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Pump Jacks Hit Hard by Marshals

August 3, 2012 - Texas Collegiate League (TCL)
East Texas PumpJacks News Release


No matter how many times the Pump Jacks tried to come back, the Texas Marshals answered every time in a 13-7 loss in Dallas.

The Pump Jacks got on the board first. Colton Bickerstaff singled on the first pitch of the game and moved to second on a passed ball before Connor Lloyd singled to put runners on the corners and no one out. Whitt Dorsey then hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring Bickerstaff home for a 1-0 Jacks lead.

But the Marshals responded. In bottom halves of the first, second and third, Texas would score, a stretch that included a two-run home run by Adam Toth in the second inning to make the score 4-1 Marshals.

East Texas would bounce back in their half of the fourth against Marshals starter Sam Martin, however. Dorsey and Damion Lovato led off with back-to-back solid singles, and Justin Wall bunted a ball that stopped dead on the third base line to load the bases with no one out. Taylor Murphy then walked to force in a run to make the score 4-2 before a big blow came off the bat of Kevin O'Leary in the form of a two-run double down the line. It would have cleared the bases completely, but Murphy was thrown out at the plate. But the damage had been done, and the game was now tied at 4-4.

The Marshals took a 6-4 lead by tacking on a pair of runs in the fourth before the Pump Jacks got both back on a two-run single by Wall in the fifth to tie the game up at 6-6. But Texas would get another two-run shot from Toth in the fifth inning, part of a three-run frame that made it 9-6 Marshals.

In the seventh inning, the Pump Jacks would threaten. Bickerstaff and Lloyd hit singles, with Lloyd's hitting off of the first base bag, before Dorsey was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no one out once again. After a popout, Wall hit a grounder to first that scored Bickerstaff to bring East Texas within 9-7. But they would strand the bases loaded in the frame.

A two-run double by Logan Brumley in the bottom of the seventh helped the Marshals tack on four more late runs in the game.

For the Pump Jacks, Dorsey went 3-for-3 at the plate while Bickerstaff added a 3-for-5 performance. Both players had multiple runs scored as well in the contest. Wall and O'Leary added mutli-RBI performances as well, with Wall driving in three on the night.

Michael Apple (3-0) won it for the Marshals in relief while Braden Strickland (1-2) took the loss for the Pump Jacks.

The Pump Jacks will take on The Woodlands Strykers on Saturday, and the Acadiana Cane Cutters on Sunday before returning home for the remaining five games of the regular season as well as the first round of the playoffs.

On Monday night, when the Jacks host the Victoria Generals, it will be Dog Days of Summer at Driller Park, with fans being able to enjoy $1 hot dogs all game long. Tuesday night will be another Family Night, where families of four can purchase tickets for just $10, and can add a meal voucher to their tickets for just $15 more.

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

Playoff tickets are also on sale now! By virtue of winning the first-half title, the Jacks' will host a first-round playoff game on Sunday, August 12. This year, the first round of the TCL playoffs is just one game, so the Jacks will be playing for a berth in the TCL Championship Series. Tickets are on sale now on the web, by phone, or at the Pump Jacks office in downtown Kilgore.

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Texas Collegiate League Stories from August 3, 2012


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