Monday, July 11, 2005

Catfish 5, Asheville 2

From the Columbus Catfish:

Catfish Win Battle Against Rain and Asheville, Beating Tourists 5-2 in
Series Finale

Catfish Take Series 3-1 and Season Series vs. Tourists 5-2

ASHEVILLE, NC—The Columbus Catfish beat the Asheville Tourists 5-2 today at McCormick Field to beat the Tourists for the third straight day and win the four-game set and the season series. A constant rain pushed back the 12:00 start 98 minutes today but the Fish fought the elements and earned their 9th win of the 2nd half. The Catfish offense managed 13 hits and five runs, while RHP Blake Johnson pitched a gem for the Fish, winning his team-high 8th game with seven strong innings. RHP Brian Akin earned his first save of the season for Columbus (37-49, 9-8 2nd half) with 2.0 innings of scoreless relief. RHP Ryan Mattheus took the loss for Asheville (45-42, 7-11) in the final game of the season series between the Catfish and Rockies affiliate.

Columbus took a 1-0 lead when C Chris Westervelt singled home 3B Blake DeWitt in the top of the 2nd. In the third, Asheville tied the score with Jose Valdez's 9th HR of the season, a solo shot to center. It was the 12th HR Asheville hit in the four games of the series. The teams combined for 20 round trippers in the four-game set. Westervelt singled DeWitt home again in the fourth inning to give the Fish a 2-1 lead. Batz made it 3-1 in the 5th with an RBI double, and the Fish scored runs in the seventh and ninth for the win. 2B Brandon Carter drove home a run in the seventh with a single and finished 3-5 today.

Johnson gave up just two runs on five hits while striking out six over seven innings today. Akin threw eight pitches in the eighth to retire the side in order. In the ninth inning, he allowed two singles and had to face the tying run at the plate with one out, but got a strikeout and a groundout to earn his first save of the season. The Catfish travel to Greenville and start a four-game series with the Bombers (Boston Red Sox) starting on Wednesday at 7:05 PM.

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