Cerda Homers Chiefs to First Place
May 3, 2010 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release
Peoria, IL - Matt Cerda crushed the only pitch he saw all night long over the right-field wall for a pinch-hit, walk-off three-run homer giving the Peoria Chiefs a 4-1 win over the Clinton LumberKings Monday night. The win moves the Chiefs to 16-9 on the season and gives them sole possession of first place in the Midwest League's Western Division. With the game tied at one into the bottom of the ninth Justin Bour led off with a double against Tyler Stanton and Jose Valdez came in to pinch run. DJ Fitzgerald struck out and Jonathan Mota singled to right field putting runners on the corners. Richard Jones struck out and Cerda entered the game to pinch-hit for George Matheus. He blasted the first pitch from Stanton well over the high-screen in right to right to give the Chiefs the 4-1 victory.
The Chiefs got on the board in the third off starter Jon Hesketh. With two outs Hak-Ju Lee reached on an infield single and advanced to second thanks to a throwing error on the play. Greg Rohan doubled down the right field line to score Lee and give the Chiefs the 1-0 lead.
The LumberKings answered in the sixth to tie the game off of reliever Ryan Searle. Matt Cerione drew a four-pitch walk and advanced to third on a hit-and-run single by Nick Franklin. Dennis Raben hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score the run and tie the game 1-1.
Jonathan Nagel came off the disabled list and pitched three innings without surrendering a run on one hit with four strikeouts. Searle pitched four innings and gave up one run on two hits, while walking one and striking out five. James Leverton (4-0) pitched two innings and did not allow a run or a hit, while walking one and striking out two. Casey's General Store Player of the Game - Matt Cerda (PH)- Cerda entered the game in the bottom of the ninth inning as a pinch hitter and went 1-for-1 with a walk-off, three-run home run on the first pitch he saw.
Notes...The last walk-off home run hit by a Chiefs player was a grand slam hit by Jovan Rosa on June 30, 2008 against Kane County in the 11th inning...The last pinch-hit, walk-off home run hit by a Chiefs player was a grand slam hit by Terry Evans on May 24, 2004 against Burlington...Tuesday was Lee's eighth multi-hit game of the season...Cerda's last home run was August 18, 2008 in the Arizona Rookie League...Chiefs pinch-hitters are now 2-for-3 on the season...Five of the Chiefs six home runs this season are against Clinton...Cerda had been 0-for-10 in the series...Watkins saw his six-game hit streak end with a 0-for-3 night...Rohan leads the Chiefs with 19 RBI...Bour leads the team with nine doubles..Nagel went on the DL with right arm stiffness after a four-inning outing at Cedar Rapids on April 15...Tonight was Searle's Chiefs debut after four outings for Daytona in the Florida State League this season...The Chiefs start a three-game home series with the Cedar Rapids Kernels Tuesday at 6:30 PM...Tuesday is KRAFT Singles Tuesday Night Tickets promotion where fans can redeem one (1) KRAFT Singles wrapper for a Buy One Get One Free Ticket...Tuesday is Taco Bell Tuesday, where fans can come to the stadium and redeem a receipt of a Taco Bell value meal purchased the week prior to the game for one free ticket with the purchase of a one ticket...Tuesday is Tuesday Senior Deal featuring $6 tickets for all fans 55 and over and the opportunity for seniors to walk the bases after the game...Tuesday is Singles Night at O'Brien as fans will be given a green, yellow, or red lei to indicate their relationship status...The Chiefs will pitch RH Su-Min Jung (3-0, 1.00) against Cedar Rapids' RH Garrett Richards (1-0, 4.13)...The game can be heard starting with the pre-game show at 6:15 PM on 96.5 ESPN Radio and www.peoriachiefs.com.
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