Early Lead Enough for Chiefs

Published on June 10, 2011 under Midwest League (MWL1)
South Bend Silver Hawks News Release


Peoria, IL - The Peoria Chiefs scored five runs in the first inning and held on for a 6-3 victory over the South Bend Silver Hawks on Friday night at O'Brien Field. The Silver Hawks fall to 1-3 on the nine game road trip but remain only three games out of first place with eight to play in the first half.

Peoria did the majority of their damage in the first inning against South Bend starter Jeff Shields (LP, 3-6). The Chiefs sent ten men to the plate, scoring five runs on seven hits in the inning. After Matt Szczur and Pierre LePage singled to start the game, Ryan Cuneo had a RBI double for the 1-0 lead. Greg Rohan followed with a two run double and Anthony Giansanti later added a RBI single to put the Chiefs up 5-0 early.

The Chiefs scored their final run of the night by stringing together three straight singles in the bottom of the third. Giansanti singled to start the rally, and was followed by singles from Arismendy Alcantara and Kyung-Min Na to build the 6-0 lead and chase Shields from the game. The South Bend starter was charged with six runs, all earned, over 2.0 innings in suffering the loss.

The South Bend bullpen came through big to keep the game manageable, with Keith Cantwell (ND) tossing 4.0 scoreless innings of relief and Blake Cooper (ND) following with two scoreless innings.

Peoria started Angel Guzman (ND) in a rehab assignment from the Chicago Cubs, and he tossed two perfect innings before giving it over to the regularly scheduled pitcher Eric Jokisch (WP, 7-0). Jokisch would allow three runs over 5.1 innings to get the win and Larry Suarez (SV, 1) pitched the final 1.2 innings with three strikeouts for the save.

Offensively, the Silver Hawks had four doubles amongst their two hits, with Matt Helm, Yazy Arbelo, Ender Inciarte, and Mike Freeman each picking up an extra-base hit. Arbelo and Freeman had RBIs while Inciarte, Helm, and Freeman all scored a run.

Freeman's double in the eighth inning extended his hitting streak to 13 games, extending the team high in 2011.

The teams continue the three game series with game two on Saturday evening at 7:30 PM Eastern Time. RHP Tyler Green (2-0, 2.95 ERA) will start for South Bend against Peoria's RHP Hayden Simpson (1-3, 4.96 ERA). Pregame coverage begins at 7:10 PM Eastern Time on www.sportsjuice.com and www.silverhawks.com.

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Midwest League Stories from June 10, 2011


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