'Cats Down Tigers in 11th
Published on August 24, 2010 under New York-Penn League (NYPL)
Tri-City ValleyCats News Release
TROY, NY- The ValleyCats have had bad luck in extra-inning games this season. They entered the season just 2-7 in extra frames and 7-11 in one-run games. But their luck changed in the eleventh inning on Tuesday, as they took advantage of a walk and two errors to win the game with a two-out rally.
Connecticut reliever Ramon Lebron struck out the side in the tenth inning, with the aid of a blazing, mid-90s fastball, and retired the first two batters he faced in the eleventh. But Ben Orloff worked a full count, fouled a pitch off and watched ball four. Orloff stole second base, giving Kiké Hernandez a chance to drive him home.
Hernandez ripped a shot, but the one-hopper went right at shortstop Brett Anderson. Anderson corralled the ball, but he threw the ball wide to first. James Robbins knocked the ball down, holding Orloff at third. The next batter, Tyler Burnett, hit a slow chopper to Anderson, who came in for it but saw the ball bounce off his glove into left field. Orloff trotted home with the game-winning run.
"We knew it was going to be a tough play [for Anderson]," Orloff said. "I was checking back the whole time I was running home, and we were pretty excited when we saw him kick it."
"Ben Orloff continues to be the spark plug," manager Jim Pankovits said. "He wreaks havoc when he's in there, and no one should be surprised that he scored the winning run."
Orloff catalyzed another two-out rally that threatened to win the game in the ninth. He reached first on a fielding error by Anderson, who committed four miscues on the night. Hernandez walked, knocking Tyler Clark out of the game, and Burnett drew a five-pitch free pass from Lebron to load the bases. But Lebron got Dan Adamson to swing through a high fastball, sending the game to extra innings.
The ValleyCats stranded a total of seven runners in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, any of which would have eventually won the game in regulation. Orloff delivered a seventh-inning double that advanced Adam Bailey to third and extended his hit streak to 14 games, but Hernandez grounded out to second off the pitcher's foot.
The Tigers outhit the hosts 14-6, but Tri-City dominated nearly other aspect of the game. The ValleyCats played error-free ball while Connecticut committed five miscues. Most notably, the hosts did not walk a single batter while racking up 14 strikeouts.
Connecticut delivered the game's first blow. PJ Polk led off the game with a double and came home on a James Robbins single, snapping Bobby Doran's 13-inning shutout streak. But Dan Adamson answered in the bottom half of the first, blasting a two-run homer to the base of the scoreboard to give the ValleyCats a 2-1 lead.
The home team tacked on another run in the third. Hernandez, celebrating his 19th birthday, reached base with a two-out walk. Tyler Burnett followed with a double to the wall in right-center, bringing Hernandez home all the way from first.
Connecticut equalized with two runs on three hits, all doubles, in the fourth. They picked up three more hits off Doran in the fifth, allowing Ryan Enos to score the go-ahead run, but Travis Blankenship entered with two outs and needed only one pitch to strand runners on second and third.
The ValleyCats answered in the bottom of the inning. Josue Carreno's 3-2 offering hit Austin Wates in the right hand, forcing the designated hitter to leave the game. Pinch-runner Wilton Infante stole second, advanced to third on an Orloff fly ball, and scored on a single up the middle by Hernandez.
Alex Sogard threw 2.1 innings of scoreless ball, fanning four and allowing only two seeing-eye singles.
"Our bullpen has been unbelievable for a long time," Pankovits said. "They bended tonight, but they didn't break."
The 'Cats (32-30) close within a half-game of Vermont in the Stedler Division. They go on the road for a three-game series at Hudson Valley before returning home for three more against the Renegades.
New York-Penn League Stories from August 24, 2010
- 'Cats Down Tigers in 11th - Tri-City ValleyCats
- ValleyCats Win 5-4 in 11 Innings - Norwich Sea Unicorns
- Spikes' Pitching Not Enough in 1-0 Defeat against Scrappers - State College Spikes
- Scrappers Stifle Spikes, Win Game One, 1-0 - Mahoning Valley Scrappers
- IronBirds One-Hit Yankees - Aberdeen IronBirds
- Lowell Spinners August 24 Game Canceled - Lowell Spinners
- Lake Monsters Game at Lowell Rained Out - Vermont Lake Monsters
- Back-To-Back Double-Headers Both Wednesday and Thursday Due to Wet Grounds - Batavia Muckdogs
- State College Spikes Game Notes - August 24 at Mahoning Valley - State College Spikes
- State College Spikes Game Notes - August 24 at Mahoning Valley - State College Spikes
- Come Meet Former Tiger Dick McAuliffe - Norwich Sea Unicorns
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
