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Pump Jacks Back Ray In Victory Over Victoria

July 20, 2012 - Texas Collegiate League (TCL)
East Texas PumpJacks News Release


The Pump Jacks were up against much on Friday night.

The Generals, by three games the team right behind East Texas in the overall standings. Dillon Newman, a pitcher who had shut them out through five innings on July 2. The scorching, triple-degree temperatures in Kilgore during the day, and 98-degree first pitch heat.

The Jacks persevered, and thanks to a mini-explosion in the fourth inning, they beat the Generals 6-3 in front of a packed house at Driller Park.

Trailing 2-0 and having managed only one baserunner against Newman through the first three innings, the Pump Jacks made a rally in the bottom of the fourth. Justin Wall led off with a bloop single to right to break up a streak of seven straight East Texas batters retired. Taylor Murphy did the same, hitting the ball in almost the same spot that Wall did, advancing Wall to third base. With runners on the corners and no one out, R.J. Santigate drew a walk, and on the final ball out of the strike zone to him, the ball got by the catcher Andrew Stumph and all the way back to the wall behind the plate. Wall came home on the wild pitch to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Kash Kalkowski then hit a clean RBI single to left field to plate Murphy, who had moved to second base on the previous wild pitch, and tie the game up at 2-2. After Tyler Girouard moved runners to second and third, Logan Preston had the big blow of the ballgame, crushing a double to right-center field to bring Santigate and Kalkowski home and give the Pump Jacks a 4-2 lead, one that they would not surrender the rest of the way.

After giving up two runs in the third, East Texas starter Corey Ray settled down. After Carter Mangum's double scored both of those runs, Ray retired the last eight Generals he faced.

He was relieved in the sixth by Jeff Stovall and after the Generals got a run back to make the score 4-3, the Pump Jacks tacked on two insurance runs in their half of the sixth. Kalkowski hit a ball into center field that Trent Wagner misplayed, allowing the ball to drop 15 feet behind him for a double. After another sacrifice by Girouard and a flyout put Kalkowski on third base with two outs, Blair DeBord rocketed a double to left-center field to bring Kalkowski home, and Kevin O'Leary followed with a single to score DeBord from second base. That made the score 6-3 Pump Jacks, and that was all East Texas needed.

Gerardo Esquivel worked the Jacks out of a jam in the seventh and then pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Jason Jester came in and sent the Generals down in order in the ninth, including a strikeout of pinch-hitter Billy Richard on three straight high swing-and-miss fastballs, to record his league-leading 17th save of the summer.

Kalkowski led the charge for the Pump Jacks, going 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI, while Murphy remained hotter than the weather with yet another three-hit performance in going 3-for-4 overall. Each of the bottom three hitters in the order- Preston, DeBord and O'Leary- had RBI in the contest, with Preston driving in two runs.

Ray (3-1) gave up only two hits and two runs while fanning three over five innings of work to get the win, while Newman (2-1) had to leave the game in the fourth due to illness and was saddled with the loss.

Fans can bring their dogs to the ballpark on Saturday night for Dog Day at Driller Park when the Pump Jacks play the Generals once more. Bring your four-legged friends to historic Driller Park and enjoy Pump Jacks baseball. Take a dip in the dog pool and even join your dog as you both participate in on-field contests.

The Pump Jacks will then play four straight games on the road, returning home next Friday for another edition of Fireworks Friday. After the Jacks face off against the Brazos Valley Bombers, fans can remain in their seats for another exciting fireworks show set to a unique soundtrack.

First pitch for each game is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Keep up with the Pump Jacks' fifth anniversary season on www.pumpjacksbaseball.com. Join the conversation and interact with other members of Pump Jacks Nation by visiting the Jacks on Facebook and Twitter.



Texas Collegiate League Stories from July 20, 2012


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