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EL1 Binghamton Rumble Ponies

Bullpen Bullish in 3-2 Squeaker over Fisher Cats

April 23, 2010 - Eastern League (EL1)
Binghamton Rumble Ponies News Release


When starter Eric Niesen exited the ball game in the second inning due to injury, the outlook appeared bleak for Binghamton down 1-0 with reigning Eastern League Pitcher of the Week Luis Perez dealing on the mound. However, the bullpen came through tossing the final 7 2/3 innings in stellar fashion to lead the B-Mets to a 3-2 win over the division-leading New Hampshire Fisher Cats at NYSEG Stadium Friday night. Josh Stinson led the way and picked up the win with 4 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of Niesen.

Niesen was hit in the head by a Mike Nickeas throw intended to nab Jonathan Diaz, who was attempting to steal second base. Diaz reached third on Nickeas' throwing error. He then scored the Fisher Cats second run when Jeroloman singled to right off Stinson, increasing the lead to 2-0. That would be New Hampshire's final run. Stinson buckled down and faced one over the minimum until he was removed after the sixth inning.

Binghamton (9-7) broke through against Perez in the fourth. The lefty walked the first two hitters of the frame and loaded up the bases when he committed an error on Lucas Duda's slow roller down the line at first. Zach Lutz came next and grounded into a double play to short that plated Luis Hernandez, which got the B-Mets within a run.

Jonathan Malo rallied the B-Mets back in the fifth inning. The athletic utility player hit a slow roller out in front of the plate that forced Perez to come off the mound to field the ball. The southpaw wheeled and fired the ball to first, but missed getting Malo by an eyelash. That was enough to ignite the men at the top of the order. With Malo in motion on a hit-and-run, Kirk Nieuwenhuis split the gap in right-center with an RBI double to tie the score. Hernandez followed and extended his Eastern League-best hitting streak to 11 games with a single through the right side of the infield to plate Nieuwenhuis and vault Binghamton into the lead, 3-2.

The bullpen proved stingy after Stinson exited. Righty Jose De La Torre fired 2 1/3 shutout innings with four strikeouts and left the game with a man in scoring position and one out in the ninth. De La Torre walked pinch-hitter Adam Loewen and Eric Thames sacrificed him up to second to put the tying run in scoring position with one out in the ninth.

Veteran lefty Derrick Ellison was summoned from the bullpen to shut the door. Ellison promptly struck out Adam Calderone looking, but ran into trouble by walking the next two hitters to load the bases. However, with the bases juiced, he struck out Jeroloman looking on a filthy curveball to strand the bases full and notch his first save.

Nieuwenhuis led the offense with a 2-3 performance with a double, a run scored and an RBI. The B-Mets league-leading offense was held to just five hits.

Perez, a member of Toronto's 40-man roster, did produce a quality start with 6 2/3 innings of three-run work. He walked a season-high five men in his first loss of the season.

The win ended a seven-game stretch of wins for New Hampshire (9-6) at NYSEG Stadium over Binghamton. The B-Mets will look to take a second straight from the Fisher Cats Saturday afternoon in a 1:05 matinee. Binghamton has yet to name its starter, but New Hampshire has named RHP Kyle Drabek (2-1, 5.17), who will be making his fourth start. The radio broadcast on Newradio 1290 WNBF begins at 12:50 with the Horizons Federal Credit Union Pre-Game Show.

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Eastern League Stories from April 23, 2010


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