Chad Kruse broke the TCL record for hits in a season on Saturday night
With the score tied at 1-1 in the top of the sixth inning on Saturday night, Chad Kruse stepped to the plate to lead off the inning for the Victoria Generals and delivered his 75th hit of the season to break the Texas Collegiate League record for hits in a season. Kruse had tied the record back in the first inning on a single in his first at bat of the game. The record set by Erik Lis of the Colleyville LoneStars had stood since the TCL's inaugural season back in 2004.
Kruse's hit triggered a rally for the Generals as they scored two runs in the sixth inning to take a 3-1 lead over the Alexandria Aces. Kruse eventually came around to score on a fielder's choice. Ryan Dalton scored the second run of the inning on a ground out.
The Generals added two more runs in the seventh inning. Jake Runte walked with the bases loaded to score Michael McGraw. Cory Hunt would then come around to score on an RBI ground out by Kruse.
Jared Hopper picked up the win for the Generals in his first start of the season. Hopper pitched six innings, allowing just one run on five hits while striking out three.
Roman Madrid pitched two innings of scoreless relief in the seventh and eighth. Covey Morrow made his 28th appearance of the season by pitching a scoreless ninth inning to secure the 5-1 win for the Generals. Morrow is now one appearance shy of tying the TCL record for appearances in a season.
The Generals first run came in the second inning on an RBI single by McGraw. The Aces would tie the game at 1-1 in the fourth inning.
Kruse and McGraw each had two hits, one run, and one RBI on the night.
The Generals improved to 26-29 on the season and 14-12 in the second-half. The Aces are now 15-38 overall and 6-19 in the second-half.
The Generals still trail the Brazos Valley Bombers by one game in the overall TCL standings. The two teams are battling for the fourth and final playoff spot in the TCL post-season. Each team has four games remaining in the regular season.
The Bombers will travel to East Texas to take on the Pump Jacks on Monday and Tuesday. The Generals return home to Victoria to host the Aces in a two-game series starting on Monday night.
The Generals will then travel to Brazos Valley to take on the Bombers on the road for the final two games of the season on Wednesday and Thursday.
Box Score:
http://texascl.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=48493
