Pels Winning Streak Comes To An End; El Paso Wins 7-5

Published on July 9, 2009 under American Association (AA)
Pensacola Pelicans News Release


PENSACOLA, FL- The El Paso Diablos picked up their first win of the second half in a 7-5 victory that ended the Pelicans' six-game winning streak. Ricardo Rivas earned his second win and Ulysses Roque took the loss in a game that saw three lead changes.

El Paso blemished the scoreboard initially in the top of the first. Arnoldo Ponce walked, moved to third on a single by Jorge Alvarez, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Tyler Johnson.

Pensacola jumped ahead with two runs in the second inning. Marcos Rodriguez reached on an error by the second baseman, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a RBI-double by Lester Contreras. Adam Deleo followed with a RBI-double of his own and the Pelicans took the lead 2-1.

El Paso recaptured the lead in the third inning, as David Washington started the inning with a walk and stole second. Kennard Bibbs walked as well before Ponce was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Alvarez hit a sacrifice fly to score Washington and the game was tied. Tyler Johnson came to the plate and grounded out to first base, but Kennard Bibbs scored from third on the play, after tagging up on the fly-out a batter earlier.

El Paso added two more runs in the fourth. Mike Provencher walked and scored when Eddy Rodriguez hit a double. Rodriguez came in to score as well after moving to third and scoring on a sac fly by Kennard Bibbs.

The score stood at Diablos five, Pensacola two until the bottom of the seventh. Kyle LaMotta reached on a fielder's choice with two gone. After stealing second, LaMotta scored on a RBI single by Rafael Alvarez. Antoin Gray batted next and hit his sixth homerun of the season to tie the game at five.

The game remained tied until the ninth inning, when El Paso took the lead for good. Hector Bernal and Kennard Bibbs both walked and scored when Jorge Alvarez hit a two-RBI double.

Mike Cervera pitched an one-two-three ninth to claim his first save and the Diablos improved their record to 1-2 in the second half. The Pelicans dropped their first game of the latter half and now stand at 2-1, snapping a six-game winning streak. Marcos Rodriguez saw his 21-game hitting streak come to an end, going 0-3 with a run scored.

Antoin Gray led the Pelicans at the plate, batting 2-4 with his two-run homer. Adam Deleo and Lester Contreras each had a RBI-double in four at-bats.

From the mound, Dane DeValk started the game and pitched four innings, allowing five runs, of which four were earned. DeValk collected three punch-outs while baserunners came from two hits and four walks. Aaron Jackson pitched the fifth through eighth innings, allowing only one hit while striking out four. Ulysses Roque pitched a rocky ninth, walking three, striking out one, and allowing two runs on one hit.

The Pelicans and Diablos play the fourth game of this six-game series on Friday at 6:35 p.m. LHP Adam Brandenburg will make his second start for the Pels, and RHP Cardoza Tucker will pitch for El Paso.

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American Association Stories from July 9, 2009


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