Danville Defeats Kingsport 5-3, Extends Win Streak to Five Games
June 26, 2012 - Appalachian League (ApL)
Danville Otterbots News Release
DANVILLE, Va. - The Kingsport Mets outhit the Danville Braves, but they couldn't outscore them as the D-Braves extended their win streak to 5 games with a 5-3 victory over the Mets at American Legion Post 325 Field Tuesday night.
D-Braves starter Frank LaFreniere (1-0) ran into some first inning troubles. Kingsport left fielder Joe Tuschak gave the Mets their first base runner of the game with a worm-burner up mid-field. Tuschak touched them all to score from first on shortstop Gavin Cecchini's RBI triple, which opened the scoring. LaFreniere looked shaky, but regained his composure to settle-in and strikeout back-to-back batters to end the inning.
In the second, catcher Tomas Nido hit a comebacker past pitcher LaFreniere and advanced to second on center fielder Logan Robbins defensive miscue. With the Mets up 1-0, LaFreniere plunked first baseman Jon Leroux, which put men at first and second. Nido tried to score from second on Brandon Kaupe's single, but Robbins made good on his error in the field and fired a bullet to the first base side of home plate, which gave catcher Troy Snitker enough space to block Nido and easily apply the tag at the plate. Robbins went on to flash some speed in the fifth by stealing second and third. Unfortunately, the Braves left him on base as they were unable to push him home.
The D-Braves lifted LaFreniere after the fifth inning to make way for the bullpen. In 67 pitches to the plate, LaFreniere racked up six strikeouts and yielded one earned run on just four hits in five innings of work. The defense had his back in the field all game, but not at the plate until the fourth. Designated hitter Josh Elander reached on an error as his counterpart's throw overshot the first base bag. Left fielder Edison Sanchez extended his hit streak to five games with his fourth double of the season to push Elander to third. With the infield drawn in, first baseman Aris Alcantara plated Elander and Sanchez, but was thrown out at second trying to stretch his single.
The D-Braves added an insurance run in the sixth. Third baseman Carlos Franco extended his hit streak to three games on a leadoff triple off Mets relief man Corey Oswalt. Sanchez then hit an RBI sac fly, which pushed Franco home to make it 3-1. The D-Braves began to pull away in the seventh. Snitker cracked a one-out single and Robbins jumped on a first pitch fastball to double him home. Shortstop Ronald Luna then followed suit and doubled Robbins home to give the D-Braves a four run cushion and cap a two-run seventh inning.
The Mets put a run across in the eighth and ninth innings to make it 5-3. Mets starter Stephen Matz (0-1) basically matched LaFreniere's line totals. He surrendered two runs, one earned, on three hits in 5.0 innings of work. Matz also rung up 5 D-Braves. Alex Wilson pitched two innings of scoreless relief and Nathan Hyatt came on in the ninth to close out the game and record the save.
Bring the kids out to the ballpark for tomorrow night's game. All kids, 12-and-under, eat free with a paid ticket. The first 50 kids in attendance will receive a free kids meal courtesy of Kickback Jacks.
The D-Braves and Mets play the final game of this three-game series tomorrow at ALP 325 Field. Rafael Briceno (0-0, 11.81) will toe the rubber for the D-Braves and Persio Perez (0-1, 13.50) will get the ball for the Mets. First Pitch is set for 7:00 p.m. and gates open at 6:00 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased by calling the Ticket Office at (434) 797-3792 or in-person at the ALP 325 Field Box Office (Mon. - Fri., 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.).
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Appalachian League Stories from June 26, 2012
- Two big innings lead Astros over Princeton in shootout - Greeneville Astros
- Cardinals Return Favor, Shutout M's 9-0 - Pulaski Mariners
- Danville Defeats Kingsport 5-3, Extends Win Streak to Five Games - Danville Otterbots
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