SAL1 Hagerstown Suns

New additions spark shutout win for Suns

Published on July 20, 2009 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hagerstown Suns News Release


HAGERSTOWN, MD -- The two newest members of the Hagerstown Suns pitching staff bookended a seven-hit shutout at Municipal Stadium on Monday, with reliever Chris Rivera nailing down the save for starter Trevor Holder in a 2-0 win for the Suns (8-17) over the Asheville Tourists (16-8).

Holder (1-0), a third-round pick by the Washington Nationals in the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft in June, hurled five scoreless innings in just his second start as a Sun. After allowing four earned runs in two and two thirds innings in his Hagerstown debut on July 14, Holder was much improved in his second taste of the South Atlantic League, allowing just five hits while striking out four.

The only pitcher newer to the Hagerstown roster than Holder is Rivera, who joined the Suns just hours before game time, having started the season with the Potomac Nationals of the High-A Carolina League. After left-handed reliever Kevin Light shut down Asheville in the sixth and seventh innings, Rivera pitched two perfect final frames, striking out three batters without allowing a single base-runner.

The third shutout of the season for the Hagerstown pitching staff made the two runs scored by the Suns in the bottom of the fourth inning hold up. First baseman Tyler Moore started the fourth with a single off Tourists' starter Dan Houston (5-7), and shortstop Steven Souza put runners on second and third with a double to right center. With no outs in the inning, right fielder Charlie Fermaint stepped to the plate, and shot a single up the middle to plate Moore and Souza for the only runs of the game.

Fermaint finished the day with two hits and a stolen base in four at bats, while Moore went three-for-four to raise his batting average to .297 on the season. Souza also had a two-hit day for Hagerstown, as did left fielder Valerio Heredia, who stole two bases, but whose biggest contributions to the game were made with his throwing arm.

In the top of the first, Asheville leadoff hitter Scott Robinson singled and, in the very next at bat, challenged Heredia's arm on a fly ball to left field, attempting the rare feat of tagging up to second base. Heredia would have nothing of it, however, narrowly retiring Robinson at second for the double play.

After the Suns took their lead in the bottom of the fourth, the Tourists tried to take advantage of Heredia's arm again the fifth, with Tyler Massey looking to score from second on a two-out Robinson single. Heredia's spot-on throw home easily beat Massey, ending the inning and extinguishing Asheville's final scoring threat of the evening.

With the win, the Suns salvaged a split of the four-game series against the Tourists, and finished their eight-game homestand with a record of 3-5. Hagerstown has a day off on Tuesday before visiting the Bowling Green Hot Rods on Wednesday for the start of an eight-game road swing. The Suns will return to Municipal Stadium on Thursday, July 30 at 7:05 p.m. for the first game of a four-game weekend series against the West Virginia Power.

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South Atlantic League Stories from July 20, 2009


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