Ottawa scores seven unanswered runs for 9-8 win
June 28, 2005 - International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release
OTTAWA, Ontario -- Ottawa reeled off seven unanswered runs to post a 9-8 victory over Indianapolis in 11 innings Tuesday evening at Lynx Stadium. Ottawa improves to 38-39 with the series-opening win, while the Indians fall to 45-33 on the campaign.
Lynx 2B Bernie Castro led off the bottom of the 11th with a two-out single up the middle. Castro then came plateward with the winning run when LF Bobby Darula's double to left center was juggled by the Indianapolis left fielder.
Trailing by six runs at stretch time, Ottawa kicked it into high gear with four runs in the seventh, one in the eighth and another score in the ninth to knot the game at eight apiece.
Darula singled through the left side to open the home half of the seventh. RF Midre Cummings then put two runners in scoring position with a double to right field. 1B Alejandro Freire followed with an RBI single to left before SS Ed Rogers added to the hit parade with an RBI single to right center and CF Tim Raines, Jr., tagged a two-run single to left.
Cummings belted his eighth homer of the season the next inning, while Castro delivered the game-tying single in the ninth to plate pinch-runner Ramon Nivar.
The bullpen downfall came after Indianapolis owned the first six innings of the contest. The Indians registered single runs in the first and third frames before exploding for five scores in the fifth.
The Tribe cracked the scoreboard when CF Chris Duffy singled and came around to score on 1B Graham Koonce's RBI single to right field in the first, while Koonce hammered his 14th dinger of the season -- a solo shot to right -- in the third.
The Indianapolis fifth featured three home runs as RF Yurendell de Caster (ninth HR of the season), DH Jose Leon (10th HR) and LF Jon Nunnally (fifth HR) all left the yard. The Indians crushed a season-high five roundtrippers on the night. Catcher Paul Chiaffredo added his third homer of the campaign in the sixth as the vistors increased their advantage to six runs.
Cummings led Ottawa with a 4-for-6, two-double, one-homer performance, while Castro, Darula amd Freire collected three hits apiece. The Lynx pounded out 21 hits -- the most given up by the Tribe this season -- just one night after recording 17 base knocks in a 7-5 loss to Syracuse.
Ottawa RHP Aaron Rakers (1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO) earned up the victory, improving to 5-3 on the season. Indianapolis RHP Jeff Miller (2.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO) took the loss, falling to 1-5.
The two teams return to Lynx Stadium Wednesday night at 6:05 p.m., for game two of the four-game set. The contest will be carried by ESPN-950 AM as Howard Kellman and Robert Portnoy have the call. Wednesday's pre-game show begins at 5:45 p.m.
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