Fielders Hold off Edmonton to Win Series Finale

June 14, 2011 - North American League (NAmL)
Lake County Fielders News Release


Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (June 13, 2011) - The Lake County Fielders (12-5) would not allow the Edmonton Capitals (9-7) to win in the bottom of the 9th inning for the second straight game, fending off a late comeback to win 6-5 in Monday night's series finale.

The Capitals pitchers found ways to strike out Fielders hitters through the first four games of the series, and it continued again in game five. Capitals ace starter Lou Pote (2-1) struck out the side in the top of the 1st inning and did the same in the top of the 3rd, after allowing the first two hitters of the inning to reach base, as he recorded eight of the first nine outs via strikeout.

Even though Fielders hitters struggled at the plate against Pote, they did work around him to get a run across in the top of the 2nd inning. C.J. Ziegler earned a four-pitch, leadoff walk to start the inning. Two batters later, Brad Payne's groundball should have ended the inning on a double play, but Edmonton shortstop Enrique Cruz overplayed the slow roller, allowing Payne to reach base on the fielding error. Patrick Brooks followed up with a single to load the bases. Then, Joe Dempsey worked a long plate appearance to draw a run-scoring, bases loaded walk to give the Fielders a 1-0 lead.

Edmonton got the run back in the bottom half of the 2nd inning, when first baseman Brent Metheny led off the inning with a single. Metheny stole both second and third bases and eventually came in to score on a groundout to tie the game at 1-1.

With no offense for a couple innings, it sparked immediately as the Fielders began the top of the 5th inning. Argelis Nunez smacked a leadoff homer off of Pote, sending the fly ball over the left field scoreboard for the second time in the series. Ziegler followed with another walk and later in the inning Payne singled to put two on base. Brooks grounded out to move both runners into scoring position for Dempsey. And, Dempsey sent one right up the middle and into center field to score both Ziegler and Payne, giving him three RBI for the game, and the Fielders a 4-1 lead.

Edmonton would cut into that lead in the bottom half of the 5th inning when centerfielder Steve Brown hit a two-out, two-run home run, cutting the Fielders lead to 4-3. But, Fielders starter Nick Gaudi would not give in. Gaudi (2-0) made his second start of the season and filled in admirably in Jino Gonzalez's spot in the rotation. He went six innings, allowing three runs on five hits, striking out four and walking four to earn the win.

The Fielders gave Gaudi some insurance after he exited the game. Ziegler led off the inning, hitting a deep fly ball down the line in left field. The ball, which crossed over the foul pole, was ruled a fair ball by third base umpire Brad Hungerford, giving Ziegler his team-high sixth home run of the season. Then with one out, Payne found the gap in right-center field for a triple. Payne would score on an error, when second baseman Alex Chavez's cutoff throw to third base hit the protective screen near the third base dugout.

With a 6-3 lead heading into the bottom of the 9th inning, the Fielders went to their closer Chris Thompson. Thompson, who suffered his first blown save of the season on Sunday, went right back to work to pick up the save on Monday. However, it felt like a case of déjà vu in the series finale. Thompson walked the leadoff hitter, Tom Collaro, who stole second base and scored on a Metheny double to right-center field. Following a single from Edmonton catcher Lou Santangelo, Metheny was brought home on a sacrifice fly off the bat of third baseman Carlos Duncan to make it a 6-5 ballgame. Then with two outs, Thompson hit pinch-hitter Pete Tountas and walked Brown to load the bases. But, this time around, Thompson composed himself and was able to strike out Cruz to end the game and give the Fielders the victory.

The Fielders willmake the trip down the QE2 Highway on their way to Calgary, as theybegin a four-game series against the Calgary Vipers, beginning on Tuesday night. First pitch for Tuesday's series openeris scheduled for 6:30pm local (7:30pm central). You can listen to the game on 1220 AM WKRS or online at fieldersbaseball.com or wkrs.com.



North American League Stories from June 14, 2011


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