Passed Ball In Ninth Gives St. Paul The Win

Published on September 3, 2005 under Northern League (NL)
Schaumburg Flyers News Release


SCHAUMBURG, IL - Rick DeHart took a shutout into the ninth inning but the Schaumburg Flyers suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 loss against the St. Paul Saints on Saturday night. The Flyers are now 22-25 in the second half and 38-57 overall. The Saints improve to 26-21 and 54-40 overall. A crowd of 7,046 was on hand at Alexian Field.

DeHart struck out ten batters through his first six innings and did not allow a runner to reach third base until the seventh. With the Flyers leading 1-0, DeHart came out for the top of the ninth. T. Brown walked to lead off the inning after it was ruled that he did not go around on a check swing with the count full. Nick Gretz then singled to center field and moved Brown to third. Coby Smith pinch ran for Gretz at first. Dan Jackson came on in relief and got Mike Forbes to ground out with Smith taking second on the play. With Kris Cox at the plate, catcher Ryan Walker had a ball get past him. He could not locate the ball and both runners scored to put the Saints up 2-1. Jackson recovered to strike out Cox and Juan Camacho to end the inning. The passed ball made both runs charged to DeHart unearned.

Saints closer Matt Hammons came on for the bottom of the ninth after eight solid innings from starter Bryan Gaal. Chris Weekly singled to right with one out, but Josue Lopez struck out and Walker grounded out to end the game. Hammons earned his league-leading 24th save of the season. Gaal (10-4) allowed five hits and one run in his eight innings of work.

The Flyers took their 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Eli Albertson and Oscar Materano led off with back-to-back singles. Eric Cole drove in Albertson with an RBI groundout. Schaumburg had runners at first and second with one out in the seventh, but could not score.

DeHart (3-10) matched his season-high with ten strikeouts. He had four strikeouts in a row at one point and recorded three strikeouts in an inning in the third and fifth. The Saints put runners on the corners with one out in the seventh, but DeHart got Josh Renick to ground into a 4-6-3 double play. It was the final appearance of DeHart's 14-year professional career, as he will retire after the season.

Weekly led the Flyers with two hits and extended his hitting streak to nine games. Lopez also has hits in nine straight games after a single in the second inning.

The Saints remain tied with Gary for first place in the South Division second half race after the RailCats also won on Saturday. St. Paul is playoff-bound after winning the first half.

Schaumburg wraps up its regular season against the Saints on Sunday afternoon at 1:20 PM. RHP Nigel Thatch (0-2) takes the mound for the Flyers against LHP Luis Villarreal (8-7). Thatch is best known for his role as the prima donna athlete ‘Leon' in a series of Budweiser commercials. Tickets are available by calling 847-891-2255.

NOTES: DeHart also struck out ten against Calgary in the second game of a doubleheader on July 27...The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Schaumburg...The loss also means the club will have a losing record in a half for just the second time in six halves under Andy McCauley...Justin Hendrickson (broken cheekbone) and Tim Marks (broken hand) are out for the remainder of the season...The Flyers are collecting donations at all three games this weekend to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina...Volunteers from the Schaumburg Business Association are helping with the effort...Former Flyer Mario Delgado was named to the Carolina League's post-season all-star team...He has helped lead Class A Frederick to a playoff berth...

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Northern League Stories from September 3, 2005


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