FL Joliet Slammers

May 18 Joliet Slammers Game Notes

May 18, 2012 - Frontier League (FL)
Joliet Slammers News Release


JOLIET SLAMMERS (0-1) @ GATEWAY GRIZZLIES (0-0)

Friday, May 18- 7:05 p.m. CT

GCS Ballpark - Sauget, IL Game #2 - Road Game #2 (0-1), (0-1) RHP #39 Tommy Mendoza (0-0) vs. RHP #10 Cale Johnson (0-0)

Last time out...

The Slammers opened up their defense of the 2011 Frontier League Cup in Crestwood Thursday night against the Windy City ThunderBolts with a 4-2 loss at Standard Bank Stadium. Joliet struck early when Zach Mandelblatt slapped an RBI single into the outfield to bring home Abel Nieves. The Slammers picked up an insurance run in the third when player-coach Erik Lis doubled to bring in Hector Pellot. The Slammers left nine runners on base throughout the contest. Gaby Hernandez made an impressive start for the Slammers and went five and two-thirds innings before the bottom fell out in the sixth. Up 2-0, Joliet surrendered four runs in the inning and worked through two relief pitchers. Mike Torres, Zack Aakhus, Mike Mobbs, and Brian Burke all picked up RBIs for the Bolts in the inning. All four runs were unearned due to an error to open the inning.

For Starters...

RHP Tommy Mendoza made his first start for the Slammers on June 27, 2011 and went on to post a 6-2 record during the regular season. He won both his starts in the playoffs while posting a 1.50 ERA. Mendoza was a 5th round draft pick of the Angels in 2005. He has a career ERA of 3.97 over six seasons in affiliated baseball. The right-handed pitcher rose to the Triple-A level at the age of 21 in 2009. He was 7-7 with a 3.36 ERA for Double-A Arkansas and was named a Texas League All Star before earning the promotion to Salt Lake. With the Bees he went 2-1 with a 2.91 ERA. Mendoza suffered from multiple injuries in 2010 which only allowed him to pitch in 10 games.

Perfect in 2011 against Gateway...

The Slammers went 6-0 against the Grizzlies. They were the only team Joliet went undefeated against last year. The Slammers hit .300 as a team and had a 2.83 ERA against Gateway. Hector Pellot (9-18) and Ben Hewett (7-14) had particularly strong seasons versus the Grizzlies.

A new closer...

2011 saw Joliet native Ryan Quigley set the Frontier League record for saves in a single season with 28. After the season concluded, Quigley was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He is now in the San Diego Padres organization with the High-A Lake Elsinore Storm of the California League. In steps RHP Amalio Diaz to take Quigley's place. Diaz, 25, brings Triple-A experience to the Slammers as he reached that level at the age of 21. Last season Diaz appeared mostly out of the bullpen with the Salt Lake Bees of the Pacific Coast League.

Triple-A talent...

The Slammers boast five players who have played at Triple-A level during their careers, one step below the major leagues. DH Erik Lis played for the Rochester Red Wings of the International League in 2010. Utility man Abel Nieves played for the Salt Lake Bees of the Pacific Coast League in 2006, 2009 and 2010. RHP Gaby Hernandez has played for the Albuquerque Isotopes, Tacoma Rainiers, Omaha Royals, Charlotte Knights and Reno Aces during his four years at the Triple-A level. RHP Amalio Diaz pitched for the Salt Lake Bees of the PCL in 2010 and 2011. Meanwhile tonight's starting pitcher RHP Tommy Mendoza also pitched for Salt Lake in 2009 and 2010.

Player-Coach...

DH Erik Lis is going to use his Triple-A experience well this season as he's also serving as the team's hitting coach. Lis has seven seasons of professional baseball experience. He went 2-3 with a double and a RBI yesterday against Windy City.

Mr. Versatility...

Abel Nieves can play practically any position. During the preseason he played every infield spot except pitcher and catcher. He also spent time in left field and right field. Nieves figures to play all over the diamond for Joliet in 2012. He started at third yesterday against the ThunderBolts and tallied two hits and scored a run.

Check out the Joliet Slammers Statistics



Frontier League Stories from May 18, 2012


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