Slugfest in the Woodlands

July 5, 2014 - Texas Collegiate League (TCL)
East Texas PumpJacks News Release


A game-tying homer by Raymond Pedrina in the opener kicked off a nightcap that saw the Pump Jacks score a TCL-season-high 19 runs to earn the doubleheader split.

One goal for the East Texas Pump Jacks in the second half of the season was to score more runs.

Challenge accepted.

The Pump Jacks tied the opener of Friday's doubleheader at The Woodlands with a solo home run by Raymond Pedrina before falling in the bottom of the seventh. East Texas then exploded for 19 runs in the nightcap, the highest output by a TCL team this season.

In the 19-5 win, eight different players scored, seven Pump Jacks drove in a run, and every Jacks starter reached base by a hit or a walk. East Texas batted around in both the third and fourth innings, sending 11 batters to the plate in each frame. The Jacks scored seven runs in the third frame, and five more one inning later to take a 12-1 lead just two and a half innings into the game.

The nightcap opened innocently enough, with both teams stranding a runner in the first inning. The second frame was quite different, with the first seven East Texas hitters reaching safely before the first out was recorded.

Connor Hornsby and Connor Huesers opened the inning with back-to-back singles. Chris Osborne followed with a base hit, and Hornsby scored on an error by the pitcher. Nick Rabat walked to load the bases, and James Lear added a two-run single. Pedrina walked to load the bases once again before Rabat scored on a wild pitch. Anthony Gonsolin drove in two more with a base hit to give East Texas a 6-0 lead. One out later, Dustin Williams crushed an RBI double that spelled an early end of the night for Woodlands starting pitcher Jack Finnegan.

New hurler Braxton Markle was able to work out of the second, but he faced his own struggles in the third. The Pump Jacks scored five more runs on just two hits, aided by two Strykers errors. Osborne led off with a walk, then scored when Lear reached on an error. A double by Pedrina scored Lear, followed by a Gonsolin base hit. Pedrina scampered home on a wild pitch, and Joe Moroney's single and an error by the left fielder allowed Gonsolin to score. When Williams walked, Markle was done after an inning-plus of work.

A dropped third strike with Huesers at the plate loaded the bases, and Moroney came home for the 12th Pump Jacks run when Osborne was hit by a pitch.

The Jacks sent nine hitters to the plate in the fourth inning, scoring three more runs. Lear walked, took second on a wild pitch, and later scored on a passed ball. Pedrina was hit by a pitch and was driven home by a Williams RBI single. Hornsby drove in Gonsolin, who had earlier walked. The Woodlands was able to get out of the frame without further damage with a pair of strikeouts, stranding the bases loaded with a score of 15-3.

Williams picked up another RBI in the fifth inning, grounding into a fielder's choice with the bases loaded to score Lear.

East Texas added three runs without a hit in the seventh inning as icing on the Independence Day cake. Lear was hit by a pitch to lead off, then Pedrina and Gonsolin walked to load the bases. Moroney walked in Lear, and Pedrina came home on Huesers' fielder's choice. Gonsolin crossed home as the final run of the game when Osborne walked with the bases loaded.

While the Jacks offense was exploding, the pitching staff was keeping the Strykers at bay. Starter Allen Ellis surrendered five runs, three of them earned, in 3.2 innings pitched. He allowed four hits and struck out four but struggled with his command, walking seven.

Darren Lauer came on in the fourth to strand the bases loaded, adding another two scoreless innings of work. Normally a starter for the Pump Jacks, Lauer scattered five hits over 2.1 innings, striking out one.

Robbie Petty added a scoreless seventh inning to close out the game.

The offense boasted stars aplenty. Lear scored five runs and Pedrina and Gonsolin scored four times apiece. Williams and Osborne drove in three runs each, and Williams, Gonsolin, and Hornsby all had two hits.

In the opener, the Strykers jumped out to an early lead, but the Pump Jacks made a game of it late. The hosts strung together four hits to take a 2-0 lead on East Texas in the second inning.

After the blemish, Pump Jacks starter Jeremy Hallonquist settled down nicely. He kept the Strykers off the board, giving the Jacks a chance the chisel away at the lead.

In the sixth inning, Hornsby led off with a single. Moroney bounced into a fielder's choice, then stole second. He moved to third on a single by Huesers and scored on an error by the pitcher, closing the gap to 2-1.

Facing their final at-bat, the Pump Jacks conjured more of their late-inning magic. Pedrina rocked his first home run of the season over the left field fence, tying the score at 2-2 and threatening to send the game into extra innings.

Unfortunately, the magic wasn't enough. The Strykers strung together a few hits in the home half of the seventh for the walk-off, 3-2 win.The Pump Jacks continue their season-high four-game round trip in Victoria for a two-game series Saturday and Sunday against the Generals. The team will then enjoy a three-day break for the 2014 TCL All-Star Game in Bryan, Texas.

The Pump Jacks return to Historic Driller Park next Thursday, July 10, for Thirsty Thursday. Fans can keep cool with 50-cent soft drinks and one-dollar draft beers while the Jacks host the Generals.Friday continues the Pump Jacks 2014 giveaway schedule with Seat Cushion Giveaway Night, presented by Texas Spine & Joint Hospital and CBS 19. The first 500 fans through the gate will receive a free Pump Jacks stadium seat cushion featuring the popular "Boomer eyes" logo.



Texas Collegiate League Stories from July 5, 2014


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