IL1 Gwinnett Stripers

R-Braves Down Clippers, 3-2

Published on July 3, 2007 under International League (IL1)
Gwinnett Stripers News Release


Columbus, OH -The Richmond Braves defeated the Columbus Clippers for the second-straight game. The Braves picked up the two-game sweep and improved to 46-36. The Clippers dropped to 38-46 on the season. Richmond finished their eight-game road trip with a 4-4 record. The Braves return home to The Diamond with a three and a half game lead over second-place Durham, in the International League's South Division.

Braves' shortstop Brent Lillibridge led-off the game with a single to centerfield. A batter later, Brayan Pena punched Lillibridge home with a RBI single to right field. The Lillibridge run gave Richmond an early 1-0 advantage.

The Clippers tied the game at one in the bottom of the third inning when Bernie Castro singled home Levale Speigner. Speigner led-off the third, with a double to right field.

Richmond scored two more runs with four singles in the fourth inning. Carlos Mendez and Larry Bigbie reached on back-to-back singles to start the inning. The third batter of the inning, Doug Clark, grounded into a force out that retired Bigbie at second. However the next two batters, Wes Timmons and Corky Miller, collected RBI singles to put the Braves up 3-1.

Columbus' shortstop Manny Alexander doubled to lead-off the Clippers fifth frame. Bernie Castro plated Alexander later in the inning with another RBI single. The Alexander run brought the Clippers to within one run, at 3-2.

Four Braves recorded two hits in the win, including Brent Lillibridge, Martin Prado, Larry Bigbie and Wes Timmons. Richmond starter Kevin Barry allowed two earned runs in five innings to earn his fourth win of the season. Barry improved to 4-3 with a 3.67 ERA. He was relieved by Trey Hodges, who pitched four scoreless innings to finish the game for the Braves. Hodges picked up his first career save.

Clippers' starter Levale Speigner, who allowed all three Braves' runs, pitched four innings and took the loss. Speigner dropped to 1-1 with a 3.12 ERA. Relievers Felix Diaz and Winston Abreu saw action out of the Columbus bullpen. Diaz dealt three scoreless innings and Abreu added two scoreless innings to close out the game for Columbus. Bernie Castro, who was 2-for-3 in the loss, drove in both of the Clipper runs.

The Braves return to The Diamond to face the Syracuse Chiefs on Wednesday and will start Ryan Baerlocher (1-3, 3.31 ERA) in the series opener. The Chiefs will match Baerlocher, with right-hander Josh Banks (7-5, 4.86 ERA) in the first of four games. First pitch on Independence Day is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Check out the Gwinnett Stripers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from July 3, 2007


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central