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Texas Winter League Update

February 19, 2013 - North American League (NAmL)
Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings News Release


Austin Newell hit three doubles and Hiroki Kono pitched six shutout innings to lead the Brownsville Stars to a 4-2 victory against the McAllen Thunder Tuesday afternoon at Harlingen Field in Texas Winter League baseball action.

Newell led off the game by challenging the arm of Thunder (4-7-1) right fielder Derrick Pyles to stretch a single into a double, which, following a wild pitch, allowed him to score on a sacrifice fly from Austin Fraker.

Newell, who hit .425 to lead the Pecos League last season, also scored the second run of the game with aggressive base running when he tried to stretch his opposite field double to right center field into a triple in the top of the sixth inning. Second baseman Daiki Komori, serving as the cutoff man, misfired his throw to third, which allowed Newell to circle the bases. His third double then drove in Kago Miyagi, who himself had just driven in a run with a two out hit, to give the Stars (6-5-1) a 4-0 lead in the top of the seventh.

But despite Newell's heroics, strong pitching dominated the game. Kono mixed locations with his sidearm and submarine deliveries to keep the Thunder off the board for six innings, scattering five hits, walking one and hitting two batters. It was the 26-year-old righthander's third straight start of six innings.

The Thunder's Chris Phelan, however, was his equal for much of the game and was hampered by his own defense as much as anything else. The former Farmingdale State star struck out 11 batters in his seven innings of work to earn his first complete game of the season.

Phelan (0-2), who allowed six hits in the game, has now struck out 26 batters in the TWL and not walked a single batter. His earned run average through 20 innings is 2.25.

McAllen rallied late off reliever Chris Treibt, greeting the submarine right-hander with three straight hits from Anthony Hinderman, Masanari Kato, and Hiroki Itakura. Derrick Pyles' opposite field single with two out between first and second base halved the Stars' lead, but Treibt was able to get Komori to fly to center to end the game.

The Thunder have now lost five straight games

WHITEWINGS 2 ROADRUNNERS 1

Curtis Camilli pitched his second consecutive complete game and helped his own cause with a run scoring single in the fourth to put the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings in first place in the TWL with a 2-1 victory against the Edinburg Roadrunners.

Camilli (2-1), a tall, thin right-hander, struck out seven batters and allowed only six hits without walking or hitting a batter. The Lee University product has allowed only one earned run in three starts this season.

Still, Roadrunners starter Tyler Hanks enjoyed a 1-0 lead by virtue of a run scored when Camilli balked home Phil Rowland, who had reached on an error, in the second inning.

Hanks, a one-time prospect in the Washington Nationals organization, did not allow a hit during his first three innings of work and struck out seven batters in the game.

But he was greeted by five straight singles to open the top of the fourth. Camilli's infield hit to shortstop scored Kori Melo with the tying run, and Jose DeLeon then singled to left to drive in the winning run off Hanks.

It was the second time DeLeon, a 22-year-old Brownsville native from Lopez High School, drove in the winning run for the WhiteWings (6-4-2). On Saturday he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh to bring home the winning run in a 10-9 victory against the Roadrunners (6-6).

Hanks was relieved by David Sweeting with two out in the bottom of the fourth. Sweeting did not allow any runs and just two hits in his 3 1/3 innings of relief.

The WhiteWings and Stars will play for first place tomorrow at 11 a.m., while the Thunder and Roadrunners will meet at 2 p.m.

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