AirHogs Cannot Take Advantage of Wildness
The Grand Prairie AirHogs mustered just three hits on Tuesday night, but were issued 10 walks and a hit batter. However, the Shreveport-Bossier Captains pitching staff did enough to hold the AirHogs down, as they beat Grand Prairie 5-4 at Fair Grounds Field in the opener of their three-game series
The AirHogs (42-25) took the lead when Osvaldo Rodriguez was wild in the second inning. The Captains starter walked John Alonso, hit Zane Chavez and walked Guillermo Martinez to load the bases with one out, and Tyler Henley's single gave Grand Prairie a 1-0 advantage. However, the next two batters could not add to the AirHogs' lead, and the Captains 32-36) quickly erased it.
Lance Janke (2-2) walked Brian Peterson to start the second, and after Uriak Marquez singled and Mike Provencher bunted the runners over. Alex Cowart singled one in to tie the game, and after a walk to John Johnson, Robert Perry's two-run single up the middle gave Shreveport-Bossier the lead.
Uriak Marquez added a run with a solo homer in the third, and Brian Peterson's bunt single in the fifth made it 5-1.
Grand Prairie had a great chance to get back into the game in the fifth, with the bases loaded and one out, after Rodriguez was pulled from the game. But Jose Velazquez got Cesar Nicolas to hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. The AirHogs did get two back in the bottom of the sixth as Henley greeted Lee Henry with a two-run single to make it 5-3, but Henry got David Thomas to fly out to end the inning.
The Captains threatened with a double and a single sandwiched around a flyout in the sixth, but lefty Jason Moody relieved Janke by striking out Perry and Kyle Gunderson got a pop-out from Bryan Sabatella to end the inning.
In the seventh, Henry walked the first two hitters before a bunt by Jake Taylor and a sacrifice fly by John Alonso brought the AirHogs to within one. But that was the last baserunner Grand Prairie would get, as Jameson Maj (3-3) pitched two innings and Mark Haynes closed out the AirHogs in order for his fourth save.
