[Eugene Church]

Islandian Pro Alliance

Tueday, June 26, 2001

Ruthlandian Union - South Division

Marston Shocks Sunbirds Again
Lightning never strikes twice in the same place, except at Legends Field in Marston. The Nine shocked Belair Beach again for the second day in a row with a ninth-inning home run to win the game 6-5. Right fielder Chris Deangelo (.288) hammered a three-run rip to win Marston's 7th game in succession and gave the Sunbirds a sixth straight defeat. Belair Beach starter Spunky Oberlander (0-1 10.39) carried a 5-2 lead into the last of the ninth, but couldn't hold off Marston. Oberlander got the first two men out, but then the roof caved in. He gave up a single and a walk, then third baseman Roland Thomas (.345) deadlocked the score at 2-all with a single. Closer Lou Zanelli (5-4 2.92) came in from the bullpen and only made two pitches for the loss, the second one was Deangelo's 9th homer this year. Skipper Johnny Walters got some strong innings from his bullpen. Milt Wilson came on for starter Paul Azard (7-3 3.65) in the fourth with score 4-0. Wilson only gave up one unearned run over the next four frames. Jorge Bonilla (2-0 4.54) blanked Belair Beach the last two innings for the victory. The Sunbirds were led at the plate by first baseman Paul Gravelli (.318) with two hits and his 12th homer, a three-run blast in the third and right fielder Nicky Swift (.332), who scored twice and had three hits. Belair Beach held an advantage with 12 hits to the Nine 8, but stranded too many runners.

First place Marston (41-26) improved its lead over last place Belair Beach (28-41) to 14 games.

Diamonds Win 3rd Straight, Dump 'Jacks 5-2
Fifth place Claxton got another good pitching performance and dumped second place Forest City 5-2 at Riverside Stadium to register a third straight win. Righthander Tetsunori Nakashima (9-5 4.47) gave up eight hits, but pretty much kept the Lumberjacks off the scoreboard. Nakashima fanned six and walked four in completing his 6th game. Everybody in the Diamond lineup got at least one hit, including Nakashima (.188). Left fielder Dan Molnar (.273) and catcher Mike Felker (.095) swatted solo home runs to pace the 14-hit attack. First baseman Marty McCluskey (.312) led them with two RBIs. Pinchhitter Johnny Mack Butler (.247) whacked his 7th roundtripper for Forest City. Gene Stuart (6-6 4.79) got tagged with the defeat and for 13 hits, but he kept the 'Jacks in the game. They trailed only 3-1 going into the ninth.

With the setback Forest City (37-33) lost a game to first place Marston (41-26) and fell 5.5 games back. Claxton (32-38) is fifth and 10.5 games behind in the RU South race.

Haines Halts Westerners 7-1
The Sugar Valley Rattlers rattled the fences at Farmers Memorial Park for 13 hits and Paul Haines halted Waleska on six hits in the 7-1 triumph. Haines (5-4 2.87), one of the most consistent pitchers in the IPA, worked another strong game, finishing up with five Ks and only one walk. The Rattlers hammered three balls out of the park as third baseman Jorge Vargas (.344) slammed #17, a two-run salvo, and center fielder Freddie Vaux (.338) and left fielder Nick Price (.276) hit solo jobs. Vaux had three hits, while Vargas and catcher Slingshot McFall (.324) went 2-4 and batted two runs in. Price injured his knee running the bases and will be out one to two weeks. Rusty Kraft (5-7 4.28) was hit hard and suffered the loss in a route-going effort.

Third place Sugar Valley (35-33) has won the first two games of the series and fourth place Waleska (33-35) has lost its last three contests. The Rattlers trail Marston (41-26) by 6.5 games and the Westerners are 8.5 games off the pace.