Chiefs Tied for 1st with 8-6 Win
April 28, 2006 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release
Dayton, OH - The Peoria Chiefs offense was efficient all night long en route to an 8-6 win over the Dayton Dragons on Friday night. With the win the Chiefs take the series 3-1 and move into a first place tie at 12-10 on the season.
With the game tied 4-4 in the 8th inning, Ryan Norwood stroked a one-out single to left off former Chiefs hurler Wayne Lundgren. Brandon Taylor followed with a tomahawk homer over the seats beyond the left-field wall for a 6-4 Chiefs lead.
In the bottom of the 8th, the Dragons mounted a rally against the Chiefs bullpen. Mike Billek walked leadoff batter Bobby Mosby who advanced to second on an error by Jonathon Mota at shortstop. After a popout and a single, Matt Avery relieved Billek and allowed a RBI single to Josh Holden. With the tying run at second, Avery struck out Mike Griffin and got Paul Janish to bounce out to end the inning.
Peoria added some insurance in the 9th against Lundgren. With one out, Davy Gregg singled and stole second. After a lineout, Gregg came home on a single by Jesus Valdez who advanced all the way to third on an errant throw home by the left-fielder. Two pitches later, Valdez scored on a wild pitch by Lundgren.
The Chiefs scored in the 1st inning for the third straight game of the series. Davy Gregg led off with a walk, went to second on a wild pitch and stole third with one out. After a strikeout, Kevin Collins launched a long homer to left off Dragons starter Travis Wood for a 2-0 Chiefs lead.
Dayton came back quickly in their half of the inning against Chiefs starter Todd Blackford. Mike Griffin led off with a single, moved to second on a balk and advanced to third on a wild pitch. With one out, Matt Ciaramella made a nice running catch of a Jay Bruce line drive but Griffin scored on the sac fly.
In the 2nd, Brandon Taylor and Ciaramella led off with back to back singles and Jake Muyco sacrificed both runners 90 feet. Taylor came home to make it 3-1 Peoria on a hard hit groundout off the bat of shortstop Jonathon Mota. The Chiefs added to their lead in the 3rd when Jesus Valdez scored on a error by second baseman Mike Griffin.
Two homers off Blackford helped Dayton tie the game. In the 3rd, Paul Janish singled and came home on a two run shot by BJ Szymanski. Janish then led off the 5th inning with a solo shot to tie the game 4-4.
Blackford left a tie game after five innings. The 20 year-old right-hander allowed four runs on eight hits including two homers. He struck out one and walked two. Mike Billek (2-3) relieved Blackford and tossed two shutout innings allowing an unearned run. Avery allowed a hit over 2/3 of an inning and Campusano nailed down his 6th save of the season in the 9th inning.
Pepsi Player of the Game
Brandon Taylor (3B) - Taylor's 2-run homer in the 8th broke open a 4-4 tie and led the Chiefs to the win. Taylor was 2-for-4 on the night and collected six hits in the four game series.
Notes... Peoria has won 7 of 8...Norwood now has a seven game hit streak...Gregg stole three bases on the night, a season high for any Chiefs player...Of the Chiefs 10 team home runs, eight have come on the road...The Chiefs return home to kick off an eight-game nine-day homestand Saturday night against Southwest Michigan...Saturday will be the first post-game Fireworks show presented by Heart Technologies...Game time is 6:30 PM and it is Donate Life Night, Peoria County Government Night and Classic Rock Night...RH Scott Taylor (0-0) will start for the Chiefs against RH Wade Davis (2-0)...The broadcast begins with the pre-game show on www.peoriachiefs.com at6:15 PM.
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