The Victoria Generals completed their four-game road trip to start the 2013 Texas Collegiate League season on Sunday night with a 5-2 win against the Acadiana Cane Cutters in Lafayette, Louisiana. The Generals improved to 3-1 on the season and will have an off-day on Monday before the team’s home opener on Tuesday night at 7:05pm against the Texas Marshals at Riverside Stadium.
The story of the night was the Generals pitching staff as Nathan Humpal, Juan Cortina, and Kaleb Keith combined to allow just one hit in the game.
The Generals got on the board early in the top of the first inning, scoring two runs off of Cane Cutters starting pitcher Dillon Crain. Brandon Hannon and Hayden Vesely were issued back-to-back walks to start the game and came around to score on David Paiz, Jr.’s two-run single. Crain was chased from the game after just two-thirds of an inning.
The Generals have scored in the first inning in all three of their wins so far this season.
Jacob Hubert extended the Generals lead to 3-0 in the top of the fourth inning on an RBI double that scored Aaron Morgan.
The Generals struck again in the fifth as Romeo Cortina drilled an RBI single to score Kyle Thornell. Threw the first five innings of the game the Generals had eight hits, all by eight different players.
Generals starting pitcher Nathan Humpal was stellar in his first outing of the season. Humpal allowed his first two base runners of the game in the fifth inning on a walk and a hit batsmen, but induced a ground ball double play to get out of the inning. The Cane Cutters finally broke up Humpal’s no-hitter and shutout in the 6th inning as Vaughn Shapen singled to start the frame and came around to score on Brett Thornell’s sacrifice fly.
Humpal tossed six innings, allowing just one run on one hit with two walks and two strikeouts.
The Cane Cutters added an unearned run in the seventh inning, but the Generals got it right back in the eighth on an RBI single by Romeo Cortina that scored Mac Seibert.
Juan Cortina pitched the seventh and eighth innings without allowing a hit and Kaleb Keith pitched a scoreless ninth inning to notch his first save of the season.
All nine Generals started recorded at least one hit in the game. Romeo Cortina and Hayden Vesely led the way with two apiece.
Box Score: http://tcl-generals.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=139023
Victoria Advocate Article: http://www.advosports.com/news/2013/jun/02/generals_060313_211258/
