Vipers overrun by RoadRunners

Published on June 5, 2008 under Golden Baseball League (GBL)
Calgary Vipers News Release


The Calgary Vipers gave up a franchise record six homeruns in losing 19-3 to the St. George RoadRunners at Bruce Hurst Field in St. George, Utah. In game one of a double-header the Snakes saw their franchise record seven game winning streak come to an end in a big way. The RoadRunners used two huge innings, six runs in the third and nine runs in the sixth, for 15 of their 19 tallies and the Vipers hit into three double-plays. The one bright spot for Calgary was position player Kevin Price coming into pitch and going two-thirds of an inning without giving up a run and striking out one.

Ryan Stevenson led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo homerun for the 1-0 lead.

Calgary tied the game in the next half inning with back-to-back doubles from Jose Morban and Patrick Arlis and a run batted in groundout by Felix Jose.

Right back came St. George with a Dustin Hicks solo homerun in the bottom of the frame to retake the lead at 2-1.

In the bottom of the third inning the RoadRunners blew the game wide open and it all came with two outs. Brandon Taylor singled, Brian Martin walked, and Juan Serrano picked up a base hit for a RBI. Will Henderson and Dustin Hicks both followed with doubles cashing two and one runs respectively and Jason Bryan capped off the inning with a two run blast for the 8-1 advantage.

For the fourth straight inning St. George scored with a Greg Lemon single and a Taylor two run shot to hit double digits at 10-1.

The Vipers hit their first homerun of the game in the top of the fifth inning off the bat of Jose for his third of the season.

Another run was scored in the top of the sixth with a Drew Miller hit by pitch, Morban walk, and a Arlis RBI base hit for the 10-3 score.

St. George exploded for nine more runs in the bottom of the sixth starting with a Stevenson single, Lemon RBI triple, Taylor RBI single, and a Martin two run homerun. Serrano followed with a single and Henderson rounded the bases for the RoadRunners sixth blast of the game. Bryan walked, Trevor Dimick singled, and Stevenson picked up an RBI double. Lemon notched another RBI with a fielder's choice and Taylor capped off the inning and scoring with a sacrifice fly for the 19-3 lead.

Snakes starter Nate Melek (0-1) took the rough loss giving up five homeruns after coming into the game without allowing one in 11 innings of work. Justin Abbott (2-0) took the win thanks to his complete game performance.

The Vipers will try and bounce back in the second game with Reggie Rivard (0-0) toeing the rubber for Calgary against Chris Hunter (0-1) for St. George.

Friday and Saturday the Snakes take on the Yuma Scorpions at 8:00 PM (MDT) with Dallas Mahan (2-0) and Jordy Alexander (1-1) starting on the mound. Sunday at 7:00 PM (MDT) the three game series will wrap up with Golden Baseball League Pitcher of the Week Evan Greusel (2-0) starting. All games can be heard live online at www.calgaryvipers.com.

Two teams never before seen in Calgary will then head in for the next home stand. The St. George Roadrunners with former Chicago White Sox infielder Liu Rodriguez will be here June 11, 12 and 13. Then the defending champion Chico Outlaws hit town. Friday, June 13th it's an afternoon "Skip out of Work" special so fans can watch both the Vipers and then the Stamps exhibition game. On Saturday June 14th it's Ripley's Believe It or Not Day at Foothills Stadium. A full contingent from the famous tourist attraction will be in Calgary to take possession of the 10 bats acquired in the Odom trade and to present the check to the Vipers Children's Charity. On Sunday, June 15th it's the Vipers Father's Day Extravaganza. Hall of Famer Gary Carter will be the Vipers special guest to throw out the first pitch and sign autographs. The Calgary Minor Softball Association will be holding their Opening ceremonies following the game and will be out in full force. The Vipers will be teaming with PharmaChoice Drug Stores and the Calgary Prostate Society to raise awareness for prostate cancer treatments. And the Vipers will be helping to launch the new Warner Brothers movie "Get Smart" with Agent 99 and Maxwell Smart making a special appearance. Tickets can be ordered by calling 277-BALL (2255).

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Golden Baseball League Stories from June 5, 2008


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