May 10, 2012
Game of the Day: Little Rock at Birmingham
The Birmingham Gorillas charged back late from a 10-run deficit in an offensive battle to overpower Little Rock 16-15. The Gorillas (7-3) have now won five games in a row, while the Razorbacks (3-7) continue their six-game spiral.
Birmingham player-coach Ricardo Ramos was named the game MVP as well as PASS Player of the Day. He went 4 for 5 on the day with two home runs, five RBI, four runs, and a walk.
“I didn’t know I still had it in me to have a game like today,” Ramos said. “We had a great one-two punch day in our Little Rock series.”
In yesterday’s game, Birmingham beat Little Rock 14-6, giving the Gorillas 30 runs in two games.
The Razorbacks started the scoring in the top of the first inning. Jimmy Weese hit a two-out double to score Lindsay Wilson.
Birmingham immediately answered in the bottom of the inning. After Chase Nelson reached on an error with two outs, Ramos hit his first home run of the day to make it 2-1 after one inning.
Little Rock started building a solid lead in the third inning. Ron Tinker led off with a single, followed by consecutive doubles by Wilson and George Ellis. Ellis’ double scored two runs to make it 3-2 in favor of the Razorbacks. With one out, Weese homered to make it 5-2.
The Razorbacks scored four more runs in the fourth thanks to a barrage of extra base hits. John Hubbard led off with a single. After a Phil Jones double, Tinker doubled in two runs. Wilson followed with an RBI triple to give the Razorbacks an 8-2 advantage. Ellis then doubled in Wilson for the final run of the inning.
In the fifth, Little Rock was looking to blow out the Gorillas. After two quick outs, the Razorbacks found their bats again. Jones doubled, followed by singles by Tinker and Wilson to score Jones. Ellis then hit a two-RBI double to give Little Rock a 12-2 lead.
Birmingham finally found an answer in the bottom of the inning. Leslie Williamson led off with a single, followed by a one-out home run by Ramos to cut the Little Rock lead to 12-4 after five innings.
The Gorillas chipped away at the lead again in the seventh inning. Williamson and Chase Nelson hit back-to-back singles, followed by a Ramos walk to load the bases. That’s when Frank Thomas hit a grand slam home run to cut the lead to 12-8.
Little Rock found an answer in the eighth. Ellis led off with a single, followed by a Nick McKinney double. Weese then hit a sacrifice fly to score Ellis. With two outs and the bases loaded, Ronald Malone hit a two-RBI single to give the Razorbacks a 15-8 lead.
But Birmingham was looking to strike big. And they did just that in the bottom of the eighth. After Jeff Gilbert reached on an error, Mark Benson doubled him in. With one out, Williamson singled in Benson to cut the Razorbacks lead to 15-10. After Nelson reached on a walk, Ramos singled in Williamson. With two outs, Burns walked to load the bases and Fred Garcia singled to score Nelson and make the score 15-12. Eric McClain then his a two-RBI single, followed by an RBI single by Benson to tie the score, 15-15. Bennett flew out to end the inning.
After Little Rock failed to score in the ninth, Birmingham found its winning way in the bottom of the inning. Williamson and Nelson singled to lead off. Ramos hit into a double play, ruining his perfect day up to that point. After Thomas walked, Burns singled in Williamson to win the game 16-15.
“That was a heart stabber game,” Little Rock player-coach Hubbard said. “How in tarnation do you go up by 10 runs and just blow it? Back to the drawing board, I reckon.”
Players of the Game:
Ricardo Ramos, Birmingham, 4-5, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 4 R, BB
George Ellis, Little Rock, 5-6, 3 2B, 5 RBI, 2 R
Frank Thomas, Birmingham, 2-5, GS, 4 RBI, R, BB
Leslie Williamson, Birmingham, 4-6, RBI, 4 R
Ron Tinker, Little Rock, 5-6, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, 3 R
Jimmy Weese, Little Rock, 2-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB