Turtle Power: Spinners Walk-Off on TMNT Night
August 8, 2015 - New York-Penn League (NYPL)
Lowell Spinners News Release
LOWELL, MASS. - Wearing green Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle themed jerseys, the Lowell Spinners summoned "turtle power" with a little ninth inning magic, earning a walk-off win on Luis Alexander Basabe's two-run single to top the Connecticut Tigers, 3-2, Saturday evening at LeLacheur Park.
Lowell (25-23) broke through in the third inning when Brandon Magee was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Magee stole second, advanced to third on a Basabe groundout and scored on an infield single from Jeremy Rivera to give the Spinners a 1-0 lead.
Connecticut (23-23) pulled even in the fifth inning after Shane Zeile walked with one out. Keaton Jones followed with a double down the left-field line and a Jacob Kapstein ground out brought home Zeile to tie the game at one.
The Spinners would threaten in the fifth, but Magee was thrown out at home on a bang-bang play and Basabe was stranded at third to keep the score knotted at one.
The Tigers broke the scoreless game in the ninth. With Bobby Poyner on in relief, Poyner was struck by a line drive on the inning's first out but stayed in the game. The very next batter, Josh Lester, took a 2-1 offering over the right field wall to give Connecticut a 2-1 lead.
Lowell started the ninth inning with a base hit from Josh Ockimey. After pinch-runner Aneudis Peralta came in, Mitch Gunsolus tried twice to sacrifice him over but with a two-strike count he swung away and a potential doubleplay ball was booted, putting runners on second and third with no outs. An Austin Rei walk loaded the bases and Kyri Washington was called on as a pinch-hitter. Washington hit a chopper to third and the play came to home with Peralta narrowly being forced at the plate. After the count went to 0-2 on Basabe, the outfielder battled back and took a 3-2 pitch off the second baseman's glove on a diving attempt for a two run single to send the Spinners into celebration.
The win helped the Spinners avoid a three-game sweep by the Tigers and stay atop the Wild Card standings. Basabe led the way with a two-hit game, picking up the two most important RBIs of the night. Rivera picked up the other RBI in the win.
Kevin Steen started and went six innings, allowing one run on two hits, walking three. He struck out five. Taylor Nunez followed with two scoreless innings, striking out a pair. Poyner (1-1, 2.25) allowed the home run, but picked up the win.
The Spinners now head out on a six-game road-trip, visiting Tri-City Sunday and moving on to Batavia. Austin Glorius (0-0, 0.00) gets the start in place of Jake Cosart tomorrow at Tri-City with a 5pm first pitch.
• Discuss this story on the New York-Penn League message board...
New York-Penn League Stories from August 8, 2015
- Spikes Take Another 10-Inning Win over Black Bears, 2-1 - State College Spikes
- NYPL Announces All-Star Rosters - Aberdeen IronBirds
- Black Bears Drop Series Finale to the Spikes 2-1 in 10 Innings - West Virginia Black Bears
- ValleyCats Ends Road Trip with 5-1 in Aberdeen - Tri-City ValleyCats
- Scrappers blank Muckdogs - Mahoning Valley Scrappers
- Direwolves Route Renegades in Front of Record Crowd, 10-1 - Staten Island Yankees
- Hudson Valley Drops Series Finale to Staten Island - Hudson Valley Renegades
- Cutters use Long Ball to Rally but fall to Auburn - Williamsport Crosscutters
- Cyclones Bats in Deep Sweep, Fall 6-2 - Brooklyn Cyclones
- Turtle Power: Spinners Walk-Off on TMNT Night - Lowell Spinners
- Vermont Completes Three-Game Sweep Of Brooklyn With 6-2 Win - Vermont Lake Monsters
- Four Black Bears Named to New York-Penn League All-Star Team - West Virginia Black Bears
- Lowell Walks off with Win - Norwich Sea Unicorns
- Five Renegades Named to 2015 New York-Penn League All-Star Game - Hudson Valley Renegades
- State College Spikes Game Notes - August 8 at West Virginia - State College Spikes
- Five Spikes Named to Play in NYPL All-Star Game - State College Spikes
- Spinners to be Well Represented at NYPL All-Star Game - Lowell Spinners
- Kelvin Gutierrez Named 2015 New York-Penn League All-Star - Auburn Doubledays
- Six Muckdogs Named NY-Penn League All-Stars - Batavia Muckdogs
- Four ValleyCats Named New York-Penn League All-Stars - Tri-City ValleyCats
- Three Cyclones Named to NYPL All-Star Team - Brooklyn Cyclones
- Auburn Doubledays Game Notes - Auburn Doubledays
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
