WhiteWings beat San Angelo

August 10, 2012 - North American League (NAmL)
Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings News Release


HARLINGEN- The Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings received major contributions from some of their lesser known players to beat the San Angelo Colts 5-2 Friday night at Harlingen Field.

Ricardo Estevez recorded his first professional victory in the United States with two scoreless innings of relief. Erinzon Bautista, on the inactive list just three weeks ago, gave up only two runs and struck out eight batters in six innings, and Jacinto Cipriota, who usually bats last in the WhiteWings' (42-31) lineup, came off the bench to hit his second home run in a week to highlight the victory.

Bautista faced off against lefthander Logan Williamson, the staff ace of San Angelo (37-37). Thanks to a more fluid pitching delivery the 22-year-old former Philadelphia prospect allowed only five hits and three walks in his outing.

"He's got the arm," Rio Grande Valley manager Eddie Dennis said of Bautista, who has received instruction from veteran major leaguer Alberto Reyes and pitching coach/reliever Julio Santana. "Santana and Reyes have been a tremendous asset to our team and it shows. We've led the league in pitching the whole year."

The WhiteWings team earned run average of 3.36 leads the North American Baseball League.

Still, the Colts led 2-1 when Estevez (1-2) came on to pitch at the start of the seventh inning thanks to J.J. Sherrill's opposite-field home run to left in the third inning and his two-out RBI double over the head of centerfielder Ruddy Yan in the fifth.

But in the bottom of the inning, pinch-hitter Mario Mercedes drove in pinch-runner Cipriota with a Texas League single to shallow left off Williamson (7-3) to tie the score and get Bautista off the hook.

Then in the bottom of the eighth, Alex Ruiz hit a one out double to centerfield off the San Angelo lefthanded starter. Colts manager Doc Edwards then elected to pitch to Salvador Paniagua rather than intentionally walk him with first base open, which saw Williamson uncork a wild pitch and Paniagua bloop a hit over a drawn-in infield to plate Ruiz with the go-ahead run.

"That guy wasn't throwing the ball good. But he threw me good; jammed me with a good fastball and location," Paniagua said of his game winning double.

Cipriota, who hit his first professional run since 2008 when he was in the Venezuelan Summer League on Monday, then blasted a Williamson fastball over the left field fence for the 2-run homer that completed the scoring of the game.

Nick Lenzendorf retired all three batters he faced in the ninth to earn his eighth save.

The WhiteWings have won the first two games of their four game series with San Angelo. The two teams will meet again tonight at 7:05 p.m. with Luis Noel (6-2) facing the Colts' Mark Willinsky (7-4).



North American League Stories from August 10, 2012


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