Wednesday, June 25, 1997

McClure's homer snatches victory from jaws of defeat

By LANCE FLEMING / Abilene Reporter-News

Staring straight into the teeth of another bad loss, Jason McClure took matters into his own hands and gave the Abilene Prairie Dogs a win they almost gave away.

McClure's one-out, two-run home run off the left field foul pole gave the Prairie Dogs a 4-2 win over Rio Grande Valley in the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader at Scott Field.

Abilene, which gave away a game Monday night, appeared on the verge of doing the same thing in Tuesday's first game when closer George Preston Jr. blew a 2-0 lead by giving up two runs on three hits in the top of the seventh. Jess Olivares had an RBI single in the inning, and Joey Martinez scored the game-tying run when the throw from Jay Andrews on Olivares' single got past catcher Shawn Hughes for an error.

Mark Hampton came on and got Matt Hobbie to ground into a double play started by third baseman Manny Gagliano.

But McClure saved the Prairie Dogs in the bottom of the seventh.

With one out Hughes reached on an error by Olivares at second base. McClure then hit Kiki Trevino's first pitch deep to left. It began hooking foul, but it hit the pole for a game-winning two-run homer.

"He (Trevino) had been throwing a lot of sliders outside and offspeed," McClure said. "When I got to the plate I was looking for something to drive. To be honest I was thinking about going to right field. But he came inside and I got lucky."

The blown save cost Abilene starter Troy Dean Conkle a victory after shutting out the WhiteWings through six innings. Conkle gave up just four hits, walked one and struck out three.

The Prairie Dogs jumped on top 2-0 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third, thanks to a pair of runs and an error on WhiteWing shortstop Mike Groppuso.

Brian Benner led off the inning with a single and went to second on a Hughes groundout. He then scored for a 1-0 lead on a McClure single. With McClure on second, Scott Bethea grounded to shortstop, but Groppuso's throw pulled Kevin Clark off the bag and McClure scored for a 2-0 lead.

That lead stood until the WhiteWings got a pair in the seventh and then McClure won it in the bottom of the inning.