Wizards win 7-2
April 18, 2008 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Fort Wayne TinCaps News Release
FORT WAYNE, IN---What a difference a day of rest can make.
After beginning the 2008 Midwest League season by playing 14 games in the first 14 days of the campaign (10 of which were played on the road), the Fort Wayne Wizards enjoyed a day off from competition on Thursday.
The time away from the diamond seemed to energize the Wizards, especially Felix Carrasco, as he drove in four runs, and was part of a defense that turned two key double plays in critical situations; helping Fort Wayne defeat Quad Cities by a score of 7-2 on Friday night, in front of a crowd of 1,518 at Memorial Stadium.
The Wizards got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning.
Luis Durango successfully dropped down a bunt single on the first pitch thrown by River Bandit starting pitcher Thomas Eager.
A single by Drew Cumberland and a walk issued to Lance Zawadzki loaded the bases for Fort Wayne with nobody out.
Kellen Kulbacki grounded into a double play, but Durango came in to score from third base to give the Wizards a 1-0 lead.
Quad Cities threatened in the top of the second inning, loading the bases with one out against Fort Wayne starter Matt Teague.
Teague was able to get out of trouble, thanks to an inning-ending double play turned by the trio of Justin Baum, Cumberland, and Carrasco.
In the bottom of the second, the Wizards added two more runs, thanks to run-scoring singles by Carrasco and Cumberland.
The River Bandits narrowed the deficit to 3-1, when Pete Kozma drove a pitch from Teague over the 16-foot-high wall in left field for his first home run of the season with one out and the bases empty in the top of the third inning. The game got even closer in the top of the seventh, when singles by Matthew Arburr and Beau Riportella, along with a double by Folli, produced another Quad Cities run, and closing their deficit to 3-2.
Fort Wayne got that run back in their half of the seventh, on a bases-loaded walk issued to Cumberland by River Bandit reliever Cardoza Tucker; and then put the game out of reach, when Carrasco belted a Tucker pitch over the wall in right-centerfield for his first home run as a Wizard, scoring Baum and Brad Chalk in front of him, and upping the lead to 7-2, in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Teague (1-1), who allowed one run on four hits, walked two, and struck out one in five innings on the mound, gained the victory.
Eager (0-1), who gave up three runs on four hits in three innings of work, suffered the loss.
The victory improved Fort Wayne's overall record to 5-10.
They'll try to make it two wins in a row over the River Bandits, when the two teams meet again on Saturday afternoon.
The starting pitchers are expected to be left-handers Geoff Vandel (0-0, 7.15) of the Wizards and J.D. Stambaugh (1-1, 5.91) of Quad Cities. The game can be heard on both the radio (ESPN Radio 1380) and the Internet (www.fortwaynewizards.com), beginning with the Hupe Insurance Services Pre-Game Show at 3:40 p.m. (EDT).
• Discuss this story on the Midwest League message board...
Midwest League Stories from April 18, 2008
- Kernels break out with 9-1 win over Silver Hawks - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Snappers Claim Rain Shortened Contest - Beloit Sky Carp
- Wizards win 7-2 - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Wizards win 7-2 - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Chiefs Start Michigan Six-Pack with 7-4 Loss - Peoria Chiefs
- Snappers, Weather Stop Rattlers - Beloit Sky Carp
- Johnson Leads Loons to Victory - Great Lakes Loons
- Dragons Lose 7-2 to Clinton on Friday - Dayton Dragons
- Bees Win First Road Game of Season - Burlington Bees
- Granderson Goes 2-4 with a Triple; 'Caps shutout, 3-0 - West Michigan Whitecaps
- Lugnuts squander early lead in 7-4 loss - Lansing Lugnuts
- Cougars Bolt Past Lugnuts - Kane County Cougars
- No Payne, No Gain - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Loons Transaction: Garabedian To DL; Lopez Activated - Great Lakes Loons
- Chiefs Add Top Prospect Vitters - Peoria Chiefs
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.
