SAL1 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Mier's Late Strike Sinks Kannapolis 5-3

Published on August 27, 2010 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers News Release


With two on and two down in the top of the ninth in a tie ballgame, with two strikes, Jiovanni Mier ripped a single to left-center, scoring both of the runners on base and giving the Lexington Legends a 5-3 victory against the Kannapolis Intimidators.

Mier was down to his last strike, but that didn't matter for the former first round pick as he timed the Jake Petricka fastball and hit a solid single, scoring the runners on second and third to break the tie. Petricka (0-1) pitched two innings and allowed two runs.

The Intimidators (30-31) had a chance of their own to take control of the game in the eighth as Daniel Wagner led off the inning with a walk in a 3-2 game in favor of the Legends (30-30), followed by back to back bunt singles that were fielded poorly by the defense, loading the bases for Ian Gac. The Legends brought on their closer with the bases loaded and no one out in a one-run game in the eighth and Gac grounded into a double play, scoring a run and tying the game, but as Trayce Thompson grounded out to end the inning, the game was still tied and the Legends dodged a big bullet. Clark (4-2) worked a clean ninth, earning the win.

Andre Rienzo started the game for the Intimidators and went five innings, allowing one run and striking out eight. He allowed the bases to get loaded twice in his outing, but had four strikeouts in those situations to eliminate the threat.

Tanner Bushue made the start for the Legends and worked well for seven innings. He was taken out after the seventh allowing only six hits and two runs with five strikeouts. In the fifth inning, down 1-0, John Spatola was hit by a pitch and scored later on a sacrifice fly by Miguel Gonzalez.

Matt Hopps came on in the sixth and allowed two runs to make it a 3-1 game, but a Wagner double and an RBI-groundout by Nick Ciolli made it a 3-2 game.

With the loss, the Intimidators dropped to 5.5 games behind the Lakewood BlueClaws in the SAL North, and almost insurmountable margin to make up in nine games.

The Intimidators look for a series win on Saturday, the final home game of the 2010 season, as Ryan Buch will face Luis Minaya at 7:05 at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium.

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South Atlantic League Stories from August 27, 2010


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