RGV Capsules: De Leon, Navy beat Orange in Game 1 of Scorpions' Series
Game 1 pf the The 2011 Scorpions Fall World Series in the books, and thanks to a great starting effort by junior lefty Marcos De Leon, Navy beat Orange 5-3 on Monday at Scorpion Field.
The series continues with a single game at 3 p.m. Wednesday. A doubleheader is scheduled at 3 p.m. Friday, and the final game of the series will be played at 11 a.m. Saturday.
De Leon threw seven innings of one-hit ball while striking out seven. On the Orange side, starting right-hander Rory Young also pitched well, going six innings and allowing two runs on five hits while striking out seven.
Through the first four innings, both starting pitchers were dominant, allowing a total of four combined base runners. It wasn't until the bottom of the fifth that Navy scored two runs on three hits.
Rick Alanis and Joel Fernandez led the off the inning with back-to-back singles. After a fly out to center field Jeff Allen singled through the right side to score Alanis. The second run scored on a bobbled ball at second base hit by Zach Cordia.
Orange got on the board in the eighth as Peter Maldonado drew a two-out walk off Navy reliever Sam Buchanan. He was then doubled home by freshman Caleb Parisher.
Navy answered quickly with three runs in the bottom half of the inning off Orange reliever Adam Vera. Zach Cordia singled, stole second and scored on aggressive base running when K.J. Semien reached on a passed ball on Strike 3.
Brody Chamberlain then came in for Orange to try and get out of the jam, but Kyle Douglas (44) singled and stole second. Semien and Douglas both scored on a two-run single by Alanis to make it 5-1 after eight innings.
Orange made things interesting in the ninth off Navy closer Gerardo Reyes, though Orange was penalized one out. Colby Henscey and Justin Chavira (35) led things off with back-to-back singles and advanced 90 feet on a passed ball.
Henscey then scored on a bang-bang play at first on a ground ball to short by Trey Williams. Robert Mariscal reached on a walk and Trey Jones singled home Matt Ginn, who was pinch-running for Chavira. Reyes ended the game by getting a strikeout to seal the win.
Basketball
Notebook: Energy returning to Hidalgo
The last time the Iowa Energy set foot at State Farm Arena, they walked away with a 123-106 victory over the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in Game 1 of their NBA Development League Finals series. The Energy won the best-of-three series over the Vipers in three games to claim the league title last April.
The Energy makes their first appearance since that Game 1 on Wednesday when the play the Vipers during the annual “kids day” game at 10:30 a.m.
The biggest difference for the Energy? The coach that led them to the title is now coaching the Vipers.
Nick Nurse in his in first season with the Vipers after leading the Energy to the championship last season. Nurse, an Iowa native, coached the Energy for four seasons and led them to the playoffs for three of those years.
Wednesday will mark the first time he’s faced his former team.
“It’s going to be funny seeing the purple uniforms and be coaching against them,” Nurse said of Iowa. “But, I just want to coach my team and get them to the best start possible.”
So far, so good for Nurse. The Vipers enter the game 2-0 after sweeping Erie at home on Friday and Saturday. The Vipers play Iowa again at 7 p.m. Thursday.
GLAD TO BE BACK: Vipers guard Terrel Harris returned to the Rio Grande Valley this season after he was released by the German team, EnBW Ludwigsburg after six games. Harris averaged 2.5 points and 2.5 rebounds while he was there.
Harris said he never felt like he fit in with the team. He added that he decided to return to the Vipers after exploring several other options.
“It’s a different world and a different ballgame,” Harris said of playing in Germany.
Harris signed with the team late and missed training camp. He thought that played a factor in his struggles there.
Harris said a lot of his motivation for returning was to come back to the Vipers to prove himself, especially to Nurse. Harris didn’t think he played well in the Finals series against Nurse’s Iowa Energy last season.
“I’m still a little mad that we lost to him,” Harris said. “He did beat us so he obviously knows what he’s talking about. I didn’t play as well as I wanted, and that’s still on my mind.
In his first two games this season, Harris has provided the spark on the defensive end that Nurse wanted. He is ranked third in the league in steals with 3.5 per game.
SAM’S THE MAN (SO FAR): The Vipers’ rookie 6-10 center Sam Coleman has been on the mark in his first two games as a professional. Coleman, a Coppin State product, has made 11 of 14 shots from the field and is averaging 16.5 points.
Coleman last played at Coppin State during the 2009-10 season in which he averaged 7.5 points and 5.8 rebounds. He said he didn’t play last year because he tore his ACL. He made this year’s Vipers squad via tryout.
Coleman scored 15 points and had a team-high nine rebounds in his pro debut, a 122-113 victory over Erie on Friday.
“I had a lot of mixed emotions,” Coleman said Friday after playing his first game. “I had to maintain my composure and keep the excitement under control.”
David Hinojosa covers the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442 or via email at dhinojosa@themonitor.com
Hockey
Notebook: Bees emerge from Arizona adventure bonded
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees coach Terry Ruskowski is fond of saying that long road trips can help a team bond. He’s also said that fights and scrums can bring a team together.
If that’s true, the Bees should be pretty tight after their weekend trip to Arizona.
The Bees spent more than 50 hours together on a bus during their sojourn from Hidalgo to Prescott Valley, Ariz. and back to face the Sundogs. When they got to Arizona they played the Sundogs twice, splitting a two-game series and getting into a wild Saturday game that saw them take 71 penalty minutes in a 2-0 victory.
