East Texas Pump Jacks
FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
East Texas Pump Jacks fans saw something Wednesday night that they hope becomes more common in this final homestand and next week’s playoffs: A dramatic Pump Jacks win.
The Jacks beat the first-place McKinney Marshals, 3-2, when they pressured home an unearned run in the bottom of the eleventh inning. The win was the team’s fifth in six extra inning games this season and it halted a three-game losing skid.
More importantly, it kept alive the Pump Jacks’ hopes of finishing the regular season in second place and grabbing home field advantage for the first round of the playoffs. The Jacks are just two games behind the Coppell Copperheads for second place with four games remaining. Coppell will visit Driller Park for the final two games of the regular season Saturday and Sunday, and second place may be on the line. East Texas hosts the last-place Brazos Valley Bombers the next two nights, while the Copperheads host the Marshals.
The script on Wednesday night was similar to Tuesday night’s McKinney win over the Jacks: East Texas grabbed an early lead, then the Marshals tied the game in the middle innings. On Wednesday, though, it was the Pump Jacks that had the last laugh.
Paige Hodges opened the home half of the eleventh by working a full count and earning a walk. Pat McCrory delivered a bunt single to move Hodges into scoring position. Garrett Smith dropped down a bunt of his own and hustled down the line, forcing McKinney reliever Ryan Doyle to make a wild throw to first. As the ball rolled down the right field line, Hodges trotted home with the winning run.
Hits were few and far between Wednesday night; the two teams combined for just ten hits in eleven innings, six of them by the Pump Jacks.
East Texas starting pitcher Bryan Dixon helped keep the hit totals to a minimum. Dixon held the Marshals hitless until the fourth and allowed only three hits in 6 1/3 innings pitched. He gave up two runs, only one of them earned, with two walks and four strikeouts.
While Dixon was keeping McKinney off the scoreboard, the Pump Jacks managed a few early runs – with the help of a fresh face in the lineup. Brad Hawn, a freshman catcher out of Curry College, is one of three new players added to the roster before Monday night’s league transaction deadline. Despite being only a freshman, the California native started 38 of Curry’s 39 games, batting .294 for the Colonels.
Hawn led off the third inning for his first plate appearance in a Pump Jacks uniform, earning a walk. He moved up to second and then third on a pair of wild pitches. Keen Duke followed with a walk. McCrory dropped down a sacrifice bunt that advanced Duke to second, but left Hawn still at third. One batter later, Mat Curry lined a two-out single to left that scored both Hawn and Duke to give the Jacks a 2-0 lead.
The Pump Jacks held on to that lead into the sixth, when McKinney tied the game. After an error and a hitter reaching base on a passed ball following a strikeout, Dixon surrendered a two-out double that evened the score at two apiece.
The Marshals threatened again in the seventh, putting two runners aboard with one out. Dixon gave way to Kory Cleveland, who struck out a pair to end the threat.
In the eighth, a hit batter, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly put McKinney 90 feet from taking the lead. Head coach Stan Phelps turned to the towering Luke Burnett to get Cleveland out of the jam. Burnett retired one batter on a harmless foul pop, then picked up a strikeout to end the inning. Burnett added a scoreless ninth as well, only allowing a single.
The Jacks threatened throughout the later innings. They stranded runners in the seventh, eighth, and ninth, including leaving Josh Riley at second in the ninth inning after a leadoff double. In the tenth, Curry had a chance with runners at first and second and one out, before he bounced into an inning-ending double play.
When the game reached extra innings, it was in the hands of reliever Aaron Wilkerson – and he handled the pressure with aplomb. Wilkerson (4-2) tossed two hitless innings, walking one batter and striking out two, to earn the win.
Riley and Smith each picked up two hits to lead the East Texas offense. Andrew Nettune returned to the lineup with a single, and Curry added his two-run single to round out the offense.
The Jacks continue the final homestand of the regular season with a pair of games against Brazos Valley – as well as two fan-favorite promotions. Thursday is Thirsty Thursday, featuring draft beers for just one dollar and 50-cent soft drinks all night long. That’s right: 50 cents gets a cool Coca-Cola or Dr. Pepper, and it’s only one dollar for an ice-cold draft beer, only on Thirsty Thursday.
Friday night is the final Fireworks Friday of the regular season. The first three post-game have lit up the East Texas sky and drawn rave reviews from fans. This is the last chance to catch a fireworks show in the area until quite possibly next summer, so don’t miss the chance to enjoy Fireworks Friday. And log on to pumpjacksbaseball.com to vote for the theme of this Friday’s unique soundtrack!
Saturday welcomes the Coppell Copperheads in a possible playoff preview – as well as a great new giveaway. The Pump Jacks will be giving away keepsake posters commemorating the team’s inaugural season and its players in a stylish collage of action photos. Posters will be given to the first 750 fans through the Driller Park gates, so fans are encouraged to arrive early.
Sunday, the final home game of the regular season, will be yet another Pump Jacks Family Night, the best deal for food and entertainment in East Texas. A family of four can get grandstand tickets for $12 – that’s up to 40% off! For $13 more, add a meal package consisting of a hot dog, chips, and a drink for everyone in the party. That’s four tickets for $12, or four tickets and four meals for $25, for the final game of the regular season.
Although the playoff seeding is still taking shape, it’s clear the postseason will open on August 5. If the Jacks remain in third place, Game One of the first round will take place at Driller Park. Season ticket holders may purchase a ticket package for all possible playoff games by contacting the Pump Jacks office. Playoff tickets will go on sale to the general public this weekend.
Fans may purchase tickets at the Pump Jacks office at 1100 Stone Road, Suite 120, in Kilgore, or over the phone at (903) 218-GO ET. Tickets may also be purchased online – and printed at home on any home printer – by visiting www.pumpjacksbaseball.com.
Single-game tickets start at $5 each – or $4 for children and seniors – for grandstand general admission tickets. Upper Box seats are $8 each, and Lower Box seats, which feature in-your-seat wait service, are only $10 per ticket.
Dustin Rasco records his 9th save of the season to tie the TCL save record.
Bryan-College Station, TX (July 30, 2008) –
With the crowd clapping and on their feet, Dustin Rasco came in for the ninth inning and finished the off the Coppell Copperheads to collect his TCL record-tying 9th save. The Bombers took the lead in the eighth inning on Taylor Zambreski’s sacrifice fly and held the lead to pick up the win.
The Bombers scored in the second inning on Trey Sperring’s RBI single that knocked in Danny Hernandez. The RBI was his 18th of the season and gave the Bombers the 1-0 lead. The Bombers added another run in the fourth inning on Freddy Carmona’s double that scored Zambreski. Michael Pair finally got the Copperheads on the board in the bottom half of the fourth, as he drove Jacob Liedka’s pitch over the left field fence for a home run.
Danny Hernandez provided a clutch RBI Double in the fifth inning to extend the lead to 3-1. The two-out knock scored Nick Anders and gave the Bombers the two run lead, but Coppell scored two runs in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game off Steve Horlacher. Horlacher, making his debut for the Bombers, struck out the side in the inning, but gave up a two-run single to Andrew Prince with two outs in the inning.
Anders and Hernandez began the bottom of the eighth inning with singles and advanced on Cliff Vaughn’s sacrifice bunt. Zambreski followed by driving the first pitch into center field, deep enough to allow Anders to score on the sacrifice fly and give the Bombers the 4-3 lead.
