O'Leary, Pump Jacks Bludgeon Aces

Published on July 24, 2012 under Texas Collegiate League (TCL)
East Texas PumpJacks News Release


The East Texas Pump Jacks met the Alexandria Aces for the final time in the 2012 regular season on Tuesday night, and did they ever make it count.

East Texas scored 13 runs off of the Aces' pitching staff and got multiple RBI from three different players, including a season-high three from Kevin O'Leary in a 13-5 drubbing of Alexandria at Bringhurst Field.

The Pump Jacks got on the board first. Damion Lovato carried over his strong hitting performance from the previous game over with a leadoff double in the top of the second. He went to third base on a wild pitch by Aces starter Colton Peek with Logan Preston batting, and then on a pitch that was ball four to Preston, the ball squirted away from the catcher Garrett Vail. Lovato came around to score on the second wild pitch of the at-bat to give East Texas a 1-0 lead.

The Aces responded in the bottom of the inning. With a runner on second thanks to a double that was lost in the bright sun, a costly three-base throwing error brought home that runner and tied the game at 1-1. But Jacob Lindgren was able to mitigate the damage by retiring the next batter to get out of the frame.

Like the 1-0 lead, the tie would not last long either. With one out in the top of the third, R.J. Santigate singled on a bloop to right-center field that dropped between two fielders. Kash Kalkowski then turned on an inside fastball and took it over the left field wall for his second homer of the season, giving East Texas a 3-1 lead. It was Kalkowski's second home run of the week as he continues a strong repeat campaign with the Jacks. It also made him the only Pump Jacks player with multiple homers this season.

But the Jacks didn't stop there. Taylor Murphy walked after a nine-pitch at-bat, and Justin Wall shot a single to left field. Lovato then worked a walk after an eight-pitch at bat to load the bases with one out. In the next at-bat, Preston lifted a 1-1 pitch to left for a hit, scoring Murphy and Wall and making the score 5-1 East Texas. Lovato was thrown out trying to go from first to third for the second out of the inning on that same play, but Peek was chased from the contest.

And against reliever Jacob Rodrigue, the carousel of baserunners kept on moving. Louie Helmburg worked a walk on six pitches to put runners at first and second, and then O'Leary singled up the middle to make the score 6-1. John Williams (who led off the inning) followed by parking a single into right field to make it 7-1 East Texas. Finally, the Aces were able to get out of the inning by catching Williams in a run-down between first and second, but not before O'Leary crossed the plate on a delayed steal of home to mercifully end the inning. In total, the damage against Alexandria in the frame was seven runs on six hits and three well-earned walks as the Jacks batted around their order.

A bases-loaded, two-out single brought home a run for the Aces in the next half-inning to make the score 8-2, but Lindgren stranded the bases loaded by getting the next batter to ground out to third. He would also get a strikeout swinging from Stryker Brown to leave the bases juiced in the fourth inning.

Lovato then hit his second double of the game to lead off the fifth, and went to third on an error by the third baseman that allowed Preston to reach base. Helmburg followed with a sac-fly to right to score Lovato, and another RBI single by O'Leary made it 10-2 Pump Jacks.

East Texas added more insurance runs in the sixth inning. Kalkowski reached on an error, and thanks to a single and two wild pitches, he would score to make it 11-2 Pump Jacks. A fielder's choice and two singles loaded the bases for O'Leary, who was hit by a pitch to force in the 12th run of the game for East Texas, setting a new season-high in runs scored.

The Aces would score three more runs, and East Texas would add another of their own, but by that time the script was written on the Jacks' 31st win of the summer.

Every hitter in the Pump Jacks' lineup had at least one hit in the ballgame. Six of them (Murphy, Wall, Lovato, Preston, Helmburg and O'Leary) finished with multi-hit games. All but one (Williams) also scored a run in the offensive explosion. O'Leary led the charge with a 2-for-4 performance including a run scored and three RBI, while Kalkowski chipped in two runs scored and two RBI and Lovato had a 2-for-5 contest with three runs scored.

Lindgren (2-3) worked into and out of trouble through his five innings of work to get the win, striking out five. Peek (0-1) took the loss for the Aces.

The Pump Jacks will continue their four-game road trip on Wednesday night in Lafayette, La. to play the Acadiana Cane Cutters. Thursday night the team will travel to Bryan, Texas to face the Brazos Valley Bombers. They will return home on Friday evening for another edition of Fireworks Friday. After the Jacks face off against the Brazos Valley Bombers that night, fans can remain in their seats for another exciting fireworks show set to a unique soundtrack.

First pitch for each game is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

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Texas Collegiate League Stories from July 24, 2012


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