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TL1 San Antonio Missions

Missions do all the little things right to beat Frisco

August 28, 2009 - Texas League (TL1)
San Antonio Missions News Release


All year long the Frisco RoughRiders have shown off great power against San Antonio, but haven't collected the wins to show for it. Thursday night brought more of the same, as the 'Riders blasted two home runs but fell victim to the Missions' sound fundamentals and clutch hitting in an 8-3 San Antonio victory at Wolff Stadium.

When the wind started whipping out to right field for the second night in a row, it seemed like a time to swing for the fences. San Antonio had a 4-2 lead in the seventh inning at the time, a margin made much more precarious under the circumstances. But the Missions stayed patient, using four walks and four singles, sending 10 men to the plate in the inning to slowly break the game open.

Despite out-homering the Missions 29-9 in the 31 games played between the teams this year, the 'Riders have won just 13 of those contests. The Missions won their 18th game of the season series, the most a San Antonio team has ever won against Frisco.

Frisco got home runs from Steve Murphy and Chad Tracy, but the Missions' persistent attack produced 12 hits and five walks, and eventually a victory. Craig Cooper and Jesus Lopez collected three hits apiece to lead the charge.

"We talked about it in the dugout," said Cooper of the change in conditions. "But we didn't let it affect our approach. We kept working every at-bat and it paid off."

Missions starter Nathan Culp had another solid outing against Frisco, tossing 6.0 innings of two-run, five-hit ball striking out one without a walk. Culp (7-8) improves to 3-1 with a 1.74 ERA (8 ER/41.1 IP) in seven starts against the 'Riders this year.

"I hope this serves as the catalyst," said Missions skipper Terry Kennedy. "This is what we needed. Plus, to ice it for Culpy in the eighth, that was nice."

San Antonio plated a run in the first on Cooper's two-out double, plating Eric Sogard who had led off with a single. That lead was short-lived, however, as Steve Murphy launched his second home run in as many nights in the top of the second, a two-run blast to right field to give Frisco what would be its only lead.

After hitting seven home runs against the Missions in 2008, Murphy's longball Thursday night marked his sixth of the 2009 campaign. He has hit only three all year against the rest of the Texas League.

The Missions tied the game without the benefit of a hit in the third inning. Sogard led off with a walk and moved to second on Luis Durango's sacrifice bunt. Then the Missions' second baseman got a huge secondary lead on Kirkman and stole third without a throw. He scored on Forsythe's groundout to short to make it 2-2.

Lopez opened the fifth with a double down the right field line, but Sogard popped out and Durango grounded out, leaving Lopez at third with two out. That's when Forsythe stepped up with a two-out, RBI single, his second run batted in of the ballgame. Cooper followed with a single to push Forsythe to third, and Frisco starter Michael Kirkman threw a wild pitch to the screen, scoring the run to make it 4-2.

Kirkman (5-7) allowed four earned runs on seven hits over his 5.0 innings of work. He drops to 0-3 in three starts at Wolff Stadium this season.

The Missions trio of Carlos Guevara, Gabe DeHoyos and Mike DeMark combined for 3.0 innings of one-hit relief, striking out six. Guevara struck out the side in his lone inning of work.

W: Culp (7-8); L: Kirkman (5-7); S: None; HR: Murphy (9), Tracy (25)

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Texas League Stories from August 28, 2009


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