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Dustin Smith was 3 for 4 and stole 3 bases a day after a batting practice session with Hall of Fame dad Ozzie |
August 26, 2009 – Robstown, Texas – Coastal Bend grabbed control of the game early and never looked back tonight at Fairgrounds Field in Robstown. That being said it was a great game as Laredo battled and put pressure on the Thunder defense. The Thunder prevailed by a score of 7-3 on a strong pitching performance from Alejandro Martinez. Martinez (4-2) pitched seven strong innings and allowed only one earned run while striking out four. Once again, the Thunder offense was clicking on all cylinders as eight of the nine batters had at least one hit. Dustin Smith had an exceptional day at the plate. The Thunder centerfielder collected three singles and stole three bases. Carlos Rodriguez, Bryan Vickers, and Michael Lewis each had two hits apiece. The win improves the Thunder record to 35-39 in United League Baseball.
The win combined with the Rio Grandee Valley WhiteWings loss moved the Thunder into the forth and final playoff spot with 5 games remaining.
For the third time in the series, the Thunder grabbed an early lead. Dustin Smith led off the game with a single through the right side. Amadeo Zazueta moved Smith to third with a double down the right field line. Leivi Ventura drove in the first Thunder run with a line drive single over a drawn in infield. Alex Fernandez drove in Zazueta two batters later with a double to left center. Carlos Rodriguez capped off the scoring in the inning with an RBI groundout to drive in Ventura.
Laredo scratched out an unearned run in the top of the second to cut the lead to 3-1. Cardona singled and moved to third when Carlos Rodriguez misplayed a fly ball in right. The error came back to hurt the Thunder as the next batter, Andres Santos, grounded out to short but drove in Cardona.
Coastal Bend got that run back with two outs in the bottom of the third. Carlos Rodriguez belted a doubled down the left field line and Bryan Vickers drove him in with an RBI single to give the Thunder a 4-1 advantage.
Another Thunder error led to another unearned run for the Broncos in the top of the fourth. Alejandro Martinez of Laredo led off the inning with a double and scored when Amadeo Zazueta’s throw ended up in the Laredo dugout.
Laredo cut the Thunder lead to one in the top of the fifth. Following being hit by a pitch, Luis Ugueto scored on a Jaime Morales triple that proved to be just out of reach for Dustin Smith who just missed making a spectacular play with a diving effort.
The Thunder responded in the bottom of the fifth with three runs on four hits. Manny Mejia smacked a leadoff double to left center and moved to third on an Alex Fernandez groundout. Carlos Rodriguez followed with a single to drive in Mejia and gave the Thunder a 5-3 lead. After a Vickers reached on a single and Villaescusa reached on a fielder’s choice, Michael Lewis smacked a double down the right field line to drive in both Vickers and Villaescusa and give the Thunder a 7-3 lead.
Coastal Bend and Laredo will meet for game four Thursday at 7:05 as the Thunder look to sweep the series. It's Thirsty Thurday and the final regular season home game. Drafts will be $1.00 all night with a special after game concert with Clarissa Serna at the Thunder Alley Sports Bar Pavilion.
