Team wastes 2HR, 6 RBI night by Pitcher Frank Flores
By: JMU, Staff Writer
July 6, 2010
Fullerton, California.
Looking to bounce back from last week’s drubbing at the hands of the Wheelchair Bandits, the Monkeys took the field Tuesday evening with a renewed sense of purpose. “That beating we took in the season opener is not the way we wanted to kick off the summer campaign,” remarked team Manager John Upton. “I think the team was still a bit drained, emotionally and physically, from the spring playoffs and we just weren’t ready to play. We had higher expectations for tonight’s game”
While the team looked better against the Hackers, the Monkeys still have some work to do to get back into playoff-contention form.
The game started out in promising fashion, with the Monkeys sending 10 men to the plate and scoring six runs in the top of the first inning, but when Hackers roared back with 8 runs of their own in the bottom of the first, several of which were directly attributable to porous Monkey defense, the team knew it would be in for a struggle.
“The Hackers are a quality organization and hit the ball well,” remarked Upton. “They might not hit with a great deal of power, but they take their walks and base hits, and if you give them extra outs in the field, as we did tonight, they will make you pay.”
The Monkeys seemed to gather themselves defensively following that shaky start and held the Hackers to just two runs over the next two innings. Offensively, the Monkeys began chipping away at the lead and after three innings, the score was knotted up at 10.
The fourth inning was the turning point in the game. The Monkeys had the opportunity to take the lead in the top of frame, but were set down in order. The failure to score seemed to unnerve them, which led to several errors in the bottom of the fourth, and by the time they trotted off the field at the end of the inning, they were looking at a seven run deficit. The Monkeys managed to score a couple of runs in the top of the fifth, but the defense did not improve and they surrendered another 8 runs in the bottom of that inning, essentially putting the game out of reach. As time expired in the middle of the sixth, the Monkeys were forced to accept their second straight defeat.
“This may sound strange coming off of a 10 run loss, but I truly believe that this was a winnable game for us,” said Upton. “We hit the ball pretty well tonight, and had we played better defensively, we would have held them to half the number of runs. We need to work on our fundamentals, make smarter plays out there in the field, and I guarantee you will be seeing different results on the scoreboard.”
Leading the way offensively for the Monkeys was pitcher Frank Flores, who smacked two line-drive three-run home runs. Daniel Quinones notched three hits and Brain Castaneda launched a three run triple down the right field line.
Monkey Notes:
The Monkeys welcomed several new players into the fold on Tuesday night. Jon Hampe, acquired off of the free agent wire, played third base and Kevin McGlensey covered second base. In addition, Brian Castaneda, who started the season with the Monkeys, played right field.
Matt Beighley and John Maresca were out of the lineup on vacation. Beighley is expected back for the July 13 game vs. the Slumpbusters, but Maresca is not expected back until the 27th.
The Monkeys announced the acquisition of utility player Ryan Dorigan, who is expected to make his Monkeys debut July 13.
Next Game: July 13, 2010. 9:15 pm, Lemon Park.. Slumpbusters at Monkeys. Pocket schedules will be made available to all fans in attendance.
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