Southpaw Williams Stellar in Goldeyes Debut
Published on June 1, 2011 under American Association (AA)
Winnipeg Goldeyes News Release
A long, cold night can deter any team playing the following morning.
But thanks to some fresh faces, a healthy dose of sun, and a crowd of 5,115, the Goldeyes were able to turn heel after splitting a Tuesday night doubleheader, as they defeated the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 7-2 on Wednesday morning. The win propelled them to take the three-game set from Fargo, two-games-to-one.
Wednesday had more in store than just a baseball game, though. Goldeyes manager Rick Forney made a flurry of moves, including the signing of Wednesday's starting pitcher Luis Villarreal, who pitched two innings, striking out four and allowing three hits and a run. Forney also activated pitcher Mike Williams, who took the ball from Villarreal to start the third and quickly became the story of the game.
Williams pitched four shutout innings, stealing Fargo's momentum. He struck out one, walked just three and recorded a win in his regular season debut. Williams spent time pitching in the preseason, but was put on the inactive list on May 9 and didn't see any action until Wednesday afternoon.
"It felt absolutely amazing to be back on the mound," said Williams after the game. "You couldn't ask for a better outing."
Williams spent a lot of time waiting in May, getting out and practicing but never getting his chance to show his stuff in-game.
"What really helped me was the support of the guys around me through all this dead time. I took that dead time to learn and it all helps," said Williams.
With the new pitchers doing their jobs, the offence came to life as well. Victor Ferrante had a pair of doubles and an RBI and Alan Rick hit his fourth home run of the year, a solo shot, in the bottom of the sixth. They weren't the only ones though, as eight of nine Goldeyes recorded hits and Winnipeg had 12 hits on the day.
With the win, the Goldeyes improve to 12-8 on the year and Fargo falls to 10-10, now two full games behind Winnipeg for the second spot in the American Association's North Division.
Winnipeg will now go on the road, starting a three-game set with Gary on Friday and then a four-game series in Lincoln starting Monday. The Goldeyes return home on June 10 to play a three-game series versus the Kansas City T-Bones.
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