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Texas Winter League Update

February 21, 2013 - North American League (NAmL)
Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings News Release


With the announcement of Jose Canseco coming to play in the Texas Winter League blaring over the loudspeaker of Harlingen Field, the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings took a major step in clinching the regular season TWL title with a 9-3 victory against the Edinburg Roadrunners Thursday afternoon.

Trent Evins pitched six efficient innings while the league's leading hitter, Cody Bishop, hit his first home run of the season to propel the WhiteWings (8-4-2) to victory.

WhiteWings catcher Cody Brooks drove in his league leading 15th and 16th runs in the top of the first inning with a bases loaded double off lefthander Takeshi Shioga (0-2) to highlight a 3-run first inning.

After the Roadrunners (7-7) scored two runs in the bottom of the first on a 2-run single to left from Vince Coleman Jr., Bishop hit his solo home run the bounced off the top of the 20-foot wall in right center field at Harlingen Field.

Shioga then struggled with his control for the next two innings, allowing two runs to score when he walked two batters and threw three wild pitches in the third inning and three more in the fourth after walking three batters and hitting another while throwing two more wild pitches after allowing Bishop to double with one out.

Evins (4-0), meanwhile, was as accurate as Shioga was wild.

He did not walk or hit a batter in six innings pitched while allowing two earned runs and scattering six hits, striking out three. Evins did not allow a single hit after Coleman's first inning single and retired 12 of 13 hitters until Jimmy Williams reached on an infield hit with two out in the fifth.

The WhiteWings can clinch the regular season TWL title with a victory against the McAllen Thunder on Friday behind Harlingen South product Danny Gidora and a tie between the Roadrunners and Brownsville Stars.

After the game the Roadrunners sent their hottest hitter, 18-year-old right fielder Ginjiro Fujiwara, to the Thunder for future considerations. Fujiwara has 14 hits in his last 24 at bats.

STARS 12 THUNDER 12

In the first two games of the TWL season the McAllen Thunder scored nine and 10 runs in their final at bats to propel them to victories.

They found a little more of that magic on Thursday when the Thunder (4-8-2) overcame an 11-3 sixth inning deficit to tie the Brownsville Stars (6-6-2).

The Thunder batted around twice in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings to score six and three runs in the respective frames off Stars relievers Anthony Abbato and Chris Treibt.

Hiroki Itakura highlighted both innings with two out, 2-run singles to left field, the second of which tied the game off Treibt.

The comeback overshadowed the individual feats of centerfielder Austin Fraker, who stole second, third, and home in the top of the seventh to score the Stars' final run and also drove in three runs on three hits.

The fact the game was a slugfest was something of a surprise to begin with. The starting pitching match-up featured Steve Nikonchik, perhaps the most dominant pitcher of the TWL, and fellow right-hander Justin Klipp, who had beaten the Stars, 3-2, in his previous start.

But the Stars jumped on the former Cal State-Fullerton product for six runs on five hits in the top of the first despite the fact manager Chris Paterson hit his weaker hitters at the top of his order in an attempt for them to see better pitches to hit.

The strategy worked when third place hitter Sean Gaughan raised his average above .200 with a run-scoring single to left to drive in David Sweeting with the game's first run. Four batters later Justin Juneau hit a 3-run triple to right field to make the score 4-0, and Keigo Miyagi and Austin Fraker followed with run scoring hits.

But after Nikonchik held the Thunder to three hitless innings, the Stars seemed to be lazy with their 6-0 lead. First baseman Justin Juneau was late in covering the base on a ground ball hit by Itakura back to the mound, resulting in a throwing error by Nikonchik. After stealing second Itakura scored on Derrick Pyles' single to left and Pyles scored on Albert Carpen's double to the same location. Carpen then scored when Dave Angle's throw to try to catch Carpen stealing third went off third baseman Miyagi's glove and into left field.

The Stars rebounded by scoring five more times off Klipp in the next two innings, with Fraker driving in two more runs on a two-out single in the fifth and Alex Foltz and Angle driving in runs on back-to-back doubles in a 3-run sixth. Klipp would finish allowing 11 runs, 10 earned, in 5 1/3 innings.

Yet the Stars' bullpen could not hold the lead. Abbato allowed six runs, five earned, on four hits, two walks, and two hit batsmen in 2/3 of an inning, with Todd Alls' 2-run double to left making the score 11-5 Itakura's hit cut the Stars' lead to four runs. A bases loaded walk and error by first baseman Cole Stephens, who had come into the game that inning to spell outfielder Alex Foltz, allowed two more runs to score before Daiki Komori was thrown out trying to score from second on Stephens' error.

The Stars continued to self-destruct in the final inning, however. After Alls led off with a single, .150-hitting Anthony Hinderman, who had come on to catch after Jeff Allen re-injured himself, was hit by Treibt with a 2-strike pitch. Then Juneau, who had moved to right field, misplayed a fly ball hit by newcomer Bunyu Madea into a single to load the bases. Masaki Iwagami's ground ball to shortstop that drove in Alls wasn't turned into a double play, and he stole second to move into scoring position for Itakura's game-tying hit after Masanari Kato struck out.

The tie ended a six game losing streak by the Thunder.

The WhiteWings will play the Thunder at 11 a.m. on Friday, while the Stars and Roadrunners will play at 2 p.m. Canseco is expected to play in both games.

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North American League Stories from February 21, 2013


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