Win Extra Sweet as Spinners Walk-Off Again
August 21, 2014 - New York-Penn League (NYPL)
Lowell Spinners News Release
LOWELL, MASS. - For the second time in as many nights the Spinners were walk-off winners, needing 10 innings to dispatch the Connecticut Tigers, 6-5, Thursday night at LeLacheur Park on Mauricio Dubon's walk-off RBI single. The win brought the Spinners to .500 for the first time since June and kept the team afloat in the Wild Card race.
Lowell (32-32) took a lead in the third inning, just as things began getting wet at LeLacheur. Alixon Suarez as hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, coming around to score on a Deiner Lopez RBI double and giving the Spinners a 1-0 lead. After a Bryan Hudson bunt single moved Lopez to third. Mauricio Dubon followed with a RBI single, plating Lopez and an RBI groundout from Mike Meyers gave the Spinners a 3-0 lead.
Connecticut (34-31) cut into the lead in the top of the fourth inning. Michael Gerber led off the inning with a home run to right and Steven Fuentes followed with a triple to left. A one-out sacrifice fly by Brett Pirtle cut the lead to a run before Jeffry Fernandez escaped further trouble with the Spinners up a run.
There was a skirmish in the fourth inning after Suarez was hit in the head by a Fernando Perez fastball. He was not appreciative of the gesture and both benches hesitantly emptied. No ejections were made, though both benches were warned.
The Spinners tacked on a run in the sixth inning after Joseph Monge led off the inning with a single. After a pair of groundouts moved him to third, he came in to score when Rashad Brown dropped a shallow fly by Lopez, to push the lead to 4-2.
The Tigers took advantage of a wet field to tie the game and then take a 5-4 lead. After a pair of singles sandwiched a strikeout, Franklin Navarro's routine single to center became a two-run double when Monge lost his footing. One batter later Lopez lost his footing allowing Navarro to score from second on a ball that barely escaped the infield to give the Tigers a lead.
The lead was short-lived however as the Spinners pulled even in the bottom half of the inning. Suarez tripled with one down and was replaced by Raymel Flores, who scored on Lopez's chopper to first to knot the score at five.
The Spinners appeared destined for a walk-off in the ninth when Monge hit a gapper to leftfield, but Kasey Coffman made a fantastic diving catch, though contested by Spinners' manager Joe Oliver, to send the game to extras.
Dubon not only had the walk-off hit, he had his third straight three-hit night, raising his average to .319 on the season, while driving in two. Aneudis Peralta had two hits, while Lopez added two RBI.
Fernandez started and went five, allowing two runs on seven hits, striking out two. Chandler Shepherd was a victim of the wet field, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits over three innings, striking out three. Kuehl McEachern (1-1, 3.32) picked up the win with two scoreless, allowing two hits while striking out one.
The Spinners now hit the road in just over six hours for a three-game set with Aberdeen before a trio in Connecticut. They currently trail the Brooklyn Cyclones by 3.5 games in the chase for the NYPL's final playoff spot. Kevin McAvoy will get the ball for the Spinners when they arrive in Aberdeen for a 7:05 first pitch.
New York-Penn League Stories from August 21, 2014
- Spinners Walk-Off Again on Tigers - Norwich Sea Unicorns
- Win Extra Sweet as Spinners Walk-Off Again - Lowell Spinners
- Spikes' Late Surge Leads to 14-3 Rout - State College Spikes
- Renegades Use Giant 6th Inning, Top IronBirds 7-3 Moquete homers in loss - Aberdeen IronBirds
- Torres walks off Cutters to beat the Scrappers - Williamsport Crosscutters
- Vermont Completes 2-Game Sweep At Tri-City 4-2 - Vermont Lake Monsters
- Ripken Stadium to Host 2015 NYPL All-Star Game - Aberdeen IronBirds
- State College Spikes Game Notes - August 21 vs. Auburn - State College Spikes
- Game Notes: Renegades at IronBirds - Aberdeen IronBirds
- Spinners Game Notes - Lowell Spinners
- Muckdogs Pound 18 Hits, Defeat Jammers 7-1 - Jamestown Jammers
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.
