Thunder Fall 5-2
July 7, 2009 - United League Baseball (ULB)
Coastal Bend Thunder News Release
July 7, 2009 -- Robstown, TX -- Edinburg jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and never looked back tonight, winning a 5-2 contest at Fairgrounds Field. The little things really added up against Coastal Bend this evening, as a few bad breaks and a few defensive plays not made by the Thunder were the difference in the game.
Pedro Flores picked up his first win of the season allowing 2 runs, scattering 6 hits, and striking out 5 Thunder batters. Flores kept the Thunder hitters off balance by locating his fastball and mixing in a slow, big-breaking curveball.
Miliade Venus took the loss for the Thunder surrendering 5 runs on 9 hits and striking out 5 in 6 innings of work. Venus pitched much better than his stat line would indicate. A few groundballs found holes and a few soft liners found a way to drop just out of reach of the Thunder defenders.
Coastal Bend tried to battle back but the offense struggled to bring the runners around to score, stranding 11 runners on base this evening. The Thunder rallies seemed to always start with 2 outs and all the offense needed was someone to step up and get that next hit. The offensive standouts this even for Coastal Bend were Amadeo Zazueta with 3 hits and Mike Goss and Kevin Butler each with 2.
Tonight it was the RoadRunners who scored first, tacking on a run after 2 singles and an error in the inning.
Edinburg added to their early lead in the top of the 2nd off Thunder starter Miliade Venus. Nick Aranda drove in Amado German from second on a single to make the score 2-0. Aranda stole second and later scored on an RBI single by leadoff hitter Brian Matlock to extend the lead to 3.
Coastal Bend's offense awoke in the bottom half of the 2nd. Bryan Vickers got things started with an infield single. The next batter, Alfred Joseph, smashed a double off the Texas Roadhouse sign in deep left center field. Vickers scored on the play as the relay throw was a bit off line and ended up at the backstop, allowing Joseph to advance to third. Kevin Butler singled a batter later to bring Joseph home and close the gap to 3-2.
More shaky defense by the Thunder in the 4th led to another Edinburg run. After a leadoff double by Cameron McGuire, Nick Aranda ended up on third when Venus' throw on the sacrifice bunt ended up in the visitor's bullpen allowing McGuire to score from first and giving the RoadRunners a 4-2 advantage. While all this took place with no one out, Venus did a nice job stranding Aranda at third to minimize what could have been a much bigger inning.
The score remained 4-2 until the top of the 6th when Edinburg added another run to make the score 5-2. Robert Matlock singled to left with 2 outs and attempted to steal second before Venus delivered the ball to the plate. Venus was called for a balk on the play as he attempted to step off and throw to second. Both the Thunder pitcher and first baseman Manny Mejia vehemently disagreed with the call and it came back to bite Coastal Bend a few pitches later. Eric Gonzalez singled to right center and sent Matlock home.
Thunder reliever, Alex Gett, pitched a scoreless 7th and 8th but ran into trouble in the top of the 9th inning. A leadoff walk, a steal, and a single put runners at first and third with nobody out. A 2 RBI double from Bryon Smith allowed both Blue and Herrera to score. In the inning, Thunder shortstop Amadeo Zazueta made a nice sliding backhand on a grounder in the hole that helped keep it a 7-2 game.
The loss sends the Thunder record to 14-12 but they still remain in second place in the United League standings. Coastal Bend looks to capture game 3 of the series with recently signed starting pitcher, former Major League Pitcher and W.B. Ray High School graduate, J.J. Trujillo scheduled to take the mound tomorrow.
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United League Baseball Stories from July 7, 2009
- Thunder Falls 7-2, Remains in 2nd Place - Coastal Bend Thunder
- Flores Leads Roadrunners to Victory - Edinburg Roadrunners
- Thunder Fall 5-2 - Coastal Bend Thunder
- Harris Pitches Complete Game, Broncos Win 7-1 - San Angelo Colts
- Allen Silences WhiteWings - Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings
- Broncos Bats Take Adavantage of Miscues - Laredo Broncos
- WhiteWings Help Strike Out Hunger - Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings
- WhiteWings Bring Back Etkin - Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings
- Roadrunners Win Streak Snapped - Edinburg Roadrunners
- Shaffer Delivers Walk Off Triple Giving Colts Tenth Inning Win - San Angelo Colts
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