Colts hold on to take series opener, stay in second
June 26, 2008 - United League Baseball (ULB)
San Angelo Colts News Release
SAN ANGELO, Texas - The San Angelo Colts jumped out to a 4-0 lead, then held off a late Amarillo rally to top the first-place Dillas 5-4 in the series opener in front of 1,944 on Thirsty Thursday at Foster Field, keeping the Colts' first-half playoff hopes in good shape.
Miliade Venas, the Colts' closer, was asked to come on to get a five-out save with a the potential tying run at second base with one out in the eighth, but he got two fly balls from Josh Ashton and Jonathan Reynoso to end the inning. In the ninth, he worked around a one-out walk to Gary Schneidmiller, getting a pop-up from Danny Bravo and a game-ending strikeout from A.J. Johnson to pick up a hard-earned save, his third with the Colts.
San Angelo (25-18) jumped out to an early lead off Marcos Castillo (5-2), scoring three runs, two earned, in the second inning. With one out, Aaron Cone singled and Jason Crosland doubled. Then Jose Torres singled through the left side for an RBI to make it 1-0. The next batter, Wyn Diggs, hit what could have been a double-play ball to short, but Bravo bobbled it, allowing everyone to reach and Crosland to score. Charley Belew then hit another grounder to short, but second baseman Josh Ashton threw the ball away trying to double up Belew, allowing Torres to score.
The Colts tacked on a run in the sixth on Crosland's fifth home run of the season, but the Dillas (26-16) battled back against Brian Henschel (4-2), who, up until the seventh, had thrown 15 straight scoreless innings against Amarillo. With two outs, Ashton, Reynoso, and Keith Brachold all doubled for two runs, but Alex Merricks came in and threw one pitch to retire Bravo on a pop-up to short.
San Angelo got a crucial insurance run in the bottom of the seventh, when Diggs led off with a walk. The Colts played small ball, as Belew sacrificed Diggs to second, Tyrone Pendergrass moved him to third on a groundout, and John Anderson brought him home with a single.
The Colts now are 1.5 games behind Amarillo, and can still win the first-half title with two more wins in this series and at least one Alexandria loss. The Aces beat Laredo 10-2 to stay within a half-game of the Colts and prevent the Dillas from clinching a playoff spot.
Notes: Torres was caught stealing in the sixth, the first time in 13 attempts he has been thrown out this season...The Colts won each of the first games in the first two series this year against the Dillas, with Henschel starting both times. However, Amarillo came back to win both of the prior two series... ...Torres kept his on-base streak alive at 37, while Bravo continues to lead the league at 42-every game the Dillas have played this season.
The Colts continue their showdown with first-place Amarillo at Foster Field on Friday, June 27. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. for a 6-pack cooler giveaway sponsored by Coca-Cola and Fox 10 KIDY. Advertising, ticket, and group information are available by calling the box office at (325) 942-6587. All Colts games are broadcast live on "Cool 100" - KCLL 100.1 FM and online at the Colts' official website, www.sanangelocolts.com, which is updated daily with the latest team news.
United League Baseball Stories from June 26, 2008
- The Coyotes Smash the WhiteWings - Edinburg Roadrunners
- Big inning propels Aces - Alexandria Aces
- Coyotes Put Away WhiteWings in Ninth - Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings
- Colts hold on to take series opener, stay in second - San Angelo Colts
- Broncos lose big - Laredo Broncos
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