IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Wigginton's walk-off grand slam lifts tribe to 9-5 win

Published on July 10, 2005 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


INDIANAPOLIS -- Third baseman Ty Wigginton crushed a 380-foot grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to lift Indianapolis to its fifth straight victory -- a 9-5 decision over Durham -- in front of 11,781 Sunday afternoon at Victory Field.

The Indians, who enjoy their first five-game winning streak since Aug. 22-26, 2003, enter the All-Star break with a 53-37 record. The Bulls, who drop their sixth game in seven tries, fall to 40-51 on the season.

Wigginton's seventh dinger since being optioned to Triple-A marked the Tribe's fourth walk-off homer of the campaign. Graham Koonce (April 8), Yurendell de Caster (May 10) and Jose Leon (June 4) had previously smoked game-winning roundtrippers in the bottom of the ninth.

Indianapolis took advantage of a Durham miscue in the bottom of the first to plate four unearned runs. The frame was highlighted by 1B Brad Eldred's eighth homer since being promoted to Indianapolis -- a three-run shot to left field. CF Chris Duffy beat out an infield single and DH Graham Koonce reached on a fielding error to score ahead of Eldred, who left the yard for a third straight day.

Durham cracked the scoreboard in the top of the third when LF Jeff Deardorff cracked his 13th homer of the season -- a solo shot to left field.

The Indians added an insurance run in the home half of the fourth when 2B Cesar Crespo walked, advanced to second on SS Jorge Velandia's base knock, moved to third on another Durham error and came plateward on a wild pitch.

The Bulls rallied in the top of the seventh when DH Pete LaForest smashed his 19th roundtripper of the campaign -- a three-run shot to right field. 3B Earl Snyder roped a single to right field and catcher Tim Laker walked ahead of LaForest.

Durham 1B Josh Phelps evened things with his seventh dinger of the season and third in two days vs. the Tribe -- an opposite-field solo blast -- in the top of the eighth.

Indianapolis then loaded the bases -- with no outs -- in the bottom of the ninth to set up Wigginton's heroics. Velandia beat out an infield single, Duffy reached on a fielding error and De Caster pushed a bunt between the pitcher and third baseman.

Indians catcher Ronny Paulino extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a 1-for-4 performance. The 24-year-old, who was promoted from Double-A on June 6, has now hit safely in 28 of his last 31 contests.

LHP Mike Connolly (5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO) was in line for the win, but settled for a no-decision after the Tribe bullpen let the lead slip away. LHP Mike Johnston (1.0 IP, 2 SO) worked a perfect ninth to earn the win and improve to 2-1.

Durham LHP Chris Seddon (5.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO) did not factor in the decision despite working five frames without allowing an earned run. RHP Lee Gardner (0.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO) encountered a determined Indianapolis offense in the ninth and fell to 3-1 with the loss.

The six-game homestand at Victory Field attracted 65,468 fans, an average of 10,911 per game. That average ranks as the best in six 2005 homestands.

All International League teams will break for the annual All-Star festivities in Sacramento, Calif. OF Nate McLouth and RHP Mark Corey will represent the Indians on Wednesday night at Raley Field in the 18th annual game, which pits the best from the IL vs. the top players from the Pacific Coast League. The contest is slated for 9 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN 2.

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International League Stories from July 10, 2005


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