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King Caskey Reigns Supreme: Jacks Win 9-0 Behind Masterful Start

July 11, 2015 - Texas Collegiate League (TCL)
East Texas PumpJacks News Release


John Caskey is better at baseball than you are.

Fans who watched him twirl a masterpiece Friday night will testify to that.

Caskey was but a few feet away from history when he lost his bid for the Texas Collegiate League's first perfect game on a bloop single in the seventh inning.

He settled for a dominating two-hit complete-game shutout, and the East Texas Pump Jacks completed the sweep of the Woodlands Strykers with a 9-0 victory. The Jacks broke a scoreless tie with a run in the sixth inning, then sent 12 batters to the plate in an eight-run eighth inning that put the game well out of reach.

Caskey and his counterpart, Strykers starting pitcher Lenzie Foley, were locked in a pitchers' duel early on, and the ballgame took on a rapid pace.

The Pump Jacks had runners in scoring position in three consecutive innings after going down in order in the first frame, but they were unable to collect the timely hit. The Jacks went down in order once more in the fifth before finally getting on the board in the sixth inning.

With two down in the sixth, James Lear worked a walk on four pitches. Lear's second steal of the game, and 16th of the season, moved him into scoring position for Alex Bell, who beat out an infield single to put runners on the corners.

Anthony Donovan stepped to the plate, and the player nicknamed "Pookie" poked an opposite-field base hit to score Lear and give the Pump Jacks the 1-0 advantage.

Caskey took the mound in the top of the seventh inning with a newfound lead, having retired the first 18 batters he faced. Perfection and history were within his grasp, just nine outs away.

He quickly put away hitters 19 and 20 with a fly ball and a strikeout, and the home crowd rose to its feet trying to will Caskey through another perfect inning. All he had to do was put away the TCL's home run king, Jerry Murillo.

It wasn't Murillo's power on display, though, when he looped a two-strike single in front of T.J. Friedl in left field to spoil the perfect game and no-hitter. After a brief ovation from the crowd, an undaunted Caskey blew away Brian Deaver with three pitches to end the inning.

Caskey sent the Woodlands down in order once again in the eighth, and that's when the game quickly got out of hand.

Three hits, four walks, and three errors by the Strykers in the home half of the eighth contributed to an eight-run rally for the Jacks that turned the game upside down.

Dilon Argo led off with his second walk of the day, and consecutive singles from Lear and Bell loaded the bases for Donovan.

Donovan dribbled a ball up the middle, and the second baseman charged the ball well and threw home trying for the force out. But Vicente Villarreal's throw home went to the backstop, allowing Argo and Lear to score.

With runners on first and third and nobody out, the Strykers brought out reliever Bryce Tomlin to stop the bleeding. Instead, three consecutive walks to Tyler Moore, Jake Nash, and Friedl scored Bell and Donovan to push the East Texas lead to 5-0.

Brandon Grudzielanek hit a grounder to short that could have gone for a double play, but it too was mishandled as Moore crossed the plate.

With the bases loaded, Nike Buentello drove in the sixth run of the inning with a single, and the bases remained loaded for Argo.

Argo chopped a ground ball up the middle, and shortstop Justin Braziel scooped it and stepped on second base to record the first out of the inning. He was unable to complete the back end of the double-play, though, when his throw skipped past the first basemen.

The grounder scored Friedl, and Grudzielanek raced home from second on the error to cap the eight-run inning.

Despite the long delay, Caskey came back out for the top of the ninth to finish what he started. The Strykers' picked up a one-out single, just their second safety of the night, but a pop fly and and a grounder put them away for good.

Caskey finished his complete-game masterpiece with six strikeouts and no walks.

Bell collected three singles in five at-bats and scored a run, and Donovan finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Every member of the Pump Jacks starting lineup reached base safely by a hit or a walk.

The Jacks will spend the weekend in Victoria and go to Acadiana next Tuesday and Wednesday before returning home for a Thursday-Friday series against the Generals.

Thursday will be the Pump Jacks' second Thirsty Thursday of the season, presented by the original lite beer, Miller Lite. Fans can beat the heat with discounted beverages, both beer and soft drinks, and all adults will receive a Pump Jacks koozie presented by Miller Lite. Miller Lite will also be on hand to pass out other great prizes, so keep cool with the Jacks on Thursday!

Friday will be Big Screen TV Giveaway Night presented by Don's TV & Appliance. Don's and Jacks will be giving away a 55" HD Smart TV from LG, so come out to the ballpark and you may go home with a brand new TV!

Fans can also tune in to our live Ustream broadcast or follow the game with live scoring updates on our Pointstreak feed.

To follow all the news during the Jacks' inaugural season in Tyler, presented by Brookshire's, visit the Pump Jacks official web site at www.pumpjacksbaseball.com. Join the conversation with other members of Pump Jacks Nation by visiting the Pump Jacks on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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