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Islandian Pro Alliance
Monday, July 16, 2001
Ruthlandian Union - South Division
Marston Wins 4th Straight, Ledbetter Wins 12th
It was Casey Ledbetter's best game in a month and Marston really needed it. Ledbetter came through with his 12th win of the season to nip Waleska 2-1 at Legends Field. He had lost his last three decisions. The Nine have won their last four games. Ledbetter (12-5 3.38) held the Westerners to just four hits and fanned 11. He had a worthy opponent in Rusty Kraft (6-10 4.39), who also pitched a complete game, checking the hard-hitting Nine on eight hits, fanning six and walking two. Waleska took the lead in the second inning 1-0 on back-to-back doubles by Mac Wilkins (.202) and left fielder Jimmie McNeil (.222). Center fielder Tommy Reinhold (.311) knotted the score in the fifth with his 8th home run of the year. Marston got the game-winner in the sixth when third baseman Roland Thomas (.362) doubled, advanced to third on a ground out, then raced home on a wild pitch. Thomas led all hitters with three hits, two of them doubles. Waleska has dropped four games in a row.
Marston (51-39) is the top club in the RU South and has a 7.5-game lead over fourth place Waleska(44-47).
Lumberjacks Edge Rattlers 4-3
Two of the best teams in the RU South battled at Riverside Stadium in Forest City today. The second-place Lumberjacks were playing host to the third place team, the Sugar Valley Rattlers. When the dust cleared on the diamond, Forest City squeaked by with a 4-3 victory over Sugar Valley. Third baseman Jesse Pearson (.275) was the hero with a two-run eighth-inning single that paced the Lumberjacks late-inning comeback victory. Relief specialist Timmy Brooks (4-3 1.42) dominated the Rattlers over the last two frames and got the win. Brooks fanned three and gave up a hit in his two-inng stint. Harvey Hines (8-7 3.76) went the route for Sugar Valley and suffered the setback. Both clubs had 10 hits each. The 'Jacks other two scores were provided by right fielder Benny Davis (.271) and first sacker J. T. Edmonds in the sixth frame. Davis had an RBI double and Edmonds an RBI single. Rattler second baseman Rudi Oliver (.350) went 2-4 and had two RBIs. His RBI groundout supplied the first run in the first inning and his 9th homer in the third put them up 2-0, but they couldn't hold off Forest City. Oliver and center fielder Freddie Vaux (.347) teamed up for the final run in the eighth with back-to-back doubles. Herb Bahr (11-5 3.38) started and went seven innings, allowing three runs on nine hits. He departed in the eighth trailing 3-2.
Forest City (49-43) is still 3 games off the pace of the first place Marston Nine (51-39) and Sugar Valley (45-45) is third in the division, trailing by 6.
Sunbirds Slam Diamonds 11-2
On the road in Claxton, Belair Beach slammed the Diamonds 11-2 with a 14-hit attack and Carl Thompson's 6-hit pitching. Thompson (11-8 2.47) won his third consecutive decision with 11 strikeouts and 6 walks. The Belair Beach batting stars were second baseman Rick Sullivan (.267) with three RBIs, shortstop Alex Frisard (.229) with three RBIs, third baseman Dom Corbelli (.271) with two RBIs and right fielder Matty McDermott (.338) with a pair of runs driven in. It was a tight game for the first seven innings with the Sunbirds holding a 3-1 lead. Belair Beach added two in the eighth off starter Johnny Szwak (9-4 3.86) and then really went to town on the Claxton relief corps, pounding them for six runs in the ninth. Szwak took the loss.
Belair Beach (41-50) has run off a 7-3 mark in its last 10 games and are 10.5 games behind in last place in the division standings, while Claxton (43-49) is in the fifth spot and 9 games out.
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