ApL Burlington Sock Puppets

Pulaski Battles Back to Down Burlington

Published on August 3, 2011 under Appalachian League (ApL)
Burlington Sock Puppets News Release


Burlington, NC- The Burlington Royals fell to the Pulaski Mariners 10-7 on Wednesday night at Burlington Athletic Stadium. The Royals held a 7-4 lead at one point in the contest, but coughed their advantage up, with Corey Hall allowing five runs in the seventh inning, to be dealt his first loss. Seon Gi Kim earns his first win, pitching the three middle innings for the Mariners. The two teams will meet for the fifth straight time on Thursday night.

Pulaski got off to a hot start on pitcher Angel Baez, as the first five runners reaching base. Singles from Alfredo Morales and Jean Acevedo each knocked in a run to give the visitors a 2-0 lead after their first at bat. In the home half of the first inning, the Royals countered. Lane Adams started with a walk, and was followed by a single from Justin Trapp. Still with no outs, Michael Antonio drove a Luke Taylor offering deep over the left center field fence to give the Royals the lead. It was the fifth home run for the New York native, and second in three games.

In the top of the second, with two men on, Daniel Paolini would double to left, scoring both runners, helping his team regain the lead. The bottom of the third inning would see the Royals use the long ball for a second time. Back-to-back walks issued to Murray Watts and Jorge Bonifacio brought Jin-Ho Shin to the plate with two outs. The Burlington catcher smashed Luke Taylor's pitch deep over the left field fence for his second home run of the year. Through three innings, the Royals held a 6-4 advantage.

In the Royals' next at bat, the team's aggressive nature would show its' head. With one out, Jose Rodriguez attempted to bunt for a base hit, but when Kin fielded the ball and threw to first, he sent it into right field, allowing Rodriguez to make it to third. Lane Adams would then ground out with the infield in, leaving the Burlington designated hitter on third with two outs. Trapp would dig in with the infield back, and dropped down a bunt. Rodriguez scored from third, and Trapp's speed left third baseman Jean Acevedo with no play, as Trapp was able to bunt for a base hit. The next two batters would walk, loading the bases for Jorge Bonifacio. The right fielder would go down swinging, ending the last opportunity of the night for the Royals, with Trapp's bunt single being the last hit of the game for the home team.

After leaving a man on third in the fifth, Pulaski had a chance to close the gap when, with Franklin Christian on second and two outs, Bryan Brito singled to right field. Christian was waved around third, but was gunned down at the plate by Bonifacio, for his fifth outfield assist of the season. The Mariners would come back with a wave in the seventh inning, tagging Hall for five runs. After an RBI double from Paolini put men on second and third with no outs, Acevedo singled to score two more, and tied the game at seven. The next batter, Efrain Nunez, lifted a ball in the air to left field that was misjudged by Anthony Howard, and fell to the grass, allowing Nunez to make it to third. A sacrifice fly from David Villasuso scored Nunez, and made it a 9-7 ballgame.

Andy Ferguson entered the game in the eighth, and pitched out of a jam with two outs and runners on second and third, keeping Pulaski at bay in the inning. In the top of the ninth inning, Acevedo singled, moved up to second on a groundout, and scored on an single from Christian to put the Mariners up 10-7, a lead they would hold through the bottom of the ninth.

Luke Taylor allowed six runs in three innings on three hits, two being home runs. In relief, Kim allowed one run on two hits with four strikeouts. In the final three innings, Reynaldo Sabala recorded his third save, allowing no hits.

Burlington got five innings from starter Angel Baez, allowing four runs on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Hall surrendered five runs, three earned, on six hits in two innings. Over the final two innings, Ferguson gave up a run on four hits.

Patrick Brady, Paolini, and Acevedo each has three hits with two runs scored, while Acevedo and Paolini knocked in two runs apiece. Pimentel recorded a two hit evening, also contributing two runs on the scoreboard. As a team, the Mariners left eight men on base, and went 7-for-19 with runners in scoring position.

At the plate for Burlington, Justin Trapp was the only Royal to record a hit, and the last one to do so. The second baseman went 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI. Antonio and Shin each homered for their only hit and brought in three runs. The first six batters in the lineup each scored a run for the home team, who left four on base, and was 3-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

The game that lasted two hours and 51 minutes saw Pulaski record 15 hits after being held to just one hit on Monday night. The two teams will square off tomorrow night in game two of the series, at 7:00. Its Thirsty Thursday at Burlington Athletic Stadium, and tickets are available by calling (336) 222-0223 .

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Appalachian League Stories from August 3, 2011


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