Pump Jacks Strike First, Hold On To Best Bombers

Published on June 23, 2012 under Texas Collegiate League (TCL)
East Texas PumpJacks News Release


On Friday night, the Pump Jacks had a southpaw starter outduel one of the best pitchers in the Texas Collegiate League, with Kyle Kubat beating the Victoria Generals' Jordan Pacheco.

On Saturday night, it was an encore performance, this time with Ty Schlottmann no-hitting the opposition through six innings, out-pitching last season's TCL Pitcher of the Year Damien Rivera as the Pump Jacks beat the Brazos Valley Bombers 4-3 on the road to win their eighth consecutive game.

Both starting pitchers were as sharp as could be to open the game. Rivera was perfect through three innings, but East Texas put a stop to that in the fourth. Tyler Sullivan hit a one-out single into center field, and advanced to second base on an error by the Bombers' center fielder Jordan Hammerman. After a groundout for the second out of the inning advanced Sullivan to third base, Tyler Girouard remained hot at the plate, delivering an RBI single and a 1-0 lead for the Pump Jacks.

The hit parade continued for East Texas when Colton Bickerstaff singled to put runners on first and second. The big blow of the game came in the next at-bat, when Justin Wall, making his Pump Jacks debut, crushed a triple to center field, bringing Girouard and Bickerstaff home for a 3-0 Jacks lead.

The Pump Jacks got a valuable insurance run in the sixth inning, a run that proved to be the game-winner. Sullivan led off with a single, and he advanced to third on another single from Girouard. With one out, Bickerstaff drove Sullivan in with a sacrifice fly to center field to make the score 4-0 in favor of the visitors.

Meanwhile, Schlottmann was dominating the Bombers. He was pitching a perfect game through 4.1 innings, and did not allow a hit in the first six frames before Brazos Valley came back with three runs in the bottom of the seventh, including a two-run homer by James Wharton on the last pitch Schlottmann threw in the game. The round-tripper cut the lead down to 4-3 for the Jacks.

But the bullpen held the line as it has done all season. Jeff Stovall finished off Brazos Valley in the seventh with one strikeout, and Gerardo Esquivel sent down the Bombers in order in the eighth with two strikeouts. That set the table once again for Jason Jester, and he struck out two as well in a perfect ninth inning to record his eighth save of the season for the Pump Jacks.

Sullivan went 2-for-3 with two runs scored for East Texas, while Girouard went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Bickerstaff finished 1-for-4 while scoring and driving in one run apiece, and Wall went 1-for-4 with two RBIs in his East Texas debut.

Schlottmann (2-0) ended up surrendering three runs (two of them earned) on just two hits with one walk and a season-high six strikeouts to earn the win for East Texas. Rivera (2-1) took the loss for Brazos Valley, as the Jacks avenged a loss to the Bombers earlier this season.

The Pump Jacks are now 16-3 in 2012, extending their best start ever in the TCL as they improved their lead over the Bombers atop the TCL standings to three games.

East Texas will now continue their three-game road trip by heading down to The Woodlands to face the Strykers in a two-game set on Sunday and Monday nights. The Pump Jacks return to Driller Park on Wednesday night against the Alexandria Aces.

First pitch for all games 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.

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Texas Collegiate League Stories from June 23, 2012


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