Portland's Petrick pounds Trappers

April 30, 2004 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Edmonton Trappers News Release


First baseman Ben Petrick was 5-for-6 with two runs scored and an RBI as the Portland Beavers pounded the Edmonton Trappers 10-2 Friday night at TELUS Field. It was only the seventh game of the season for Petrick, who was once a top prospect in the Colorado Rockies farm system. He doubled his season hit total with the five singles. The loss drops the Trappers record in April to 12-9, the club's first winning April since 1997 and only the ninth in club history. Edmonton drops back into second place in the North Division of the PCL, a ½ game out of first place. The win was a rare one for Portland at TELUS Field. The Beavers are now just 6-20 in four seasons in Edmonton and are 19-31 overall against the Trappers in that time. It was the third time this season that the Trapper pitching staff has allowed 10 or more runs and the fourth time the club has lost a game by more than three runs. The Trappers and Beavers continue this four-game series on Saturday afternoon at TELUS Field.

The Trappers briefly took the lead with a single run in the bottom of the second inning off Portland starter Brian Sweeney (3-1). Left fielder Jorge Toca led off the frame with a double and advanced to second on a fly ball by catcher Paul Hoover. Shortstop Anthony Medrano followed with a single to left to put the Trappers on the board. Portland took command of the game with four runs in the third inning, all coming with two out. Shortstop J.J. Furmaniak led off with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Sweeney. With two out Trapper starter Wilton Chavez (0-2) walked center fielder Henri Stanley, then yielded a two-run double to left fielder Jon Knott that put the Beavers in front to stay. Petrick singled to right-center field, scoring Knott with the third run and right fielder Alex Fernandez followed with a two-base hit to put runners at second and third. Catcher Humberto Quintero then reached on an infield single, allowing Petrick to score the Beavers fourth run of the frame. Stanley smashed a solo home run with two out in the fourth inning to give Portland a 5-1 lead. It was the first home run by a Portland player at TELUS Field since June 9, 2002.

The Beavers tacked on two more in the fifth inning off reliever Ron Chiavacci. Third baseman Rico Washington drew a walk to lead off the inning and advanced to third on a double by Furmaniak. Sweeney then bounced a ball back up the middle that bounced off Chiavacci's hand for an infield single. Washington scored on the play and Furmaniak scampered home on a sacrifice fly by Bernie Castro. Petrick led off the sixth inning with a single, Fernandez drew a walk and Quintero singled to right field to load the bases for Washington, who doubled to the gap in right-center field, scoring all three runners. The Trappers attempted to mount a rally in the sixth inning, but managed to score just one time off Sweeney. Luis Lopez, Toca and Jeremy Ware opened the inning with three consecutive singles, loading the bases for Medrano, who plated Lopez with a sacrifice fly. The Trappers could not plate another run in the inning and were not able to mount another rally against two Portland relievers. Sweeney allowed two runs on seven hits and one walk, while striking out four in 6.0 innings of work to earn his third win of the season.

Highlights:

Trappers: Have a 12-9 record...finish the month of April with a winning record for the first time since 1997...own a 20-6 record in three seasons against the Beavers at TELUS Field...lead the all-time series 31-19 (.620)...began the day with the second highest team batting average in the PCL (.303)...have scored 118 runs in the first 21 games of the season, an average of 5.6 runs per game...have hit just 11 home runs, the lowest total in the league, but have stolen 21 bases...Henri Stanley's home run in the fourth inning was the first longball by Portland at TELUS Field since June 9, 2002.

LF Jorge Toca: Belted a leadoff double in the second inning and scored the Trappers first run...also singled in the sixth inning...was 2-for-4 with a run and a double in his first start for Edmonton.



Pacific Coast League Stories from April 30, 2004


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