Aaron Pribble leads Tel Aviv Lightning to 3-1 victory; Modi'in Miracle 3, Ra'anana Express 1.
By JERUSALEM POST SPORTS STAFFTA lightning 298.88(photo credit: )
The Beit Shemesh Blue Sox finally had its nine-game winning streak ended on Sunday night, going down 3-1 to the Tel Aviv Lightning at Yarkon Field in Petah Tikva.
Tel Aviv's Aaron Pribble earned his third victory of the season with a dominating complete game, allowing one run on four hits to go along with seven strikeouts and no walks.
Tel Aviv scored all three runs in the second inning when centerfielder Brian Langbord led off with his first career IBL home run.
Designated hitter Matt Brill also provided some offense in the inning with an RBI single that made the score 2-0 and improved his batting average to .438.
The win was Tel Aviv's fifth in a row to improve to 7-2 on the season while the Blue Sox drosp to 9-1.
Tel Aviv coach Steve Hertz was delighted with his team's performance
"It is always nice to beat an undefeated team," he said after the game. "Beit Shemesh is a very good team and we are very fortunte that Aaron Pribble pitched well and my guys hung on for the win."
Miracle 3, Express 1
Australian Matt Bennett continued his excellent start to the season, pitching a complete game two-hitter with ten strikeouts and four walks to improve to 2-0 as Modi'in defeated Ra'anana 3-1.
As has become expected, Dominican catcher Eladio Rodriguez led the Miracle offense with a 3-3 night. Rodriguez hit his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot in the sixth, as the Miracle pull within 3.5 games of the first-place Blue Sox.
Yaffi Spodek contributed to this report.