Vipers Vanquished In Final Game Before Trip
July 29, 2010 - Golden Baseball League (GBL)
Edmonton Capitals News Release
Edmonton, AB - The Edmonton Capitals gave their fans a great goodbye party on Thursday night, crushing the Calgary Vipers 8-0 in their final game before embarking on a lengthy road trip.
After playing 14 of their last 18 games at home, the Caps will head out on the road for 10 straight, as they travel first to Orange County and then to Maui. But they had some business to take care of at home first, as they shut out their provincial rivals and closed the gap between themselves and the first-place Vipers.
"We've taken care of business at home, but we haven't been a great road team this year, so it's good to take this momentum with us," Caps left fielder Larry Bigbie said. "This is a team that we have to beat to get into the playoffs, and we have a tough schedule coming up on the road, so this was an important win."
Bigbie provided a big chunk of the Caps offence with one swing of the bat in their five-run third, as he launched an opposite-field home run to knock in three of the five runs. He added an RBI single in the sixth as well, and catcher Josh Tarnow drove in two more runs that inning with a double. Short stop Enrique Cruz went 3-for-4 and drove in their other run.
Caps pitcher Alex Francisco had a fantastic night on the mound, throwing eight shutout innings, scattering eight hits and striking out six to up his record to 7-0. His counterpart with the Vipers, former Edmonton Cracker-Cat and Fort McMurray native Reggie Rivard, was not near as sharp, pitching five innings and giving up seven runs on six hits.
The win bumped the Caps' second-half record to 7-3 and dropped the Vipers to 10-3. Calgary is still 1.5 games up on Edmonton for first place in the Golden Baseball League's North Division, and since the Chico Outlaws won the first half, the Caps must win the second half to qualify for the post-season.
The Caps take on the O.C. Flyers in southern California once on Friday and twice Saturday to start their road trip before battling Maui's Na Koa Ikaika seven times between Aug. 2 and Aug. 8. The team returns home to start a series with Chico on Aug. 10.
• Discuss this story on the Golden Baseball League message board...
Golden Baseball League Stories from July 29, 2010
- Cimarrones Shutout Toros 2-0 - Tucson Toros
- Vipers Vanquished In Final Game Before Trip - Edmonton Capitals
- Francisco Stays on Fire - Calgary Vipers
- Female Knuckleballer to Start Sunday in Calgary - Calgary Vipers
- Flyers Sweep Tijuana out of Yuma - Orange County Flyers
- Vipers Sign Veteran Pitcher - Calgary Vipers
- Orange County Flyers Trounced Tijuana 19-2 - Orange County Flyers
- Toros Take St. George Series With 6-5 Win - Tucson Toros
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.
