MWL1 Peoria Chiefs

Chiefs Win 8-5 Wednesday

Published on July 3, 2014 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release


GENEVA, IL - The Peoria Chiefs scored six runs early and held off a late charge by the Kane County Cougars for an 8-5 road win Wednesday night. The win moves the Chiefs to 9-4 in the second half and 46-36 overall with one more game left before a six-game homestand.

"(Alex) Reyes was really good the first five innings pitching out of a couple mini jams, overpowering them with a good mix of pitches," said manager Joe Kruzel. "We were fortunate to get off to a good start. The top of the order got on base and got moving and we got some big hits."

The Chiefs didn't waste any time in knocking Cougars starter Tyler Skulina out of the game. Robelys Reyes started the game with a single to left, stole second and scored on a C.J. McElroy Jr. double to left. McElroy stole third with one out but was out at the plate on a fielder's choice off the bat of Justin Ringo. Steve Bean was hit by a pitch and Luis Perez knocked Skulina from the game with a two-run double off the wall in left for a 3-0 Chiefs lead.

Peoria doubled the lead against reliever Corbin Hoffner in the second. Rafael Medina led off with a walk and moved to third on a bunt single from Richy Pedroza and a wild throw to first by Hoffner. Reyes put the Chiefs on top 4-0 with a single to right and McElroy added a RBI single for a 5-0 lead. Ringo walked with two outs to load the bases and Bean put the Chiefs on top 6-0 with a sacrifice fly to center.

Alex Reyes struck out two in the first with a pair of walk and struck out the side after a walk in the second. He allowed a single and struck out one more in the third and struck out three straight after two walks and a balk in the fourth. He loaded the bases in the fifth on a two-out walk, single and walk. After a visit from Kruzel, Reyes finished off the fifth inning with his 10th strikeout of the game as Will Remillard was caught looking.

The Chiefs added to the lead in the sixth against former Peoria left-hander Gerardo Concepcion. Medina was hit by a pitch with one out and moved to second on a wild pitch. Pedroza doubled to left for the 7-0 lead and moved to third on a single by Reyes. Concepcion escaped the inning as McElroy grounded into a double play.

Brandon Lee took over for Reyes in the sixth and quickly retired the first two batters before walking David Bote. Jacob Hannemann doubled to right and Bote scored when Bryan bobbled the ball. Ben Carhart singled home Hannemann and Kyle Schwarber added a single. The Cougars cut the Chiefs lead to 7-3 before Lee got out of the inning.

Kane County continued the comeback in the seventh against Lee as the first two batters walked and Bote singled home Jacob Rogers. Hannemann cut the Chiefs lead to 7-5 with a RBI single to score Will Remillard. Steve Sabatino took over for Lee with two on and two out and struck out Carhart to end the inning.

The Chiefs added insurance in the ninth as McElroy reached on an error with one out, stole second and moved to third on a throwing error by catcher Cael Brockmeyer. Bryan walked and stole second before McElroy scored in a sac fly from Ringo for an 8-5 lead. Sabatino walked the leadoff batter in the ninth but got the next three Cougars to end the game.

"That was another very nice performance by Sabatino to get out of a jam and keep the ball down for 2 1/3 innings and get the save," said Kruzel. "The late insurance run off a very nice at bat by Ringo helped as well and this was a good win for us."

Reyes (6-5) earned the win allowing just two hits over five shutout innings. He balked twice, struck out a season-high 10 and walking a career-high seven. Lee allowed five runs on six this and three walks over 1 2/3. Sabatino earned his third save with two strikeouts and a walk issued over 2 1/3 hitless and scoreless innings.

Check out the Peoria Chiefs Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Midwest League Stories from July 3, 2014


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.

OurSports Central