Williamson ends streak against Diablos

Published on July 4, 2009 under American Association (AA)
Shreveport-Bossier Captains News Release


EL PASO, Texas. - After a couple of hard-fought wins over first-half division champion Fort Worth and three injuries to starting pitchers, the Shreveport-Bossier Captains' pitching staff was thinned to say the least. But Friday night the Captains had their most consistent starter of the season on the mound in Logan Williamson, and the lefty delivered the goods. He went 8 1/3 innings, and held the El Paso Diablos to three runs on 10 hits in a 5-3 escape at Cohen Stadium.

The win was the first for the Captains (21-25) in seven tries against the Diablos (20-26) this season, and is the third straight overall - Shreveport-Bossier's first three game winning streak of the season after five previous two-game winning streaks ended with losses.

But the victory was far from easy. With the Captains leading 5-1 in the eighth, Williamson (5-2) got the first two men out but walked number-nine hitter Hector Bernal. Kennard Bibbs then hit a slow dribbler to third, and Chris Garcia did not get the throw to first in time, and threw the ball away to move the runners up. After another walk to Arnoldo Ponce loaded the bases, Williamson got veteran Jorge Alvarez, who homered in the seventh, to ground to Garcia to end the threat.

Back out in the ninth to try to get the complete game, Williamson gave up a pair of singles, a bad-hop base-hit by Juan Camacho off shortstop Dan Williams and a clean single to left by Tyler Johnson. After Mike Provencher's double drove in two, Williamson reared back to strike out Jeff Vincent swinging. Manager Ricky VanAsselberg then went to the exhausted bullpen as righty Matt Petty came on for the third day in a row. He got the first hitter, pinch-hitter Adam Hale, to pop up to the left side of the infield, but the wind blew the ball away from Garcia and Williams and it landed on the outfield grass for a hit.

However, with the tying runs aboard, Petty got Bernal to fly out to left, and struck out Bibbs swinging to get his first save of the year and finally allow the Captains to exhale.

At first, El Paso starter Justin Mallett (1-3) matched Williamson by facing the minimum six hitters through two innings. But in the third, he hit Joe Urtuzuastegui to start the inning, and then gave up a first-pitch single to B.J. Wheeler to left. Tommy Bryant then could not get a bunt down and struck out, but Jonathan Reynoso picked him up with a bullet double down the leftfield line to bring home the first two runs of the game. An out later, Christopher Garcia bounced a single up the middle to make it 3-0.

In the fourth, Kevin Griffin's hustle led to another run, as he led off with a bloop single and then went all the way to third on a wild pitch. Urtuzuastegui then hit a slow grounder to first with Griffin breaking to the plate. Camacho's throw arrived just a heartbeat before Griffin, but catcher Eddy Rodriguez could not hold on to the ball and Griffin made sure he did not by plowing him over.

After Alvarez's high-fly home run leading off the bottom of the seventh cut the score to 4-1, the Captains came back with a run in the top of the eighth, when Garcia hit a check-swing double down the leftfield line off Ricardo Rivas, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a single by Andres Rodriguez.

Notes: Mallett, who went seven innings, faced the minimum in every inning but the two-run scoring frames... Williamson faced the minimum through four innings...Williamson has gone at least six, and allowed no more than three earned runs in all eight of his starts this season...Williams, who was signed earlier in the day, came on to replace Urtuzuastegui in the fifth after his left elbow became swollen because of the hit-by-pitch...Petty did have 41 career saves in three seasons.

The Shreveport-Bossier Captains continue their three-game series with the El Paso Diablos on Saturday July 4, at 7:35 p.m. CT. The Captains return home to face North Division first-half champion Wichita on Friday, July 10, at 7:05 p.m., with 1st Choice Personnel Batting Helmet Giveaway Night. All games are broadcast on ESPN Radio, KRMD-1340 AM and streamed live on supertalk1340.com, with streaming video provided by NiftyTV on www.sbcaptains.com for all home games and select road games. For information on tickets, promotions, advertising, and other opportunities with the Captains, check out the team's Web site at www.sbcaptains.com, or call the Fair Grounds Field office at (318) 636-5555.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Association Stories from July 4, 2009


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.

OurSports Central