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Win on Star Wars Night Silver Hawks Do

July 12, 2013 - Midwest League (MWL1)
South Bend Silver Hawks News Release


First baseman Rudy Flores launched a two-run homer the opposite way in the bottom of the seventh inning from Kane County Cougars reliever Justin Amlung to give the South Bend Silver Hawks a come-from-behind 5-4 victory. Nearly 6,000 fans saw the victory at Coveleski Regional Stadium on Star Wars Night as the Force was with the Silver Hawks. The Cougars were hurt by an assortment of wild pitches and passed balls by starting pitcher Jose Rosario whose command was of the caliber of stormtrooper-level marksmanship.

For the first time in the series, South Bend (58-33, 14-8) got on the board first against the Cougars. Center fielder Breland Almadova led off the second inning by reaching first on a fielding error by the Kane County shortstop. Rosario retired the next two batters before allowing Almadova to advance to second on a passed ball. Alex Glenn then drove Almadova home on an unusual play, an infield triple. The odds of hitting an infield triple are approximately 3,720 to 1 but it looked as if Glenn was thinking, "Never tell me the odds," and accomplished the rare feat. His ground ball back to the pitcher was fielded cleanly but Cougars first baseman Dan Vogelbach dove out of the way of the on-target throw as he was blinded by the sun. Glenn went all the way to third as the ball rolled into the Silver Hawks bullpen down the right field line. Rosario escaped further trouble by getting Hawks shortstop Andrew Velazquez to ground out to second base to end the inning.

Kane County, the Class-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, struck back to tie the game in the top of the third inning. Second baseman Gioskar Amaya ripped a one-out triple into the left field corner. Center fielder Albert Almora drove Amaya in with a groundout to shortstop, tying the game at 1-1.

The game remained tied until South Bend, the Class-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, retook the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth. Second baseman Fidel Pena led off the inning with a line drive single to center. Right fielder Socrates Brito then drove him home with a hard triple into the right field corner. Brito finished the night just a homerun shy of the cycle and is now hitting a sizzling .533 (16/30) over his last seven games. Brito then raced home when the ball went to the backstop on a passed ball by Cougars catcher Willson Contreras, giving the Hawks a 3-1 lead.

Hawks starting pitcher Kyle Winkler could not hold the lead as Kane County (34-52, 4-16) plated three runs in the top of the sixth to take a 4-3 lead. With one out, third baseman Jeimer Candelario doubled to the right field wall. Contreras then worked a two-out walk to put the tying runs on base. Left fielder Oliver Zapata then hit the first pitch he saw from Winkler over the right field wall for a three-run homerun that gave Kane County its only lead of the night.

The Hawks rallied for the game-winning runs against Kane County reliever Justin Amlung (3-4). Brito led off the inning by flaring a base hit into left field and by hustling, turned it into a leadoff double. Amlung retired the next hitter on a routine fly ball to right that failed to advance Brito. First baseman Rudy Flores gave the Hawks the lead for good by launching an 0-2 pitch the opposite way over the left field wall for his tenth homer of the season.

South Bend's bullpen continued its dominant run with three shutout innings to close out the game. Blake Perry (6-4) entered the game in relief of Winkler in the seventh inning and pitched two shutout innings to get the ball to closer Enrique Burgos (S, 9). Burgos pitched a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts to complete the three-game sweep by the Silver Hawks.

The Hawks continue the homestand on Saturday night when they begin a three-game series against the Clinton LumberKings, the Class-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, with first pitch at 7:05pm. Brad Allen (4-4, 5.29 ERA) will get the start for the Silver Hawks. It's Flat Screen Saturday, as the Hawks will give away one 39" flat screen television every inning. Also, if you are planning on bringing your children to the game, make sure to get here early as the first 500 kids 12 & under will receive a replica Silver Hawks jersey.



Midwest League Stories from July 12, 2013


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