Galaxy Gas 2059.19 - Stars Sweep the Black Sox

[DugoutDesperado]

The Stars dipped their toes into the waters known as the Heartland Division of the Frick League and it appeared to be just what the doctor ordered as Valencia delighted the hometown fans with a four-game sweep of the Chicago Black Sox.

The first game of the series saw the Stars starting the series with a record of 19-24 while the Black Sox were coming in at 19-23. The Sox struck first in the series opener in the top of the 3rd inning with a RBI single by 1B Jorge Gutierrez as he hit a two-out 3-2 pitch to shallow left field. Valencia answered with a run of its own in the home half of the 4th inning. Qadir bin Gamal hit a one-out double and then was driven in by Miller Shed.

Things stayed the same until the bottom of the 8th. Once again the mischief started with a one-out double, this time by 2B Carlos Schumann. Kenny Blackwell followed with a RBI single to right-center field. Qadir then hit for extra bases the second time in the night by blasting a 2-run shot over the left-field fence.

Greg Jackson (2-1) gained the win in relief by pitching 3 scoreless innings and Martin Roman got his 13th save by pitching a perfect 9th inning.

In game 2 the fireworks began early with Chicago scoring two runs in the first courtesy of a Jorge Gutierrez home run.
Valencia came roaring back in the bottom of the first inning by scoring 3 runs on a RBI single by 2B Miller Shed and a 2-run homer by DH Mark Kimball.

Valencia added a run in the 3rd with Mark Kimball’s second dinger of the night and in the 5th on Qadir bin Gamal’s RBI single.

The Sox edged closer in the top of the 6th by adding a run with a solo shot off the bat of Jeremy Starks, but Valencia scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 6th to close out the scoring 8-3. The offense in the home half of the 6th was from another Miller Shed RBI single capped off by Mark Kimball’s third home run of the night.

Ruben Vazquez (3-5) garnered the victory by allowing 3 runs over 7.1 innings of work.

In the third game of the series, the scoreboard was silent until the Stars scored in the bottom of the 6th inning on a Kenny Blackwell lead-off triple followed by a Miller Shed sacrifice fly. Valencia added another run in the 8th to account for the rest of the scoring of 2-0 on a Carlos Schumann RBI single.

Stars’ starter Adam Hines (4-4) pitched 7 shut-out innings while Martin Roman notched his 14th save by pitching a scoreless 9th.

In the series finale, Valencia held onto a 1-0 lead going into the 7th inning. Pedro Rosales hit a 2 run homer but the lead would be short-lived as Carlos Schumann, Sterling Kennedy and Tyler Conklin hit three consecutive doubles that resulted in two runs. The Stars added 2 more runs in the 8th with a Mark Kimball RBI single and a Vincente Rivera home run.

Lindsay Barber (2-2) was credited with the win after blowing the save and Martin Roman got his 15th save on the season.