Chiefs Blow Late Lead, Lose in Extras at South Bend
Published on June 1, 2010 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release
South Bend, IN - The Peoria Chiefs pounded out 16 hits but scored just five runs on Tuesday night in a demoralizing 6-5 loss to the South Bend Silver Hawks. The Chefs let two leads slip away as they left a season-high 13 runners on base with two more lost on the basepaths to fall to 28-24, six games out of first place.
The Chiefs jumped on Michael Belfiore in the first inning but a base-running mistake prevented a big inning. With one down Logan Watkins reached on an infield single and stole second before Greg Rohan walked. Justin Bour put the Chiefs up 1-0 with a single to right but Rohan was easily thrown out at third for the second out of the inning. DJ Fitzgerald following with a single to left before Matt Cerda struck out to end the inning.
South Bend's 18-year-old shortstop Chris Owings tied the game in the bottom of the first with a solo homer to left off Chiefs starter Ryan Searle. It was the third homer of the season for Owings, the youngest player on South Bend's roster.
The Chiefs regained the lead in the top of the second as Mario Mercedes doubled off the top of the left-field wall with one out. Mercedes moved to third on a bunt single by Francisco Guzman and he scored on a fielders' choice off the bat of Hak-Ju Lee. The Chiefs went up 3-1 in the fourth as Guzman tripled home Jae-Hoon Ha.
Searle pitched into the sixth inning for just the third time in 10 overall outings this season and he was hit hard as South Bend regained the lead with four hits in the first five batters. Alberto Diaz tied the game with a double to right before Matt Helm's single put the Hawks up 4-3. Su-Min Jung relieved Searle with two on and one out and induced an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
The Chiefs trailed by one when Matt Cerda led off the eighth with a single up the middle and advanced to second on a sacrifice by Ha. Mercedes hit a grounder to third that took a bad hop and ricocheted off Bobby Borchering's head and into center field. Cerda scored on the play to tie the game with Mercedes taking second. After a groundout, Lee singled to right for a 5-4 Chiefs lead.
Despite having not finished a game all season Jung stayed on for the ninth and worked ahead of the #9 hitter Andrew Fie 0-2. But he then hung a breaking ball that Fie crushed into the left-center field berm to tie the game at five. The homer was Fie's third of the season and South Bend's second of the game.
The Chiefs left a runner at second in the tenth and Ronny Morla was greeted with a triple off the wall by Matt Davidson. With pinch-runner David Narbodowski at third Morla got one groundout before Diaz won the game for South Bend with a single to left.
Searle allowed four runs on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings while striking out three in a no-decision. Jung allowed the solo homer for his only run on four hits over 3 2/3 innings. Jung struck out four and did not issue a walk. Morla (1-1) allowed one run on two hits in 1/3 of an inning for the loss.
Casey's General Store Player of the Game - Justin Bour (1B) - Bour led the hit parade by going 3-for-5 with three singles. He drove home a run in the first and is tied with Lee for the team lead with 15 multi-hit games.
Notes...With Monday's rainout the Chiefs finished May 14-15, their first losing month since also going 14-15 last May...The Chiefs have now lost four games when leading into the ninth since May 3...They did not lose a regular season game with a lead after eight innings in 2007, 2008 or 2009...Cerda hit in the six slot in the lineup for the first time this season...He has hit third in 38 starts and second three times...The Chiefs had faced 14 straight right-handed starting pitchers since John Lamb of Burlington beat Peoria 4-0 on May 15...They have lost the last five games in which an opponent starts a left-handed pitcher...The Chiefs tied a season-high with 16 hits but also tied a season high with 13-runners left on base...Peoria pitchers did not issue a walk..The Chiefs have lost three straight extra-inning games and are 2-3 in extras this season...South Bend is dead last in the MWL in runs scored at 170 or 3.1 per game...The Silver Hawks roster features four players drafted in the first 60 picks in last year's draft including one first rounder, three supplemental picks and one second rounder...Peoria is 11-6 in the first game of a series this year, but just 4-5 on the road...The Chiefs swept all three games at The Cove last August and were 4-1 with a rainout against the Silver Hawks in 2009...With the new scheduling format this season the Silver Hawks do not visit O'Brien Field in 2010...Eastern Division teams play host to Western Division teams over the next six days as the two divisions crossover through June 13...The three-game series in Indiana continues at 7:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday...The Chiefs will start LH Jeffry Antigua (1-4, 4.82) against RH Charles Brewer (3-3, 1.41)...The broadcast can be heard starting with the pregame show at 5:45 p.m. CDT on 96.5 ESPN and www.peoriachiefs.com.
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