Vigurs'
clout is for naught in Silkworm loss
by Don Leypoldt
The Manchester Silkworms
have lost 22 games this summer. Few may be more frustrating than
tonight's 5-3 loss to the Lowell All-Americans.
Outfielder Tom Stack-Babich's third inning solo circuit clout
highlighted five early Lowell runs, including a three run first
frame. Starter Chandler Barnard (Lubbock,TX/ Trinity) settled
down to post two goose eggs in the fourth and fifth. Brandon
Otto (Cicero, NY/ LeMoyne) spelled him with 2 2/3rds hitless
innings of relief. But ten Lowell base runners reaching via
walk, error or hit batsmen ultimately proved too much to handle.
The Silkworms had chances too. Twice, in the sixth and seventh
innings, they had runners on first and second with no one out.
Twice, they failed to score.
Manchester got their first run in the second, when third baseman
Steven Crawford (Webster, NY/ LeMoyne) doubled, stole third and
scored on shortstop Kyle Higgins'(Green Brook, NJ/Monmouth)
single. Catcher Jeff Vigurs (South Windsor, CT/ Bryant) added to
the total in the fifth by belting a two-run homer with Higgins
on board. Vigurs had two hits on the night; Higgins had three.
The loss was highlighted by a rare defensive gem. With two on
and no one out in the bottom of the eighth, Kevin Nolan lined
out to Higgins. Higgins tagged second baseman to double up
Anthony Santos, and then threw to first baseman Anthony Russell
(Waldorf, MD/ East Tennessee State) to retire base runner Tim
Manton, who had headed for the dugout thinking that the inning
was over. In doing so, Manton helped the Worms turn a scarce
triple play.
Manchester has now lost four in a row. Tonight's game would have
been a great chance to further cement their playoff bid and stop
the streak. Although Lowell has now won 4 of their last 6, they
had a prior snide of 14 losses in 18 games. The Silkworms were
unable to take advantage of Lowell's struggles.
Tonight's Danbury versus Torrington double header was cancelled.
The Silkworms still have a one game lead over Danbury for the
last playoff spot. Manchester's magic number remains at four.
Manchester's next game is Tuesday at 4 p.m. when they play the
Pittsfield Dukes in a double header at Northwest Park.
Worm Wisdom: Jonah Bayliss (Manchester '00 and '01) was called
up to the Pittsburgh Pirates today to replace John Van
Benschoten on their roster. Bayliss, the first Silkworm to make
the majors, had appeared in 38 games for the Bucs this season.
Pat Egan (Manchester '04 and '05) was inadvertently omitted in
last week's Alumni Update. The 2005 and '06 Oriole draftee had a
5.23 ERA and 16 strikeouts in eight appearances- six of them
starts- for Bluefield of the rookie Appalachian League. On July
20th, Egan threw eight innings of one hit, shutout ball against
Bristol.
Coming into tonight: The Silkworms' bullpen has a 2.36 ERA in
their last 24 games. Will Musson has thrown eight consecutive
scoreless outings, fanning 18 in his last 13.2 innings. Brandon
Otto has a 0.87 ERA in his last six appearances, whiffing 11 in
10.1 innings. Rob Hallberg has a .65 WHIP for the summer. Four
of Jeff Vigurs' last five hits have gone for extra bases. Steven
Crawford was hot even before his home run last night, having hit
.333 in his last nine games. Matt Smedberg is slugging .483 in
his last seven games. Matt Nandin has filled in admirably at
second, raising his batting average by 21 points in the last
eight games. Raising an average this late in the season is very
difficult. Anthony Russell has a .518 slugging percentage in his
last 15 games. Ryan Lavarnway had 28 hits in the Silkworms'
first 19 games. He has walked 24 times in the Silkies' last 19
contests.
Please contact GM Ed Slegeski (SilkwormsGM@aol.com) or Sports
Information rep Don Leypoldt (dleypoldt@hotmail.com) for more
information on the Silkworms. All home games start at 7 p.m.
