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Sixteen strikeouts help Captains keep pace with Pelicans

August 24, 2009 - American Association (AA)
Shreveport-Bossier Captains News Release


SHREVEPORT, La. - In his first start with the Shreveport-Bossier Captains, lefthander Drew Coffey walked the first hitter, fell behind early, and did not make it to the fourth inning. Monday night against El Paso, Coffey walked the first hitter again, Kennard Bibbs, and fell behind 1-0 after one. Even pitching with the lead in the second after a Christopher Garcia two-run homer in the first, Coffey allowed a two-run double to Bibbs in the second to give El Paso a 3-2 lead.

But Coffey struck out the side in the third, and struck out two more in each of the fourth and fifth innings, for a total of 11 on the night, a season-best for a Captains starter this year. Meanwhile, the Captains stormed back with a big third inning to get Coffey his first win as a Captain and Shreveport-Bossier stayed three games behind first-place Pensacola with a 9-4 win in front of 1,007 fans at Fair Grounds Field.

Garcia's homer in the first off starter Bryan Villalona (1-5) went to left-center, and was his fourth of the season. After Dwayne White's one-out single in the third tied the game, Garcia hit an RBI single to score White and make it 4-3 Captains. Andres Rodriguez followed with a single to put runners at first and second, and Jorge Alvarez doubled to left-center to bring home Garcia. Jose Torres then doubled down the right-field line to bring home two more and cap the five-run inning.

The Captains (45-45, 23-19 2nd half) added two more in the fifth, when Torres knocked in another run with a double to right and Tommy Bryant doubled to bring Torres in.

Jason Herman came in after Coffey allowed a run on three straight hits to start the sixth, and got out of the jam on three pitches - a line drive to second baseman Luis Guance and a liner back to Herman that he turned into a double play.

Herman got out of a two-runner jam in the seventh with his lone strikeout of the game, Tony Pierce struck out two Diablos in a 1-2-3- eighth and Matt Petty fanned two more in a perfect ninth inning - giving the Captains a season-high 16 strikeouts.

Righty Garvis Romero did help out the El Paso bullpen with five innings of work in back of Villalona, allowing six hits and two runs, with a walk and two strikeouts. But the Diablos (38-52, 17-25) did not get a hit against the Captains bullpen and lost for the fifth time in 14 games against the Captains this year - their first loss in four games at Fair Grounds Field this year.

Notes: The Captains 3-through-6 hitters have each gotten at least one hit in three straight games...Alvarez has gotten at least one hit in all seven of his games with Shreveport-Bossier, which is 5-2 since his acquisition...Bibbs was the only Diablos player not to strike out in the game...Captains shortstop Angelo Fermin left with an apparent leg injury running the bases in the third inning. Joe Urtuzuastegui came in to pinch run for him and stayed in the game to play shortstop the rest of the way.



American Association Stories from August 24, 2009


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