August 9, 2010
What an exciting week for the Bears. Three straight walk-offs and two came against the cross-state rival Somerset Patriots. The Bears finishe the homestand with a two games to one series win over the Pat.
Game 1:
The Bears headed into game 1 of the series with some momentum after their 10-8 walk-off victory over the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. Newark jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning but found themselves trailing 8-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth. Carl Everett started out the inning with a strikeout and the Bears looked as good as lost. Eric Munson was next at bat, and he hammered a solo shot to right field — 8-5 Somerset. Isaiah Kaaihue was now at the plate and he grounded out to short; there was now just one out remaining. Randy Gress reached base on a walk and Pablo Ozuna reached base on an error; there were now runners on the corners. A new pitcher, Andrew Dobies, enters for the Patriots and then proceeds to load the bases with a walk to Kennard Jones. Brian Barton is then walked, which forces in another run for the Bears — 8-6. Another new pitcher for the Patriots, Jerry Dunn, enters the game with Daryle Ward at the plate and the bases loaded. Four pitches into the at-bat, Ward blasts a grand slam and the Bears upset the Patriots in the first game of the series — the Bears second walk-off victory in as many nights. Ward finished the game 4-for-4 at the plate with five RBIs and a grand slam.
Game 2:
The second game started off not so promising for the Bears as Brian Adams of the Patriots held them in check. Adams went six innings, struck out 10 and allowed no runs. Fortunately for the Bears, Adams was on a pitch count and had to come out after six. In the bottom of the seventh the Patriots plugged in their new pitcher, veteran Tim LaVigne. LaVigne was making his final appearance as a professional. So much for that sentiment as the Bears didn’t care much for the Patriot pitcher’s possible storybook ending. Everett took LaVigne’s fourth pitch and sent it over the right field wall for the Bears first run of the game. After a Kaaihue walk, Munson hit his second home run in as many nights, also to right field. The Bears tied the game up at three in a matter of minutes. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and Munson on second, Ozuna was at the plate with a chance to win it — where have we seen this before? In LaVigne’s final appearance as a professional, he ends up giving up four runs, including the walk-off hit by Ozuna in the bottom of the ninth to score Munson. The comeback for the Bears capped another walk-off victory 4-3, their third in succession.
Game 3:
After the first two games, the Bears heading into game 3 already being the victors of the series, their first at home in the second half. The game started off with Newark falling behind early, trailing 4-0 after two innings. After the Patriots put up two more in the top of the inning, the Bears plated four in the bottom of the fifth to cut the lead to two. Somerset scored three in the top of the sixth to make it a five run game. The Bears made a small comeback attempt in the bottom of the ninth as they scored two, but they came up just short as the Patriots won the game 9-6.
Next Home Stand
Newark returns home for a three-game stint as they host the Lancaster Barnstormers Aug. 17-19. The Bears last faced the Barnstormers July 26-29 with Lancaster winning three of the four games. Newark will look for a different result this time around.
The Bears are currently on the road for a seven-game road trip against the Blue Crabs and Patriots.
Make sure you go online to www.newarkbears.com and buy your tickets for the upcoming home series and head down to Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium!
GO BEARS!
August 6, 2010
Hey Newark Bears fans!
The Bears just finished up the first half of this home stand with a 2-1 series loss
to the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.
Game 1: In the first game the Bears outhit the Blue Crabs nine to six but managed to score just one run as Southern Maryland took the opening game of the series 4-1. Ryan Glynn took the loss for the Bears as he dropped to 2-2 on the season with Newark. He tossed seven innings, allowed four runs — all earned — while surrendering five hits with just three strikeouts. Pablo Ozuna went 2-for-4 and scored a run and Daryle Ward went 1-for-3 with the only Newark RBI of the night.
