PCL1 Nashville Sounds

Sounds knock off Isotopes in 11 innings

Published on August 30, 2006 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Nashville Sounds News Release


ALBUQUERQUE - The Nashville Sounds took advantage of a pair of errors to score two unearned runs in the top of the eleventh inning and post a 10-8 victory over Albuquerque on Wednesday evening at Isotopes Park.

With its 14th last at-bat win, Nashville (75-64) maintained its three-game lead over Iowa in the American Conference Northern Division; the Cubs defeated Oklahoma, 3-2, earlier in the evening. The Sounds' magic number to clinch a playoff berth was reduced to two with five games remaining in the season.

Catcher Chad Moeller led off the Nashville eleventh by reaching when his grounder to former Sound Jason Wood at third base was mishandled. After Dennis Sarfate sacrificed him to second, Moeller scored the go-ahead run on Tony Gwynn's RBI single to right. Gwynn also scored on the play on a throwing error by Isotopes hurler Josh Stewart, who cut off the throw from the outfield and attempted to gun down Gwynn at second.

Sarfate (10-7) worked two scoreless frames, including striking out the first four batters he faced, to earn the victory and become Nashville's first 10-game winner since Nelson Figueroa (12) in 2004.

The extra-inning contest, which was necessitated after Nashville failed to protect a one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth, was the Sounds' 15th of the season and third of its current road trip.

Sounds third baseman Vinny Rottino continued his red-hot hitting with a season-best four hits on the evening. With his 4-for-5 night, he upped his team-leading August average to .420 (34-for-81).

Gwynn finished 2-for-7 for Nashville to extend his hitting streak to 10 games, the outfielder's second double-digit streak of the year.

Nashville grabbed an early 1-0 lead on Brent Abernathy's two-out RBI single in the top of the first inning before falling behind, 4-1, as the Isotopes plated four runs against Ben Hendrickson in the bottom of the second on a two-run Mark Little triple followed by a two-run Paul Hoover homer, the catcher's sixth roundtripper of the year.

The teams traded fourth-inning runs before the Sounds pulled within one at 5-4 in the top of the fifth on Jermaine Clark's fifth home run of the season, a two-out shot to right off Isotopes starter Adam Bostick.

After Albuquerque added a run in the sixth, Nashville once again made it a one-run contest in the seventh by virtue of a longball. First baseman Graham Koonce crushed the first pitch of the inning from Albuquerque reliever Jim Brower over the wall in left for his 18th home run of the year and a 6-5 contest.

The Sounds missed an opportunity to do further damage in the frame as J.B. Miadich struck out Gwynn with the bases loaded to end the inning.

Isotopes right fielder Chris Aguila touched Sounds reliever Chris Demaria for a two-out solo homer in the bottom of the seventh to increase the home team's lead to 7-5.

Nashville rallied for three runs in the top of the eighth to grab an 8-7 lead. The Sounds opened the frame with three straight hits off Miadich to tie the contest. After Chris Barnwell singled, Drew Anderson plated him with an RBI triple to right then scored on Graham Koonce's run-scoring single. Dave Krynzel pinch-ran for Koonce and moved up to second when Rottino was hit by a pitch.

Clark followed with a grounder to first baseman Tom Wilson, who attempted to force Rottino at second but his throw was off the mark and sailed into left field, allowing Krynzel to score the go-ahead run.

Alec Zumwalt struck out the side in the bottom of the eighth before the Isotopes tied the contest with an unearned run against him in the ninth. The blown save, which occurred without the right-hander giving up a hit, was Zumwalt's third in 18 chances this season.

Wood drew a walk to open the Albuquerque ninth and was sacrificed to second. Robert Andino followed with a grounder to second which was misplayed by Clark for an error, placing runners on the corners with only one out. Edgar Gonzalez made it an 8-8 game with a sacrifice fly to center that brought home Wood.

Stewart (1-3) took the hard-luck loss after allowing two unearned runs in his lone inning of work.

Hendrickson took a no-decision for Nashville after allowing six runs on 10 hits over his six frames.

The teams wrap up the series on Thursday with a 7:35 p.m. CT finale. Left-hander Zach Jackson (4-5, 3.79) will man the bump for Nashville to face Albuquerque right-hander Jeff Fulchino (5-10, 4.35).

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Pacific Coast League Stories from August 30, 2006


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