Catfish Fall To Greenville

From the Columbus Catfish:

Late Catfish Rally Falls Short in 3-2 Loss to Greenville
Fish Strand Tying and Go-Ahead Runs on Base in Ninth; Series Evened at One Game

GREENVILLE, SC—Despite just one hit in the first eight innings, the Catfish rallied with three hits to trail by just a run in the top of the ninth in Greenville, falling a run short tonight in a 3-2 loss to the Bombers at Greenville Municipal Stadium. 3B Blake DeWitt broke up a no-hitter by RHP Gary Galvez with a leadoff double in the seventh, but Galvez dominated to earn his eight win, retiring the first 15 Catfish hitters. CF Ryan Russ had a two-run single in the ninth to bring the Catfish to within one, but a sliding catch by Greenville SS Christian Lara with runners on first and second in the ninth preserved the Greenville victory. Both teams have won a 3-2 game in the series, with the Catfish falling back to .500 at 17-17 in the second half (45-58 overall), and Greenville improving to 17-18 in the second half (52-51 overall).

RHP Brandon Weeden struck out seven in four innings tonight, but he also walked four and gave up the first run (unearned) to the Bombers on a wild pitch in the third inning. In the sixth inning against Catfish RHP Steve Nelson, the Bombers scored another unearned run after a Logan Sorensen RBI double.  In the ninth inning, Greenville's Jeff Natale drove in a run with a sac fly to make it 3-0 Bombers. The Fish didn't have a baserunner until the sixth, and didn't have a hit until the seventh against Galvez, who departed after 6.2 innings, allowing just one hit and striking out seven.

In the ninth against closer RHP Mike James, the Catfish rallied when Russ's two-run single drove home both DeWitt and C Chris Westervelt. With two on and two out, Lara's catch ended the game with the Fish stranding the tying run at second and go-ahead run at third. Tomorrow LHP Scott Elbert (6-5, 3.00 ERA) starts against RHP Henry Cabrera for Greenville at 7:05 PM at Greenville Municipal Stadium.