From Staff & Wire Reports
ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. — Steven Upchurch’s second season of professional baseball ended on a sour note.
The Bristol White Sox pitcher allowed 10 runs and didn’t make it out of the second inning as the BriSox suffered a 15-2 Appalachian League loss to the Elizabethton Twins on Sunday night at Joe O’Brien Field.
Elizabethton exploded for 10 runs in the second inning, the decisive blow being a three-run home run by Stewart Munroe. It spelled the end of the night for Upchurch (3-10, 6.95 ERA), who dropped his last six decisions in his second season with the Sox.
Upchurch became just the third BriSox pitcher to suffer double-digit losses in a season since Bristol began its affiliation with the Chicago White Sox in 1995. The other two were Joe Bales (1-10 in 1996)
and Onarkys Paniagua (1-10 in 2007).
Bristol did get two hits apiece from Anthony Casario and Miguel Gonzalez, while Jeffer Patino drove in two runs. Pitcher Daniel Wiltz tossed 3 1/3 innings of shutout relief, but it was way too late for the BriSox.
Things got so bad for Bristol that infielder Angel Ferreiras pitched the eighth inning. He struck out Elizabethton’s Tobias Streich, but allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits.
Reggie Williams led Elizabethton, the Appy League’s West Division champions, with five RBIs.
Shoemaker named Bristol’s top player
Outfielder Brady Shoemaker has been selected as the 2009 Bristol White Sox team MVP, an award voted on by BriSox fans.
The 22-year-old Indiana native had quite a summer in his first season as a professional. He’s compiled a .350 batting average with nine home runs and 34 RBIs in 56 games. He’s also scored 37 runs and blasted 21 doubles.
Shoemaker began the season with a 28-game hitting streak.
Shoemaker was also a steadying force in the BriSox lineup as nine different players were promoted to Low-Class A Kannapolis (N.C.) during the course of the season. The list included strong hitters
Ryan Lee and Daniel Wagner and left-handed pitcher Joe Serafin, who was the ace of Bristol’s staff for the first two months of the season.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement