| Sports stumble in 11th against Senators (6/4/2005) |
Sports stumble in 11th against Senators Cunningham has strong home debut vs. Jackson. June 4, 2005 By Brian Vernellis
bvernellis@gannett.com
In the second start of his professional career, Dereck Cunningham looked as if he had been a pro for years.
Cunningham, a former LSUS star, had a no-hitter against Jackson through 6 1-3 innings on Friday. Though Carlos Brackley spoiled his shot with a single in the seventh, he did his job by giving the Sports a shot at the win.
Jackson had just five hits, but none were bigger than Selwyn Langaigne's single and Vince Faison's double with two outs in the 11th inning to give the Senators a 3-0 win at Fair Grounds Field.
Shreveport has lost four straight and seven of its last nine.
Cunningham and the Sports' bullpen did a great job against the Senators, but the lack of timely hits again sunk their chances.
Shreveport, which left 15 runners on base, had two prime opportunities in the eighth and the ninth.
In the eighth, the Sports had runners at first and second with no outs but couldn't score.
In the ninth, they had the bases loaded with one out, but Jackson reliever Javier Martinez got Coby Smith to pop out and then struck out Chad Gambill.
As for Cunningham, it was a vastly different performance after his first professional start at Jackson on Memorial Day. He lasted five innings and allowed five earned runs on seven hits taking the loss earlier in the week.
Not to be overlooked was Jackson starter and former Sport Ryan Snyder, who pitched against Cunningham on Memorial Day. The two starters battled through seven innings on Friday, neither one making many mistakes.
Both handed it off to their bullpens to finish the game.
Cunningham retired the side in order through the first three innings. Only four Senators reached base against him -- three by walk and one hit by a pitch.
He finished with one hit allowed and five strikeouts in seven innings.
The Senators couldn't do much even when they reached base. No Senator made it past second base off Cunningham or his relievers through nine innings.
In the 11th, it looked as if another Jackson runner would be stranded at second. But, this time Langaigne delivered a single up the middle to score Nick Sorensen.
After Josh Tranum drew a walk to put runners at first and second, Vince Faison lashed a double to left-center field to tack on two more runs.
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