Outlaw arms come up big again
Published on July 29, 2006 under Golden Baseball League (GBL)
Chico Outlaws News Release
Another day, another gem for Outlaws starting pitchers. Brian Kroll threw eight innings of one-run baseball Friday and the Outlaws won big over the Yuma Scorpions, 9-1, in front of 1,490 of the Nettleton Stadium faithful. Kroll's effort earned him his sixth victory of the season, which ties him with teammate Nick Singleton and Yuma's Jorge Perez at the top of the Golden Baseball League leader board. He struck out seven and yielded only three hits to up his record to 6-3. Over the past four games, Outlaws starters have allowed just three runs in 34 innings.
The offense fared well, too, as Bobby Gandolfo went 4 for 4 and his teammates put up a five-run eighth inning to seal the victory. All total, Chico banged out 12 hits. The Reno Silver Sox and San Diego Surf Dawgs both lost Friday, which means the Outlaws (9-3) now lead the GBL's second-half standings by 2 1/2 games.
The Scorpions managed only an unearned run all night, and it occurred early, as Jacob Guzman's grounder was mishandled by Chico third baseman Todd Gossage in the first inning. The two-out error allowed Henry Calderon, who had singled earlier in the inning, to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Unearned runs helped the Yuma offense, but they also hurt Scorpions reliever Anthony Baca later in the game. He gave up five unearned runs in just 2/3 innings of work during the eighth inning.
Yuma's lead held until the bottom of the third, when the Outlaws used a two-out rally to tie the game. Jason Matteucci got it all started with a single, followed by a walk to Gandolfo. Desi Wilson then reached on an error and the bases were loaded for Mike Mallory, who took a four-pitch walk for the RBI.
A strange thing happened in the bottom of the fourth inning as both managers ended up getting ejected in the same half-inning. Yuma's skipper Benny Castillo was tossed when he argued that an Outlaws hitter swung at a pitch that he was hit by, and then Mark Parent got the heave-ho later in the inning for arguing a play at first base.
After Wilson gave the Outlaws a 2-1 lead with an RBI groundout in the fifth, Chico added another run in the sixth when Jesse Kovacs lofted a bloop single over the third baseman. Kovacs' hit scored Craig Kuzmic, who led off the inning with a single.
Another strange occurrence Friday night was that Mike Mallory recorded sacrifice flies in consecutive innings. In the seventh, Mallory plated Gandolfo with a sacrifice to right field, and in the eighth he knocked in Kovacs with a sacrifice fly to center. In that five-run eighth inning, Wilson added an RBI with a bases-loaded walk and Gossage knocked in two with a bloop single. Mallory finished the night 0 for 2 but his three RBI give him 52, good enough for second in the GBL.
Lefthander Grant Gregg (4-3, 4.24 ERA) will take the hill for the Outlaws Saturday night while the Scorpions plan to call on Chris Langlois (3-6, 5.20 ERA). Game time at Nettleton Stadium is slated for 7:05 p.m.
Golden Baseball League Stories from July 29, 2006
- Flyers First 4-Game Streak - Orange County Flyers
- Canseco, Armada top Dawgs - San Diego Surf Dawgs
- Outlaw arms come up big again - Chico Outlaws
- Flyers Flash Arms, Leather - Orange County Flyers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
