Rio Grande Valley Loses Sixth Straight

July 3, 2012 - North American League (NAmL)
Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings News Release


FORT WORTH- Brandon Jones hit his seventh home run of the season and Kane Holbrooks threw 6 1/3 innings of scoreless long relief to earn his first pitching victory of the season as the Fort Worth Cats swept the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings in a three game series with a 2-1 victory at LaGrave Field.

The game was to feature two pitchers with ties to Rio Grande Valley, the WhiteWings' Henry Garcia and the Cats' Tim Haines, a righthander who pitched collegiately for Texas-Pan American.

But Haines hurt his right forearm in the second inning, paving the way for Holbrooks, the pitcher he replaced in Fort Worth's pitching rotation, to shine.

Holbrooks (1-2) challenged WhiteWings hitters, walking none and fanning two in his effort and never allowing more than four batters to hit in any one inning.

Meanwhile, with the score tied 1-1, Jones led off the fourth inning with a home run to left field to give the Cats (22-16) the winning margin. It was the seventh run of the series Jones' drove in.

"As of recently I've been more confident at the plate," said Jones, a veteran independent league player who played both positions on the left side of the infield during the series. "Even defensively. I'm played a lot of infield positions and my teammates have helped me adjust."

"It's just pitching and defense. It's been solid the last few games and we've been getting solid, timely hitting," said Cats manager Curtis Wilkerson.

Garcia (1-1) threw a complete game in defeat by scattering 11 hits and allowing only one earned run while fanning three and walking no one.

Jeff Jamnik earned his 10th save in as many opportunities.

Rio Grande Valley (20-18) has now dropped six straight games, while Fort Worth has won five in a row.

Tonight the WhiteWings will begin a nine game homestand at Harlingen Field with a Fireworks Night promotion sponsored by the City of Harlingen. This game against the San Angelo Colts begins at 6:35 p.m., with the WhiteWings' Luis Noel facing Mike Hart.



North American League Stories from July 3, 2012


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