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Fifth Consecutive Win Gives Fielders the League's Best Record

June 7, 2011 - North American League (NAmL)
Lake County Fielders News Release


Yuma, Arizona -June 6, 2011 - The Lake County Fielders (9-2) made it for 4-for-4 in Yuma, defeating the Yuma Scorpions (3-9), by a score of 4-3. It was the Fielders' fifth straight win, giving them the best record in the North American League.

For the fourth straight game, the Fielders scored in the top of the 1st inning. Rex Rundgren earned a one-out walk to get the first Fielders runner on base. Two batters later, it was Argelis Nunez who drove a deep two-run home run over the right field wall. For Nunez, the homer was long-awaited, having gone without a roundtripper through the first ten games of the season.

Fielders ace starting pitcher Vince Bongiovanni kept the Scorpions at bay, as he defended his team's lead. But, the Scorpions snipped at Bongiovanni and the Fielders' 2-0 lead. Yuma third baseman Arnoldo Ponce hit a deep fly ball to straight away center field. Fielders outfielder Lino Garcia timed his jump perfectly, but as he leapt to retrieve the fly ball, it deflected off his glove and fell over the wall for a solo home run.

Newly acquired Yuma left fielder Fernando Villaescusa led off the bottom of the 5th with a single, advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on Scorpions right fielder J.J. Muse's RBI single to center field. Muse's clutch hit tied the game at 2-2.

The Fielders' bats went cold while Yuma began to climb back in the game. Then, the Scorpions came up strong in the bottom of the 6th with two men out. Bongiovanni hit Yuma shortstop Jared McDonald on a 2-2 pitch. McDonald quickly proceeded to steal second base. The steal by McDonald was key as Yuma centerfielder Beau Riportella pulled a double to right field that brought home McDonald, giving Yuma its first lead of the series at 3-2.

With the offense stagnant for a stretch of the game, the Fielders were in need of a break. They caught a break in the top of the 8th inning. With one out, Nunez hit a sharp groundball to third base, but the throw from Ponce went over Yuma first baseman Juan Camacho's head, allowing Nunez to reach second base. C.J. Ziegler followed by drawing a walk, and two batters later, Quentin Luquette found himself in a beneficial situation with two men on base and two out. Luquette capitalized by hitting a double all the way to the wall in right-center field, bringing home both Nunez and Ziegler to reclaim the lead for Lake County at 4-3.

Handing the game off to the Fielders bullpen was easy, as Ben Paxton and Chris Thompson didn't allow a hit once the Fielders had the lead. Thompson earned his sixth save of the season, striking out a pair, to ensure the team's fifth consecutive victory.

The series concludes on Tuesday night from Desert Sun Stadium in Yuma, AZ, when the Fielders look to sweep the Yuma Scorpions. Lefty Jino Gonzalez is projected to be the Fielders starting pitcher. The first pitch for the series finale is scheduled for 7:35pm local time (9:35pm central). You can listen to the game on 1220 AM WKRS or online at fieldersbaseball.com or wkrs.com.

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