PCL1 Nashville Sounds

Sounds Fall To Express, 5-4

Published on August 22, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Nashville Sounds News Release


NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Round Rock Express jumped out to an early five-run lead and held on for a 5-4 victory over the Nashville Sounds on Friday evening in front of 6,083 fans at Greer Stadium.

The Express took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning against Troy Cate on Danny Klassen's two-out RBI double to right that scored J.R. Towles.

Round Rock increased its advantage to 5-0 in the second. Chris Johnson and Yordany Ramirez opened the inning with back-to-back triples before Express pitcher Josh Muecke helped his own cause with a bloop RBI single to shallow center. A walk to Towles and a Mark Saccomanno single loaded the bases before Cate walked in a run by issuing a two-out free pass to Klassen, the 22nd bases-loaded walk issued by Nashville pitching in 2008. The Express added their fourth run of the frame when Towles scampered home from third on a Cate wild pitch.

The Sounds got on the board in the second inning when Vinny Rottino was hit by a Muecke pitch to start the frame and later scored on a Carlos Corporan sacrifice fly to make it a 5-1 contest.

Nashville added a second run in the fourth. Shortstop Adam Heether, who went 2-for-4 on the evening to extend his longest hit streak of the season to eight games, led off with a double and moved to third on a Chris Woodward single before scoring on Ozzie Chavez's RBI single to center. Woodward's knock in the frame extended the veteran infielder's hitting streak to seven games, matching his longest of the year.

Chavez, who paced all batters with a 4-for-4 evening, pulled the Sounds within a run at 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth when he belted his third home run of the year, a one-out, two-run shot off Muecke that also scored Woodward.

The Sounds missed an opportunity to tie the game in the home half of the seventh after Tony Gwynn reached third with only one out. After Muecke walked Dillon to put runners on the corners, right-hander Nick Regilio took over on the Round Rock hill and induced a first-pitch, inning-ending double play grounder from Vinny Rottino to squelch the threat.

Callix Crabbe singled off veteran reliever Ray King in the ninth inning for Nashville to extend the club's longest active hitting streak to 10 games, just the second double-digit hit streak by a Sounds player all season.

Muecke (8-11) picked up the win for the Express after allowing four runs on nine hits and fanning five batters over 6 1/3 innings of work.

King worked a scoreless ninth for Round Rock to notch his fifth save of the year.

Cate (2-3) took the loss after he allowed five runs on seven hits in his four innings of work for the Sounds.

The teams continue the series with a 6 p.m. meeting on Saturday evening. Left-hander Lindsay Gulin (6-7, 3.84) will toe the rubber for Nashville and face Round Rock right-hander Jack Cassel (8-4, 3.40).

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Pacific Coast League Stories from August 22, 2008


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