Lowell Sun

Zany win for the Spinners

Friday, August 01, 2003 -

TROY, N.Y. The Lowell Spinners can thank pitcher Beau Vaughan and outfielder Robert Evans for snapping a six-game losing streak to Tri-City last night.

Evans hit a two-run home run in the top of the sixth to put the Spinners on top of the ValleyCats for good in last night's 9-7 Spinners' win. Vaughan walked three and pitched a hitless four innings before handing off a 6-0 lead to teammate Jessie Corn.

Corn left the game shortly after he entered it, but not before giving up four runs in a third of an inning, none of them earned. The ValleyCats would add two more, tying a game in which three key Spinners errors allowed ValleyCat runs to cross the plate.

The Spinners would come back in the top of the sixth with one of their six lead-off walks of the night, sending Scooter Jordan to first and Robert Evans to the plate. Evans came through in the clutch, hitting the two-run homer for a Spinners 8-6 lead. Both teams would add two more in the seventh before Brian Marshall came into close things for the Spinners, earning the save.

Matt Murton continued to prove his 0-for-27 offensive slump is over by extending his hitting streak to six games and grabbing his 14th and 15th RBIs of the season in the process. Murton's double put the Spinner's up 2-0 in the first half of the third, and added one more on a Claudio Arias RBI-single.

The Spinners added three more in the fourth, the first on one of Ingnacio Suarez's two RBIs of the night, the second on a Jason Ramos single, putting Lowell up 5-0. Ramos would score on a sacrifice fly by Evans, making the lead 6-0 for the Spinners.

Corn gave the first run for the Valley Cats away on a wild pitch and saw two more cross the plate on a Valley Cats two-run triple in the same inning for a 6-4 Spinners lead. Tri-City would come within one on a Scott Robinson RBI-single and tie the game with a Brock Koman single.

The Spinners (23-20) finished with eight hits and left nine men on base. The teams will go at it again tonight at Bruno Stadium in the third game of the series.