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Game of the Week: D1 Los Angeles Angels at Seattle Steelheads, May 26, 2039
Angels Hold On To First With Big Day From Young Stars
The future is bright in Los Angeles. 26 year old Alex Turner threw 6 ⅔ strong innings to hold the powerful Seattle lineup down, while rookie Brian Weisman and fellow rising stars Frank Mozo and Ryan Haymes added key hits to defeat the Steelheads 5-1 on Thursday, maintaining LA’s slim lead over Monterrey in the D1 West.
The Angels did most of their hitting in the early innings, scoring one each in the first four innings and adding a final run in the seventh. Brian Weisman bookended the scoring, homering with two outs in the first to put LA up, and delivering a two-out knockout blow in the seventh to complete Angel scoring at 5-1. He also doubled in the team’s third run of the game. The 23 year old Weisman is a clear early favorite for D1 Rookie of the Year, and could contend for MVP votes: he’s hitting .338/.372/.623 with 9 homers on the season, and while one can criticize his patience - something he is working on with hitting coach Khalil McIntosh - there are few other holes in his game despite his young age.
Beyond Weisman’s heroics, RF Jake Baldwin added another solo shot in the top of the second to make it 2-0 Angels before the Steelheads managed their only run off Turner, as Seattle CF Frank Gonzales homered to lead off the bottom of the same inning. A leadoff walk to Frank Mozo in the third led to Weisman’s RBI double to make it 3-1, and D4 BA leader Ryan Haymes (26) singled in catcher Danny Cadavid to make it 4-1 in the fourth. And that was all they needed, though Weisman’s second homer pushed it to 5-1. Turner lasted into the seventh, striking out six while allowing seven hits and walking two. The Angels, one of the NABF’s most storied franchises, may be about to start a new chapter.
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