Cards walk off with sweep
August 24, 2009 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Corpus Christi Hammerheads News Release
A two-run, opposite-field home run off the bat of Andrew Brown in the 11th inning Monday night gave Springfield a 5-3 victory and a series sweep of the Hooks in their season finale at Hammons Field.
The Hooks (25-31, 56-70) finish their road trip with a 1-5 record and return to Whataburger Field on Tuesday for a four-game series against first-place Midland.
Newly-inserted reliever Charlie Weatherby (0-3) surrendered a single to Steven Hill to begin the 11th. Brown then sent a 1-1 pitch from Weatherby over the fence in right field for his sixth home run of the season.
Chuckie Fick (1-1), Eduardo Sanchez, Marco Gonzalez and Gary Daley held the Hooks to three hits over seven shutout innings of relief. The Cardinals bullpen retired 14 of the final 15 Corpus Christi batters.
The Hooks left nine men on the bases and went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Down by a run in the sixth, Springfield (26-29, 64-61) pinch-hitter Mike Folli belted a solo home run to right-center off Ryan McKeller to tie the score at three.
Drew Locke's three-run homer in the third inning turned a two-run deficit into a 3-2 Hooks lead. Felix Molina began the frame with a deep fly ball that landed on the track in center field and bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double. Hooks starting pitcher Douglas Arguello then placed a sacrifice bunt in front of home plate, moving Molina to third. Collin DeLome struck out and German Duran walked, setting the stage for Locke.
The line-drive shot to left-center was Locke's 20th home run this season. His 106 RBIs lead the Texas League. Locke, who features a five-game hitting streak, snapped a string of six games without having driven in a run, his longest such stretch all year. He is now the fourth player in Hooks history to hit 20 or more home runs.
Arguello, working his way back from nearly a two-month stretch on the disabled list, was limited to three innings. The Nicaraguan lefty yielded two runs on two hits. He walked five and struck out a batter, tossing 30 of 60 pitches for strikes.
Chia-Jen Lo issued two walks, hit a batter and struck out two over two scoreless innings of relief. McKeller worked three frames and struck out four. Danny Meszaros carved out two shutout innings. He was touched for two hits and three walks while leaving five on base.
Former Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islander Trey Hearne started on the hill for Springfield. Hearne bounced in and out of trouble throughout the night, allowing three runs and five hits in four innings. He walked three, struck out three and stranded five Corpus Christi base runners, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the fourth.
Kenny Baugh (4-2) draws the RockHounds' ArnoldLeon (1-1) in the series opener Tuesday night.
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