Game 2: Game two was all about the hurlers as the Bears’ Bob Zimmermann tossed seven great innings. He struck out six and allowed just two earned runs. The story of the game was the Blue Crabs starter Joe Newby. The righty, primarily a reliever throughout his career, has been a spot starter for Southern Maryland all year and is not expected to go more than five or six innings. On this night, though, Newby flirted with a complete game no hitter. He threw eight innings plus, striking out four, walking five and allowing just one run. That one run came
in the bottom of the eighth when Newby began to lose the strike zone. He loaded the bases and walked in a run and then left the game to a standing ovation from the Bears fateful; he replied with a tip of the cap. Closer Jim Ed Warden came on to complete the game and put the finishing touches on the first no-hitter in Blue Crabs history — albeit not the most conventional one. Southern Maryland to the game 3-1 to win the series.
Game 3: Having already lost the series, the Bears tried to get one back in the third and final game. Newark started off very promising, scoring seven runs in the first four innings and eventually jumping out to an 8-4 lead. Eventually the Bears pitching collapsed when starter Mike Loree handed off the game to the bullpen. Reliever Michael Nix proceeded to load the bases in the top of the eighth and gave up three runs to allow the Blue Crabs to tie the game up at eight; all three runs were unearned. The game then continued to drag on into the 10th when, in the bottom of the inning, Newark catcher Manny Mejia tattooed one out of the park for the game winning, walk-off home run. Mejia was the story of the game because the
walk-off was his third home run of the game. He finished 3-for-6 with three home runs and five RBIs. Kennard Jones, Ozuna and Brian Barton also had good games as all three went 3-for-6 at the plate. Ozuna and Barton each scored once with had one RBI and Jones scored twice and also had one RBI.
July 29, 2010
Hey Newark Bears fans!
The Bears finished up their most recent home stand against the Somerset Patriots with an impressive series split.
Game 1:
The series did not start off as well as Bears fans could have hoped, as they lost the first game, Thursday July 22, by a score of 10-3. Starting pitcher Kelvin Villa took his second home loss of the season in what could be considered his first non-quality start at The Den. One player that continued to shine for the Bears was right fielder Brian Barton, who continued his tear with Newark with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate with one run scored and one run batted in.
Game 2:
The second game of the series took a turn for the better as the Bears turned it around late for a 9-8 comeback victory over the Patriots. The win went to Shane Youman, his first as a Bear and the save went to Michael Nix, his fifth. The Bears had a monster night behind the plate as Carl Everett and Randy Gress both went yard, their fourth and second as Bears, respectively. Barton stayed hot with a 2-for-4 performance with one runs scored and three runs batted in.
Game 3:
The third game of the series was nearly reminiscent of Game 2 as the Bears once again had a late surge behind the plate. Unfortunately they came up short as the Patriots took the win 8-7. The starting pitcher for Newark, Bob Zimmermann, took the loss in his Bears debut. The righty allowed five earned on seven hits in five innings pitched. Despite the loss, the Bears continued their great hitting as they were led by Barton, once again, who went 2-for-4 with a 3-run homer, his eighth as a Bears, and four runs batted in. All-star centerfielder
Kennard Jones also had a good day as he went 2-for-2 with three walks and an RBI. The two hits were his 98th and 99th of the season. Catcher Manny Mejia and third baseman Gabe Suarez also had wonderful days with the bat, as they went 2-for-4 and 2-for-3 respectively.
Game 4:
The Bears finished off the series against the Patriots with a very strong win as Mike Loree took the 4-2 victory to advance to 4-7 on the season. He went six innings and allowed two runs on seven hits. Even though they only scored four runs, the Bears continued their strong performance with the bat. Everett hit his second homerun of the series; his fifth with the Bears and Jones went 1-for-4 with an RBI. That one hit for Jones put him at the century mark for the season, a milestone for the centerfielder. Jones is now tied for the league lead in hits with
Aaron Herr of the Lancaster Barnstormers at 104 hits.
Next Home Stand
Newark comes home August 3rd for a six-game home stand. First the Bears host the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs for the first time in the second half of the season. Then the Bears welcome once again the Somerset Patriots for a 3-game series starting Friday August 6 and concluding Sunday August 8.
The Bears are currently on the road for a seve-game road trip against the Lancaster Barnstormers and the Camden Riversharks.
Make sure you go online to www.newarkbears.com and buy your tickets for the upcoming home series and head down to Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium!
GO BEARS!
