
Carolina Edges West Tennessee
Published on June 18, 2004 under New York-Penn League (NYPL)
Aberdeen IronBirds News Release
Zebulon, NC- Billy Hall celebrated his 35th birthday with a 10th inning stolen base which forced an errant throw to win the game as Carolina defeated West Tenn 4-3 at Five County Stadium on Thursday night.
Hall, who reached on an infield single then was sacrificed to second, broke for third on a 1-0 pitch to Josh Wilson (1-3, s, k). Catcher Geovany Soto's throw bounced past Matt Craig and down the left field line as Hall stood up and jogged home with the winning run.
Carolina (35-32) maintained its hopes for a first half title, remaining two games behind first-place Tennessee. The Mudcats moved past Jacksonville into third place, with Chattanooga dropping to second a game behind. West Tenn (36-30) dropped 1 1/2 behind Mobile in the West with three games remaining in the first half.
The Mudcats played from behind all game, trailing 2-0 after the top of the first. Run-scoring doubles by Richard Lewis and Aron Weston started the Diamond Jaxx against Mudcats starter Nic Ungs (ND, 6+ip, 7h, 3r, 3er, 0w, 3k).
Charles Frazier (HR, 1, 2-4, rbi, k) drilled his first Double-A homer in the fifth, then a sacrifice fly by Andy Rohleder (0-3, rbi, sf, k) evened the game in the sixth.
In the seventh, Soto scored the tie-breaking run on a single by Micah Hoffpauir. Rohleder gunned out Mike Dzurilla attempting to score on the back end of the hit.
In the bottom of the eighth, Matt Demarco (0-3, r, s, w) scored from second base on a passed ball by Soto.
Randy Messenger (W, 6-0, 2ip, 0h, 0r, 3w, 3k) worked the ninth and 10th for his sixth win.
The game was delayed nearly 40 minutes in the top of the eighth by rain.
Bill Murphy (6-2, 3.08) starts the series' second game Friday night against Bobby Brownlie (6-4, 2.68) at 7:15 PM ET.
New York-Penn League Stories from June 18, 2004
- Expos take season opener on Montz's clutch hit - Vermont Lake Monsters
- Cardinals win openers - New Jersey Cardinals
- Vermont Expos home opener on Monday - Vermont Lake Monsters
- Hudson Valley Renegades Announce Summer Drawing Contest - Hudson Valley Renegades
- Carolina Edges West Tennessee - Aberdeen IronBirds
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