Texas Winter League Update

Published on February 14, 2013 under North American League (NAmL)
Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings News Release


Several pitchers established themselves as staff leaders as the Brownsville Stars came from behind to beat the Edinburg Roadrunners, 3-2, and the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings shutout the McAllen Thunder, 4-0, in Texas Winter League baseball games on Thursday at Harlingen Field.

In the first game, Steve Nikonchik struck out 10 hitters and pitched a complete game while retiring 15 of the last 16 hitters he faced to hold the Roadrunners at bay while the Stars (4-4) mounted a comeback from an early 2-0 deficit.

After the Roadrunners' (4-4) Vince Coleman Jr. drove in Thomas Schull in the first inning with a Texas League double to left center and Schull plated Aryo Fleming with a single to center in the second, Nikonchik (2-0) and his catcher, Dave Angle, changed their course of action.

"We figured it out. We mixed it up," said Nikonchik, who no-hit the Roadrunners for six innings in his previous start.

The 6-3 right-hander from Katy, Tex. had begun the game by throwing primarily fastballs, but on Angle's urging he started to throw a variety of pitches.

"We tried to keep players off balance. He had command of three of his pitches today," said Angle. "During his no-hit bid, he had command of all five [fastball, change, curve, slider, and cut fastball]. He made my job easy."

Angle helped the Stars' own cause with a single off Roadrunners' starter Justin Yoo to drive in Austin Newell in the third and the Stars tied the game 2-2 the following inning when Jumpei Hayashi singled in newcomer David Sweeting.

Still, the game was tied in the bottom of the ninth before Newell beat out a drag bunt off of new reliever Henry Garcia. After Alex Foltz failed to bunt Newell over, he delivered a 2-strike single to right center that put Newell at third.

But it appeared the left-handed Brownsville native and recent Diamondbacks signee would be able to get out of the game when he struck out Justin Juneau and got Angle to ground to third, forcing Newell at the plate.

But Austin Fraker, a late arrival to the TWL from Lake Forest, Calif., delivered a 2-strike single to center off Garcia (1-1) to plate the winning run.

"I kept thinking curve because he had me 1-2," Fraker said.

"I fouled off three straight fastballs before I straightened a fastball into center."

Nikonchik now has a 27-2 strikeouts to walks ratio in the TWL.

In the second game, Camilli (1-1) earned his first victory of the TWL season with an impressive 2-hit shutout of the first place Thunder (4-3-1). The 6-3, 170-pound right-hander struck out 10 batters in throwing his shutout, retiring the last seven hitters he faced.

He credited improving his pitching mechanics to his endurance, which has often been questioned as a tall, thin pitcher.

"Before I was overthrowing. Today I was staying smooth, using my body instead of throwing with just my arm," Camilli said. "I slowed down my delivery."

Camilli had shown flashes of dominance before in the TWL. He came on in long relief last Friday for injured pitcher William Martinez of Brownsville and threw four perfect innings before tiring in the fifth and absorbing a 6-4 loss.

"The first games I was rusty but today I had all three pitches going; fastball, slider, and change," Camilli said. "I got ahead of the hitters."

Chris Phelan, meanwhile, took a tough luck loss after he scattered six hits in five innings, striking out four and getting nine batters to ground out. Phelan (0-1) also did not walk a batter or give up an earned run.

But he was touched for two runs in the second. After retiring the first five hitters he faced, the Farmingdale State product was touched for a single by Vince Coleman Jr., who would collect four hits in the doubleheader.

Coleman scored when left fielder Anthony Hinderman misplayed Bobby Villante's hit to left, allowing Villante to reach third base on the error by the left fielder. Brian Williams then drove in Villante when he reached on an infield hit aided in large part when third baseman Misop Baynun nearly collided with Masanari Kato after the Japanese shortstop fielded the ball.

Coleman would also drive in the WhiteWings' (3-4-1) third run in the bottom of the sixth off Eric Sheridan. Villante followed with his second run scored after Hinderman dropped Williams' fly ball to left.

The WhiteWings and Roadrunners will play at 11 a.m. as the second half of the TWL regular season begins on Friday, while the Stars and Thunder follow at 2 p.m.

In other news, Jose DeLeon of Lopez High has joined the WhiteWings and started Thursday's game at second base, where he backed up a ground ball that first baseman Jacob Douglas couldn't field cleanly in the seventh inning to help record an unusual 3-4-1 groundout.

Also, 43-year-old chiropractor James "Doc" Edwards of Brownsville will play for the Stars in their game against the Thunder at 2 p.m. Saturday.

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North American League Stories from February 14, 2013


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