PCL1 Nashville Sounds

Sounds Split Twinbill With Zephyrs

Published on May 2, 2004 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Nashville Sounds News Release


METAIRIE, La. -- The Nashville Sounds completed their four-game road trip to New Orleans by splitting a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Zephyr Field, winning the opener 2-1 before dropping the nightcap, 4-3, to leave town with a series split.

Outfielder Ruben Mateo propelled the Sounds to a 2-1 victory over the Zephyrs in the opening game of the twinbill. Mateo plated both Nashville runs with an RBI single in each of his first two at-bats. Second baseman Terry Shumpert scored both Sounds runs.

New Orleans briefly knotted the game in the second inning when John Buck scored on a Kyle Logan RBI double, but Mateo gave the Sounds the lead for good with his third-inning RBI single off Zephyrs starter Tony Fiore.

Outfielder Rich Thompson made his 2004 Sounds debut in the first contest and turned in a 1-for-4 effort. He also threw out Eric Bruntlett, the potential tying run, at the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning to preserve Nashville's 2-1 advantage.

Game one Sounds starter Nelson Figueroa (3-2) picked up his team-leading third victory of the campaign by surrendering only one run and fanning seven over six innings of work.

Mark Corey retired the Zephyrs in order in the bottom of the seventh to record his Pacific Coast League-leading sixth save of the year. With the save, the Sounds closer notched his 36th career save in a Nashville uniform to pull into a tie with original Sound Geoff Combe (1978-79) for second place on the all-time franchise leaderboard.

Despite the victory, the Sounds failed to hit a home run in the opener, snapping a 17-game longball streak.

New Orleans jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead against Nashville starter John VanBenschoten in the nightcap, courtesy of a two-out, three-run homer by PCL mainstay Phil Hiatt. The longball came on a 3-2 pitch.

Mateo put the Sounds on the board in the top of the second when he belted his team-leading eighth roundtripper of the season, a solo shot to right.

The Zephyrs plated a valuable insurance run in the fourth on a Rob Ryan RBI single before Nashville pulled within a run in the top of the sixth when Rich Thompson scored on a Luis Figueroa groundout and Mateo put up his fourth RBI of the day, plating Luke Allen with an RBI single.

VanBenschoten (0-4) was hit with his fourth loss of the season after allowing all four Zephyrs runs in his five innings of work.

The Sounds return home to Greer Stadium on Monday to open a four-game homestand against the cross-state rival Memphis Redbirds at 7:00 p.m. It will be the teams' first meeting of the 2004 season. Nashville won the 2003 season series by a narrow 9-7 margin and took seven of the clubs' eight meetings played at Greer Stadium.

It will be a matchup of highly-regarded prospects in the series opener as left-hander Cory Stewart (2-0, 2.74) will take the mound for the Sounds to face Memphis right-hander Adam Wainright (2-0, 2.35).

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 2, 2004


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