Nation Dominates Again
August 16, 2012 - North American League (NAmL)
Fort Worth Cats News Release
FORT WORTH -- The Cats took the early lead on Thursday night and never looked back, racing to a dominating 7-0 win over the Dogs at LaGrave Field.
The opposition rarely finds room for error when Blake Nation takes the hill, and Thursday night was no exception. The 6'8" righty from Atlanta suffocated the Dogs' lineup on the way to seven shutout innings and his ninth victory of the season.
Jason Martin whistled a single back through the middle to start the game but was soon eliminated on a fielder's choice. After Martin's knock to start the night, Abilene collected only one more hit over the final eight frames.
Beginning with Clint Stroud's fly out to start the top of the third, Nation retired nine consecutive batters and faced the minimum number of hitters of the first five innings.
Scott Vander Weg made his second start of the season and struggled through a four-run bottom of the first inning. The righty allowed three hits and a walk in a frame that was highlighted by C.J. Beatty's two-run double to right field. After a perfect bottom of the second, Vander Weg gave up a solo home run to Jose Ruiz with one out in the third to make it 5-0 Cats. It was the third homer of the series for the power lefty and his eighth of the season, Ruiz went 2-for-4 in the game.
Cats' third baseman CJ Beatty went 2-for-3 in the game with three RBIs and a run.
Vander Weg gave up another run in the fifth before turning it over to Braden Tullis. Tullis responded with one of his best outings of the season. The 22-year-old faced only four batters in the sixth before retiring the side in order in the seventh. Tullis nearly worked through three scoreless innings, but Chuck Caufield doubled and ended up scoring on a wild pitch in the eighth.
In the end, the Cats pitching was too much for an overmatched Abilene offense. Brandon Wilkerson appeared for the second straight night and set down all six Prairie Dogs he faced to close out a 7-0 win.
With San Angelo winning in Edinburg, Fort Worth is now four games back from first place in the United League with 18 games remaining.
Abilene will conclude an eight-game series with Fort Worth when the teams collide at 7:05 Friday night at LaGrave Field. Tickets can be purchased online at FWCats.com or by phone at (817) 332-CATS.
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North American League Stories from August 16, 2012
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