SAL1 Lexington Legends

Legends Send 'Dogs Away with a Whimper

Published on August 11, 2007 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Lexington Legends News Release


The Legends received an excellent performance from their starter for the third consecutive evening, and they rode that wave to a modest three-game winning streak on Saturday night at Applebee's Park. Charleston's hitters loaded the bases in the top of the ninth, but couldn't produce the tying run against closer Kyle DeYoung as they fell to the home team, 5-4.

Bud Norris was literally unhittable early on, pitching three perfect innings. He made a throwing error on Mitch Hilligoss' bunt in the fourth, but escaped unscathed. Meanwhile, the Legends provided excellent run support behind him, getting two runs on four singles in the game's first inning. They followed that up by scoring three on Nick Moresi's fourth-inning home run that cleared the out-of-town scoreboard in right-center. The blast was reported to have traveled 437 feet.

Norris (2-6) lost both his no-hit and shutout bids at the beginning of the fifth. James Cooper hit a solo blast that momentarily looked like a double when it fell back onto the field. However, base umpire Anthony Johnson gave the home run signal, and the RiverDogs were on the board. Norris yielded another pair of runs in the next inning, but struck out the inning's final two batters to finish strong. His final line showed six innings pitched, with eight strikeouts and two walks.

The RiverDogs put the game's outcome into doubt in the ninth inning. Entering the final frame trailing by two, they were faced with the task of scoring against Legends right-hander Reid Kelly. And score they did -- three of the four batters Kelly faced reached, producing a run. Kelly was removed after Joe Muich scored on Hilligoss' bloop single, and DeYoung was forced to enter the game with the tying run 90 feet from the plate.

DeYoung delivered in the pressure situation to mark his eighth save. He struck out Seth Fortenberry for the inning's second out, and retired Kevin Smith on a fly ball to deep right-center after walking a batter to load the bases. That gave the Legends their first series victory in nearly a month.

Lexington will now welcome the Savannah Sand Gnats to town for another four-game series. Tomorrow's matinee will mark the second Faith Night of the season, featuring the Crossroads Worship Band. Doug Arguello (6-8, 4.77) will take the hill against Julio Polanco (2-8, 7.07) with the first pitch set for 2:05 p.m.

Check out the Lexington Legends Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



South Atlantic League Stories from August 11, 2007


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central