| Pen Allows Ten Runs, Hens Win 14-11 |
| Thompson Stellar With Bat, Legs, Arm, And Glove In Defeat |
| Don Kelly hit the go-ahead three-run triple in the top of the tenth inning to spoil the IronPigs bid at a .500 winning percentage for the first time in franchise history, as Lehigh Valley fell to Toledo in game three of their four-game set by a score of 14-11 in a game which took four hours and nineteen minutes to complete. |
| With the Pigs and Hens tied 11-11 in the top of the tenth, manager Dave Huppert handed the ball to Mike Koplove (0-2) to begin the inning. Koplove, who tossed a shutout inning in yesterday’s game, allowed a leadoff single to Jeff Larish, which started the extra-inning rally for Toledo. Two batters later, with a runner on second base and one-out, a fielding error by David Newhan would prove to be costly in the inning, as just three batters later, Kelly stepped to the dish and tripled in the go-ahead runs, to put the Hens back on top, and ultimately give the team their first win against Lehigh Valley in 2009. |
| Saturday’s game, which took place in front of 8,375 fans, saw six lead changes, ten combined pitchers, and a dazzling play by Rich Thompson in center. Thompson, who finished the game 2-6 with 3 runs scored, a stolen base, and an RBI, made perhaps the greatest play in Coca-Cola Park's history. In the top of the fifth, with the Pigs trailing 3-2, the Hens were looking to do some more damage, with two men on, and nobody out. Hens DH Wilkin Ramirez hit a ball to centerfield and Thompson came up with a great catch to rob Ramirez of extra bases, and then came up with a heads-up throw from the ground to get Jason Tyner out at the plate, in an incredible double-play. |
| Pigs DH Mike Cervenak had four of the team's fourteen hits, and every starter, except David Newhan had a hit for Lehigh Valley. For Toledo, Brent Clevlen and Jeff Larish led the way. The duo combined to go 5-11 with four runs scored, a home run, and two RBI's. Matt Rusch (2-1), who came on in the eighth, tossed 2.2 shutout innings to record the win. |
| Rodrigo Lopez (1-1, 2.70) takes the ball in the finale on Sunday afternoon against the Mud Hens. Lopez, who is 65-65 in 187 games pitched at the Major League level, was solid in his last outing, as he tossed the first shutout for the IronPigs since July 3, 2008. In that outing, which took place on April 28 at PNC Field in Moosic, Lopez allowed just five hits, no walks, in five scoreless frames in a 6-0 IronPigs win. |
| On the hill for Toledo on Sunday will be RHP Eddie Bonine (0-0, 6.00). Bonine, who finished 12-4 with a 4.15 ERA in 2008 with the Hens, looks to earn his first win in 2009. Bonine, who was optioned to Toledo from Detroit on April 26, went 0-0 with a 9.00 ERA in eight innings pitched with the Tigers in 2009. |
| Matt Provence and Jon Schaeffer will have the call beginning at 1:05 p.m. with the AT&T pre-game show on the IronPigs Radio Network. The game will also be televised live along the IronPigs Television Network powered by Service Electric Cable TV & Communications. |
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