|
Reds lose classic pitching duel |
|
Written by Staff Reports
|
|
Friday, 16 May 2008 |
The Sweetwater Reds and Abilene Royals hooked up in a Senior League game Tuesday at Abilene South and the result was a classic pitching duel between two lefties. Kristopher Mayes of the Reds pitched brilliantly, but Jacob Martinez of the Royals was even better as the Royals squeezed out a 2-0 win.
Mayes gave up five hits in a seven-inning complete game effort, yielding just two unearned runs. He struck out nine and walked one. However, Martinez allowed only three hits while striking out 10 in six innings with two walks and two hit batters.
Unfortunately for the Reds, they stranded 10 runners as the Royals were able to keep the Reds off the scoreboard.
Jason Vause, Tanner Crain and Justin Gon-zalez hit safely, but Sweetwater was shut out for the first time this year. Crain also just missed a home run as he launched a double to the left-centerfield fence, only to be stranded when a close call went against the Reds. Con-nor Stafford was called out at first on a close play as Crain crossed the plate to no avail.
Finally, in the seventh inning with two outs and Gonzalez at first, Kyle Howard was robbed of extra bases to end the game when Martinez , who was relieved in the final frame, made a beautiful layout catch in centerfield to preserve the shutout.
The Reds (3-2) go back to Abilene South to play the Abilene White Sox at 8 p.m. Friday. Coaches Scott Vause and Wes Stafford will again count on a quality start by a mostly 15-year-old pitching staff in a league of 15- and 16-year-olds. The Reds have had five quality starts in a row with the trio of Cameron Fox, Connor Stafford and Kristopher Mayes while Larry Daniel has two saves in the three wins.
Offensively, Vause has tied Jordan Torres for the team lead with five hits, while Josh Pepper has a team high .700 on-base percentage. Stafford and Mayes lead all pitchers with ERAs of 2.21 and 2.49, respectively.
|
|
Last Updated ( Saturday, 17 May 2008 )
|
