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Pump Jacks Walk off against Generals

July 21, 2014 - Texas Collegiate League (TCL)
East Texas PumpJacks News Release


If there's anything an East Texas Pump Jacks fan will tell you this season, it's that you better stick around until the end, because just about anything is possible.

The unexpected became reality again Saturday, when the Jacks turned in an improbable comeback against the visiting Victoria Generals at historic Driller Park. A Connor Huesers two-run single with one out in the bottom of the ninth gave the Jacks yet another walk-off victory at home.

East Texas entered the ninth with one hit all game and a one-run deficit. Kaleb Keith, who had stymied the Pump Jacks' offense for eight innings, was on the mound to close out his complete game effort.

That's when the Jacks flipped the script. Chris Osborne led off the frame with a triple to right-center field, putting the tying run 90 feet from home with no outs. Enthusiasm turned to trepidation, though, when James Lear bounced back to the mound and Keith nailed Osborne at the plate.

Lear took matters into his own hands, stealing second and then third base, again putting the tying run in scoring position. Joe Moroney walked and stole second himself, representing the potential winning run.

Keith eyed Huesers, who dug in as the Generals' infield crept plateward. With a 2-2 count, Huesers ripped a single up the middle, easily scoring Lear. Moroney rounded third and raced home, sliding in under a wild throw to score the winning run and set off the celebration.

Despite the Pump Jacks' penchant for late-inning heroics, this comeback was hardly expected. The Generals led the entire game to that point, scoring once in the first and doubling the advantage an inning later.

East Texas struggled to solve Keith nearly the entire night. A single in the third inning was the only Pump Jacks hit before the ninth. The Jacks scored their first run in the sixth inning without the benefit of a hit. Drew McLaughlin was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame. He stole second and easily took third on Osborne's groundout. Lear's grounder to second allowed McLaughlin to scamper home with the first run of the game for the Jacks.

Meanwhile, it was Tanner Cable who kept the Pump Jacks in the game. Cable, who came on for starter Allen Ellis to begin the third inning, held Victoria scoreless for the next six innings. He allowed just three hits and walked three, striking out two.

Cable worked into and then out of a jam in the sixth, when two singles and a walk loaded the bases with one out. He coaxed a perfect ground ball to short to start a double play, end the inning, and keep the score 2-0. The play may have turned the game around, giving the Jacks the momentum to score their first run of the game in the home half of the inning.

Cable gave way to Robbie Petty in the ninth inning. Petty pitched a scoreless frame to earn his first win of the season.

The contest lasted just two hours and 15 minutes and had only nine hits, eight of them singles. Osborne had the lone extra-base hit of the evening, his ninth-inning triple. Huesers and Lear posted the only other hits for the Pump Jacks.

The two teams meet again at Driller Park on Sunday for Family Night presented by the Longview News-Journal. Fans can get four Grandstand tickets for just $10, with the option of adding four meals for $15 more.

Following a Monday off-day and a two-day trip to The Woodlands, the Jacks will return to East Texas for a set against the Texas Marshals. The series marks the return of two fan favorites, Thirsty Thursday on July 24 and Fireworks Friday, presented by CBS 19, on July 25.

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Texas Collegiate League Stories from July 21, 2014


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