Of those 71 PIMs, 32 came after the Bees’ Tomas Klempa was given a high-sticking major and game misconduct on Arizona’s Kyle Hood at the 15:17 mark of the second period. After that play, the Bees came to Klempa’s defense when the Sundogs engaged the Bees’ forward, setting off a serious of fights and skirmishes.
That response encouraged Ruskowski.
“We certainly backed each other up and we had each other’s back,” Ruskowski said. “That’s a real positive with a young team going forward.”
Along with Klempa, Bees defenseman Kyle Radke was given a game misconduct for leaving the bench. As the incident happened, Ruskowski said he was hoping none of his players got hurt or left themselves vulnerable to potential suspensions, along with seeing his players stick up for each other while staying in position to actually win the game.
No decision about potential suspensions is expected from the league until today. And if there are suspensions, they would be served over the Bees’ games this weekend — against Arizona at State Farm Arena.
“That’s definitely one of those things where you have to keep it in the back of your mind instead of on the front,” Bees goalie John Murray said.
IN RUSTY THEY TRUST: Four minutes after the fight (or series of fights, actually), Ruskowski himself was ejected by referee Mark-Andre Lavoie. Ruskowski said he disagreed with Lavoie kicking out Bees players during the first skirmish and leaving them shorthanded. That frustration bubbled over when Ruskowski actually spoke to Lavoie later in the period, leading to the ejection.
“There’s times where, as a coach, you have to back your players up, to know that I’m with them. That I’m not against them, I’m with them and I support what they’re doing,” Ruskowski said. “Even if sometimes it’s questionable what they’re doing is right and wrong, I still have to back them up. They’re my team. I have to back my players up.”
Without Ruskowski and an assistant coach, the Bees’ bench was run by veteran equipment manager Rusty Aldridge. Aldridge has worked with Ruskowski before in Laredo and has experience in numerous leagues, so Ruskowski was comfortable leaving the bench in Aldridge’s command.
“He did fine. He did a real good job,” Ruskowski said. “He’s a veteran old guy and he’s been through the wars before and been through those scenarios. He was calm, cool and collected and did a pretty good job running the bench in the third period.”
Veteran defenseman Scott Balan also handled the defense with Ruskowski gone for the night.
MURRAY’S MONSTER NIGHT: On most nights, Murray’s 37-save shutout would have been the story for the Bees. On Saturday, for reasons well beyond his control, Murray’s night was overshadowed. But he was the biggest reason the Bees escaped with a 2-0 win.
Not only did Murray’s performance impress Ruskowski, but the goalie did something else after the second that left an impression on Ruskowski.
During the second intermission and the Bees staring at a penalty kill, Murray went into Ruskowski’s office and thanked him for sticking up for his players, and that they would kill the penalty off and win the game for their coach.
They did both, with Murray leading the way.
“I like that attitude. I like that attitude a lot,” Ruskowski said. “And sure enough, he just played good. The guys in front of him played very well, just killed off those penalties that we had and he just closed the door. I love his attitude. I think that’s what we need.”
Murray has also given the Bees stability and consistency in net. He’s one of four goalies to see time for the Bees this season and has emerged as one of the hottest netminders in the league, winning five of his last six decisions. His .927 save percentage is tied for fourth in the CHL.
Saturday night’s win might have been one of his more challenging. Not only did he have to help kill off six penalties, but he was also hit multiple times by the Sundogs.
Actually, he said the nature of the game helped him.
“Your emotions are so high,” Murray said. “You’re frustrated and it keeps you into the game.”
Brian Sandalow covers the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4436 or bsandalow@themonitor.com.
College
UTPA men beaten by UTA
ARLINGTON – In a game of runs, the University of Texas-Pan American Broncs men’s basketball team lost 92-60 to the University of Texas-Arlington Mavericks on Monday at Texas Hall.
Kevin Butler had two steals, two layups and a 3-pointer to propel the Mavericks (4-2) to an 11-2 run over the first 2:41 of the game. Jared Maree broke the run with a layup and Ruben Cabrera hit a 3-pointer to bring the Broncs (2-6) within 11-7.
The Mavericks responded with a 10-2 run to go up 21-9 on Jorge Redmon’s 3-pointer with 14:07 remaining. Seconds later, Aaron Urbanus hit a 3-pointer to start a 16-4 run that saw the Broncs tie the game at 25 on a 3-pointer by Nick Weiermiller with 8:15 to go.
The Mavericks, however, scored the next 14 points while outscoring the Broncs 23-5 over the rest of the half to take a 48-30 lead.
The Mavericks opened the second half by scoring the first six points to go up 54-30. After a timeout, the Broncs went on a 17-6 run to pull within 60-47 on a 3-pointer by Urbanus with 12:32 remaining. The Mavericks, though, went on a 26-3 run over the next 9:50 to put the game out of reach.
Urbanus finished with a season-high 14 points on 5 of 11 shooting, including a season-best 4 for 8 performance from behind the arc. Cabrera also scored a season-high 14 points to go with four rebounds, three of which were offensive. Keiondre Arkwright scored a season-high 11 points.
Weiermiller scored five points with three assists while hitting 1 of 2 attempts from behind the arc. He also played 29 minutes to move into sixth place on the all-time UTPA men’s basketball list with 2,629 minutes played, passing Eric Montalvo (2,625 minutes, 2001-05) and John Braxton (2,612 minutes, 1998-2001). Weiermiller needs to play 68 more minutes to pass Melvin Thomas (1988-90) for fifth place.
Butler led all scorers with 21 points on 8 of 12 shooting while also recording a game-high five steals.
The Broncs play the third of four straight road games at 11 a.m. Saturday at No. 2 Ohio State.
-- UTPA Services
