IL1 Indianapolis Indians

The Indians Break Out With Five Runs in the Second and Hang On For the Win

Published on May 5, 2007 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


INDIANAPOLIS -- Former Ball State star Bryan Bullington allowed just two hits over seven scoreless innings and Indianapolis held on for an 8-5 win over Louisville Saturday night at Victory Field.

The Indians improve to 17-10 overall and 7-6 at home with their fifth victory in the past six games, while the Bats fall to 13-15 overall and 6-9 on the road.

Bullington (7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 SO), who missed all of 2006 while recovering from right shoulder surgery, is now 5-0 with a 0.96 ERA over his first six starts of the campaign. The 26-year-old, who became the first student-athlete in Mid-American Conference history to be taken with the No. 1 overall pick in any sport when he was selected by the Pirates in the 2002 draft, also becomes the International League's first five-game winner.

Indianapolis SS Brian Bixler (1-for-2, 1 R, 2 BB) extended his season-best hitting streak to 12 games, while RF Luis Matos (2-for-5, 1 R) has now hit safely in nine consecutive tilts.

The Tribe raced out to an early lead with five runs in the second. Bullington, CF Nyjer Morgan, and 1B Yurendell de Caster all scored before 3B Russ Johnson (2-for-4, 1 R, 3 RBI) drilled a two-run single to left.

The Indians increased their advantage to seven with a pair of runs in the fourth. Johnson clobbered his first homer of the season -- a solo blast just inside the left-field foul pole -- and Matos scored on a wild pitch after whacking a triple to center.

Louisville plated three runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth after being held scoreless for the first seven frames. The Bats put the tying run on base in the ninth, but Indianapolis RHP Jesse Chavez (1.0 IP) got out of a bases-loaded jam for his first save of the season.

Bats LHP Phil Dumatrait (6.0 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 5 SO), who entered with a 4-0 record and 0.63 ERA, was pinned with the loss.

The two clubs wrap up the brief two-game set on Sunday at 2 p.m. Louisville RHP Tom Shearn and Indianapolis LHP Shane Youman are the probable starters.

The contest will be carried by ESPN-950 AM and IndyIndians.com with Howard Kellman and Scott McCauley. The pre-game show begins at 1:40 p.m.

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International League Stories from May 5, 2007


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