MWL1 Clinton LumberKings

Ramirez's Two-Run Single Wins it in 11th

Published on July 31, 2011 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Clinton LumberKings News Release


Clinton, IA - With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 11th and Peoria leading 1-0, Carlos Ramirez sent a chopper to right field scoring Robbie Anston and Matt Browning to give the Clinton LumberKings a thrilling 2-1 victory over the Chiefs on Sunday afternoon at Alliant Energy Field. Ramirez's heroic hit lifted the Kings to their fourth walk-off win, their first win when trailing in their final at-bat.

Peoria had just taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the 11th as Richard Jones, Anthony Giansanti and Elliot Soto had all singled in succession with two outs against right-hander Tyler Blandford. Soto's grounder up the middle was just out of the reach of a diving Anthony Phillips at short, scoring Jones for the game's first run.

Chiefs' right-hander Daniel Berlind retired Stefen Romero and Kalian Sams quickly for the first two outs in the bottom of the 11th and looked poised for his second-straight save in the series. Mickey Wiswall kept hopes alive by singling into center field, and Browning's single through the left side put the tying and winning runs on base. Robbie Anston was called on to pinch run for Wiswall. Moments later, Phillips was hit in the hip by a Berlind pitch to load the bases.

Ramirez had not had a game-winning hit in any of Clinton's 10 prior last-at bat wins this season, but did play a role in their epic Midwest League Championship Series Game 2 victory over Lake County last September 16. With two outs in the bottom of the 12th, he singled into right-center to score Tim Morris, tying the game at 7-7. The LumberKings eventually won it 8-7 over the Captains in 18 innings, the longest game ever in MWLCS history.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Ramirez bounced Berlind's 2-1 pitch through the right side of the infield, easily scoring Anston for the tying run. Browning came hustling around third base as right-fielder Giansanti's throw came in to Burrell and slid in as the ball skipped away from the plate. Though shaken up momentarily on the hard collision with Burrell, Browning would eventually get to his feet to celebrate with Ramirez and the rest of his teammates.

The win, combined with losses by both Kane County and Beloit, puts the LumberKings 2.0 games behind the Cougars for first place in the West and 2.0 games ahead of the Snappers for the West Division Wild Card spot.

Blandford (W, 1-1) earned the win despite giving up the only run all day for Clinton. Left-hander Tony Butler scattered four hits over a season-high 7.0 scoreless innings and right-hander Jonathan Arias struck out five over 3.0 scoreless innings to keep the game tied.

Berlind (L, 0-3) fell with two runs on three hits over two-thirds of an inning. That negated the outstanding work of left-hander Austin Kirk and right-handers Roderik Pichardo and Alvaro Sosa, who had combined on 10.0 scoreless innings.

Ramirez went 2-for-4 with the two RBI, just his sixth multi-RBI game this season. Browning went 2-for-5 with the winning run scored for the LumberKings. Soto went 3-for-4 with the lone RBI for the Chiefs.

The LumberKings (19-16) conclude the series with the Chiefs (11-24) tomorrow night at Alliant Energy Field, first pitch scheduled for 7:00 PM. Left-hander Nate Reed (3-3, 3.64) will look to win the rubber match for Clinton against Peoria right-hander Starling Peralta (1-3, 7.48). Listen to the game on AM 1390 KCLN in Clinton or live on the web at 1390kcln.com.

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Midwest League Stories from July 31, 2011


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