead to 3-1 behind Ben Hendrickson. Fielder picked up an RBI in the sixth before Mike Rivera swatted his second home run of the series and seventh overall on the year in the seventh, touching up Redbirds reliever Josh Pearce.

Memphis rallied in the eighth against Hendrickson, tying the game with runs coming on a Skip Schumaker sacrifice fly and a Gall RBI single. Nashville right fielder Nelson Cruz -- who recorded a hit for the 15th time in 16 Triple-A contests -- made a spectacular leaping grab at the wall in right on Schumaker's ball, robbing the Redbird of his sixth home run of the season and temporarily securing the Sounds' lead.

After Hendrickson exited the ballgame following Gall's knock, the Redbirds grabbed a 4-3 lead when Rivera was unable to handle a Stetter offering and Bo Hart, who extended his hitting streak to a season-high 14 games earlier in the inning, scampered home on the passed ball.

Outfielder Corey Hart continued to produce big hits for the Sounds in clutch situations against Memphis, belting a two-out solo homer off Josh Kinney in the bottom of the eighth to square the game at 4-4. The blast, his tenth of the year, came less than a day after his game-ending 12th-inning bomb on Tuesday night.

After Seabol drew a walk to open the ninth, Hummel touched Stetter for a go-ahead two-run blast, his second dinger of the day, to give Memphis its short-lived 6-4 advantage.

Stetter (1-0) picked up his first career Triple-A victory for Nashville, while Stone (0-1) took a loss in his first decision of the year after allowing the three bottom-of-the-ninth tallies (one earned).

The teams wrap up the series with a 7 p.m. meeting on Thursday evening at Greer Stadium. Right-hander Mike Meyers (3-3, 6.17) will make a spot start for Nashville and face Memphis right-hander Mark Nussbeck (3-4, 2.57).

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 20, 2005


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