AtL Sugar Land Space Cowboys

Skeeters Bomb Away Blue Crabs

Published on July 16, 2012 under Atlantic League (AtL)
Sugar Land Space Cowboys News Release


SUGAR LAND, Texas - The Skeeters defeated the Blue Crabs 8-7 in the second one-run game of the series with the help of three long balls and five straight innings of scoring to erase a five-run deficit for the win in front of 6015 at Constellation Field Monday night.

Coming up next...Sugar Land Skeeters (2-2, 31-43) ace and Atlantic League leader in wins Bobby Livingston (9-2) takes the mound for the fourth time against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs (2-2, 32-42) and David Jones (0-3) in game five at Constellation Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CDT. Join the Skeeters in recognizing Martial Arts Dojos during "Martial Arts Night" at Constellation Field! Fists will be flying, feet will be kicking and perhaps some boards will be breaking as select dojos from the Fort Bend County area will put on pregame performances.

Michael Nix went out looking for his second win in a row as a starting pitcher Monday night but picked up the no-decision along with Blue Crabs hurler Deinys Suarez. The Skeeters right hander was pulled after four innings in the middle of the fifth after allowing six runs, five earned, on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts. Suarez left halfway through the sixth inline for the win after working five and a third giving up six earned runs on nine hits and three walks with just two strikeouts.

Scoring started for the Skeeters first in game four much like it did in game two Saturday night. In the bottom of the third, right fielder Matt Hagen led off the inning. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Hagen crushed it into left on a line drive up and over the wall. The home run (4) put Sugar Land ahead early, 1-0.

Southern Maryland tied the game in the top of the fourth, though. Nix walked Casey Benjamin to start the inning, and after a stolen base to get in scoring position, the second baseman came around on an RBI single from catch Christian Lopez to tie the game, 1-1. The Auburn native struck out the side to escape the inning.

Rebuttal was swift from the Skeeters in the next half-inning. In the bottom of the fourth, Bubba Bell led off with a drag-bunt single to third. Jason Lane walked to put runners on first and second, and in his second at-bat, Josh Pressley brought in the go-ahead run with an RBI double down the right-field line, 2-1. Steve Moss walked to load the bases, but the Skeeters left them loaded after Amadeo Zazueta grounded out to the pitcher.

The Blue Crabs delivered another blow in the top of the fifth. Nix started the inning, but was rocked early when Player-Manager Patrick Osborn led off with a single into left. Player-Coach Jeremy Owens reached on a fielder's choice when Nix thought to throw Osborn out on second on a sac-bunt attempt, but the ball sailed in center. Mike Daniel singled into right off the glove of Pressley to load the bases, and in the next at-bat, the Blue Crabs tied it on a hit-by-pitch to Brian Barton, 2-2.

Benjamin came up to bat again, but this time around used a base hit to get aboard. With the bases loaded and still no outs, Benjamin collected an RBI single to bring two across to take a 4-2 lead. Jeff Farnsworth replaced Nix to face Travis Garcia. With two on, in the second pitch of the at-bat, the designated-hitter hit his second home run (2) in as many nights to plate three runs to push the lead up to five, 7-2.

Again, the Skeeters countered in the bottom of the inning with one more run off an Iggy Suarez solo home run (3) into the Picnic Plaza to cut the lead down to 7-3.

The Skeeters held the Blue Crabs scoreless in the top of the sixth, and in the home-half of the inning, Sugar Land brought the game back to within a run. Manny Mejia and Steve Moss led off the inning with back-to-back singles and Hagen was hit by a pitch between the shoulder blades to load the bases. For the second time in the game, Zazueta came up to bat with the bases loaded. This time, the shortstop unloaded on a fastball back up the middle scoring two to cut the lead for the visitors down to two, 7-5.

Ricky Barrett (0-1) came in to replace Suarez when the Skeeters turned the lineup over. Dominic Ramos and Suarez used back-to-back singles to get Zazueta to third, and with the bases loaded for the second time in the inning, Bell used a sac-fly to get the shortstop home to get the deficit down to one, 7-6.

Momentum stayed with the Skeeters through the bottom of the seventh inning when Barrett came back out to pitch. Pressley led off with a walk to start, and one batter later, Mejia blasted his second home run of the season, the Skeeters third of the game, to give the good guys the one-run lead, 8-7.

Roberto Giron (1-0) picked up his first win in his fourth outing of the season after capping the final out in seventh and first two of the eighth with one walk and two strikeouts before closer Gary Majewski made his club-leading 28th appearance of the season. Majewski retired the final out of the eighth and put the side down in order in the ninth to register his 10th save of the year and the Skeeters first one-run win in seven chances.

Skeeters Bites: Mejia gets second home run of season...Suarez picks up third home run of season...Hagen blasts fourth home run of season...Ramos extends hitting streak to season-high eight games...Pressley extends hitting streak to eight games...Moss extends hitting streak to seven games...Majewski picks up 10th save of season...

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Atlantic League Stories from July 16, 2012


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