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Silver Hawks, McQuail's Power Hitting, Light Up Downtown

May 17, 2014 - Midwest League (MWL1)
South Bend Silver Hawks News Release


The South Bend Silver Hawks took advantage of several miscues by the Fort Wayne TinCaps, and a moster homerun over the high center field wall by designated hitter Steve McQuail, enroute to a 4-2 victory Saturday night at Four Winds Field. The win was the Silver Hawks' fourth in a row, and the third straight of the series against Fort Wayne. South Bend moves within half a game of the Midwest League Eastern Division leading Dayton Dragons.

The Fort Wayne TinCaps, Class-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, wasted little time as they jumped on the board in the top of the first. With two outs, first baseman Fernando Perez collected his first of three hits on the night, this one a towering solo homerun off the bridge in center field. Perez finished the night a triple shy of the cycle.

South Bend was able to tie the game in the bottom of the first. Shortstop Andrew Velazquez led off the inning with an infield single towards third. TinCaps third baseman Dustin Peterson fielded the ball, but his throw down to first sailed high and wide landing in the Hawks' bullpen allowing Velazquez to motor around the bases to third. During first baseman Daniel Palka's at bat, a wild pitch from TinCap starter Erik Cabrera (L, 0-3) in the dirt brought Velazquez home to knot the score at 1-1.

The South Bend Silver Hawks, Class-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, added another run in the bottom of the third. Third baseman Ryan Gebhardt led off the frame with an opposite field single to right. Gebhardt stayed on the move as he stole second and then advanced to third on Velazquez's sacrifice bunt back to the pitcher. In deja-vu fashion to the first inning, a wild pitch from Cabrera enabled Gebhardt to cross the plate and give the Hawks a 2-1 lead.

The Silver Hawks added runs in both the fourth and fifth innings. In the bottom of the fourth, McQuail launched a show stopping home run over the 20-foot high batter's eye, 405 feet from home plate in center field.

The bottom of the fifth started with an infield single by Velazquez. Cabrera came off the mound to field Velazquez's grounder. In his attempt to gun down the speedy Velazquez, his throw air-mailed first and into the bullpen allowing Velazquez to move up to second on the throwing error. Second baseman Jamie Westbrook followed with a sacrifice bunt back to Cabrera who fielded the ball just off the mound. Cabrera tried to get the lead runner at third but was nowhere near the bag and the ball rolled down the left field line. Westbrook reached on the bunt and Velazquez scored on the second E-1 throwing of the inning to give South Bend a 4-1 advantage.

Fort Wayne managed to get one run back in the top of the sixth. Perez led off with a double to the left-center gap. A 6-3 ground out by right fielder Franmill Reyes moved Perez up to third. Catcher Ryan Miller then followed with an RBI single back up the middle as Perez crossed the plate to make it a 4-2 ballgame.

South Bend starter, Blake Perry (W, 2-2), did his part in keeping the Hawks in the game. Perry tossed 5 1/3 innings, allowing only 2 runs on 4 hits while striking out 4. The Hawks bullpen turned in another brilliant performance. Relievers Steve Hathaway and Daniel Gibson combined to throw 2 2/3 innings of scoreless ball. Will Locante entered the game in the ninth and sat the TinCaps down in order to record his first save of the season as the Hawks emerged victorious 4-2.

The Silver Hawks will looks to sweep the TinCaps as the teams close out the four-game series Sunday afternoon at Four Winds Field. First pitch is set for 2:05 p.m. Payton Baskette (1-1, 3.71), is scheduled to start for Fort Wayne. Sean Furney (0-0, 3.86) will take the mound for the Hawks.

Sunday is Family and Swoop Troop Day at Four Winds Field. Bring your mitt for a pregame catch on the field, beginning at 1:15. Then, after the game, come back down on the field for autographs from the Silver Hawks players. Pink at the Park weekend continues, with the first 750 female fans 18 and older receiving a pink Silver Hawks Jersey, presented by Memorial Health Breast Care Center.

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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.

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