Blue Sox beat Express 10-1, Tigers, Lightning split in doubleheader.
By SHLOMO SPRUNGBaseball Tigers 298.88(photo credit: Efrat Sa'ar)
Willis Bumphus hit two home runs and drove in four, and a five-run fifth inning guided the Petach Tikva Pioneers to a 7-1 victory over the Modi'in Miracle on Wednesday at Gezer.
Ryan Crotin also had a big game, going 3-4 with a run driven in and two runs scored.
The game was scoreless until the fourth, when Bumphus hit his first homer of the game, a solo shot.
The Miracle allowed in five runs in the fifth due to fielding mistakes. Eladio Rodriguez made a throwing error to keep the inning alive, and an il-advised throw to the plate allowed the first run to score.
Crotin then hit an RBI single, which was followed by Bumphus' second homer, scoring three runs.
Modi'in got their offense going in the 6th on a home run by Aaron Levin, but it was too little, too late. Petach Tikva added another run in the 7th on a wild pitch to close out the scoring.
Pioneers starter Andrew Morales (1-3) went the distance, allowing one run on four hits, while striking out five and walking only one batter.
Miracle starter Matt Bennett (4-1) had his curveball working very well threw the first few innings, but his pitch location faltered as game went by and was tagged with the loss.
He gave up six runs on five hits in as many innings, and struck out four.
Blue Sox 10, Express 1
The Beit Shemesh Blue Sox held onto their lead and remained in first place with a 10-1 win over the Ra'anana Express. The star of the game was a a dominating pitching performance from Sacramento, California native Rafael Bergstrom.
Bergstrom earned his fifth win with a complete game two-hitter. He gave up only one run first inning and then went on to cruise the rest of the way. Bergstrom shut down the Express strike out six batters while walking two.
Tigers 7, Lightning 3
(1st game)
Lightning 12, Tigers 1
(2nd game)
The Tel Aviv Lighting and the Netanya Tigers split a doubleheader in Tel Aviv as the Lighting lost the first game 7-3 to end a four-game winning streak.
Tigers lefty Mike Kerfeld got the win with five innings of work, giving up two earned runs on five hits while striking out five and walking seven. First baseman Ty Eriksen led the Netanya offense going 3-for-3 game, knocking in a run and scoring two.
The Lightning came back to win the second game 12-1 before it was called due to darkness after six innings. Dan Rothem of Tel Aviv pitched all six innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out four and walking two. Tel Aviv ace Aaron Pribble took a day off from pitching to play first base and went 3-for-4 with a homerun and five RBI. Rightfielder Jeff Hastings scored three runs while going 4-for-4 to raise his average to .328.
The win puts Tel Aviv one game out of first place
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