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TL1 Corpus Christi Hooks

Hounds Rip Hooks 13-5

August 2, 2009 - Texas League (TL1)
Corpus Christi Hooks News Release


MIDLAND, Texas - Matt Spencer had three extra-base hits and four RBI's to power the RockHounds to a 13-5 win over the Hooks Sunday night at Citibank Ballpark.

The win moves Midland (20-16) into a first-place tie with Frisco in the Texas League South second-half standings, while the Hooks (16-20) remain four games off the pace.

Sunday's game began well for the Hooks. Drew Locke doubled to center with two outs in the first and Jason Castro walked. Jimmy Van Ostrand lofted a single to medium left-center to plate Locke for a 1-0 lead. Drew Meyer followed with a double to left-center to get Castro and Van Ostrand home for a 3-0 score.

The flying start was the third this season for the Hooks at Midland with Brad James on the hill as Corpus Christi's starter. And for the third time, James was unable to hold that early and substantial lead (either 3 or 4 runs).

James (2-9) hit leadoff batter Corey Wimberly with his second pitch of the evening. Archie Gilbert walked on four pitches, and Chris Carter got hit with an 0-1 pitch. That loaded the bases for Spencer, whose double to right-center scored Wimberly and Gilbert to make it 3-2.

Shane Peterson's groundout to Van Ostrand at first allowed Carter to score the tying run. Josh Donaldson's double gave Midland a 4-3 lead and later in the inning, Michael Affronti's infield hit pushed Midland's advantage to 5-3. The first inning lasted 36 minutes.

Singles by Mitch Einertson and Nick Moresi and a sacrifice fly off the bat of German Duran brought the Hooks back to within a run at 5-4 in the second. That's as close as the Hooks would get.

Consecutive doubles by Carter, Spencer and Peterson opened the home second and spelled the end of the evening for James, who was charged with seven runs on seven hits over an inning plus three batters.

Midland put the game away in the third, scoring six times on four hits and one Corpus Christi error. Spencer brought in the first of those six runs with a triple off the wall in center. Alex Valdez had the other big hit - a two-run triple.

Midland starter Graham Godfrey (9-6) fought his way through a sluggish outing to get the win. He allowed five runs on nine hits and a walk over 6.1 innings. The bullpen tandem of Mike Benacka and Steve Sharpe provided shutout relief the rest of the way.

Einertson led the Hooks on offense with a 3-for-4 night that included a double and two runs. Van Ostrand went 2-for-4 with a double, one run and one RBI. In 15 games at Citibank Ballpark this year, Van Ostrand is batting .426 with 14 runs and 25 RBI's.

Kenny Baugh (2-1, 3.81) takes the hill for the Hooks in Monday's series finale, slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. He'll be opposed by Justin Souza (0-1, 10.59).

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