Game 89: Stormers 2-1

Nick Renault

	Nick Renault 3-6, 6.69 ERA		Jim Magrane 4-7, 6.26 ERA

When the Barnstormers return to Clipper Magazine Stadium for their big series against York Friday night, they’ll have a new pitcher in their rotation. His name is Erik Dessau. He’s a 6-3, 212-pound righthander who has been acquired from the Frontier League’s Gateway Grizzlies in exchange for future considerations.

Dessau, 25, was 4-5 with a 4.65 ERA in 13 starts for the Grizzlies. This was his fourth season with the club and this year’s stats are actually his worst to date. The St. Louis native enjoyed greater success at that level in the past, including a 14-2 record and 3.07 ERA last season.

Career stats here.

The Barnstormers desperately needed another pitcher, preferably a starter. The team was down to 10 healthy arms. Dessau’s arrival will allow Lancaster to keep Yamel Guevara in the bullpen, where he has proven more effective. Dessau could start as soon as Saturday.

What can the Barnstormers expect from their new righthander? It’s hard to say. The Atlantic League is obviously a big jump from the Frontier League. Dessau has a similar track record to Joe Dooley, who was acquired from the Grizzlies prior to the 2005 season. Dooley was a serviceable starter in the Atlantic League. He recorded a 4.98 ERA in 21 appearances during the inaugural season.

Dessau has some encouraging numbers. He posted twice as many strikeouts as walks with Gateway and he averaged just 2.5 walks per nine innings. So he has a track record of throwing strikes. Opponents are hitting below .270 against him during his career, which is pretty good for a starter.

The Barnstormers are going in the wayback machine here. They’re taking a chance on a young pitcher who is making the move to a higher level. In 2005, they acquired both Dooley and Scott Patterson from Gateway. Those pitchers were adequate — but not great — as starters. The team hopes Dessau can fill that fifth rotation slot and provide some quality innings.

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Newark additions:

If the Atlantic League transactions page is to be believed …

The Bears have signed DH Willis Otanez and P Andy Shibilo. These are two significant additions. Otanez annually makes the trip from the Mexican League to the Atlantic League this time of year. He usually ends up in Bridgeport. This time he decided on Newark. The DH was a big part of the Bluefish’s push to the AL championship series in 2006 — hitting .350 with 12 homers in 42 games.

Shibilo went 1-1 with a 6.37 ERA in 32 games at Triple-A Richmond this season. The righthander has Atlantic League experience with the Ducks and Bluefish. He should help boost the Bears’ bullpen.

Since the All-Star break, Newark has added Ruben Mateo, Raul Gonzalez, Otanez and Shibilo. That’s quite a haul. Jim Cerny and Wayne Krenchicki do a phenomenal job with that club.

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Lineups …

10-8	8-9
Mike Woods, LF	Sean Smith, CF
Danny Gonzalez, SS	Teuris Olivares, SS
Ian Bladergroen, 1B	Brandon Larson, 3B
Matt LeCroy, DH	Josh Pressley, 1B
Ivanon Coffie, 3B	Matt Hagen, LF
David Castillo, C	Travis Anderson, C
Lloyd Turner, 2B	Jason Belcher, DH
Jutt Hileman, CF	Gera Alvarez, 2B
Kevin Kotch, RF	Elliott Ayala, RF

Scoring summary …

Barnstormers	010	010	000	2	8	2
Patriots	001	000	000	1	5	0

WP: Nick Renault (4-6)
LP: Jim Magrane (4-8 )
SV: Ryan Cullen (7)

FINAL: Barnstormers 2, Patriots 1

Stormers 2nd: Turner’s triple scores Castillo.
Lancaster leads 1-0.

Patriots 3rd: Larson’s double scores Olivares.
Game tied at 1.

Stormers 5th: LeCroy’s double scores Woods.
Lancaster leads 2-1.

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Pitchers:

Barnstormers: Nick Renault, Ricardo Gomez (7), Paul Thorp (8), Ryan Cullen (9).

Patriots: Jim Magrane.

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Box score:

RECORD: 11-8 (41-48 )

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Nick Renault

6 IP

4 H

1 R

1 ER

2 BB

5 K

The roller-coaster ride continues for Renault. After going 0-4 with a 13.75 ERA in his previous five starts, the righthander rebounded. The Barnstormers needed a strong outing to help their shorthanded bullpen and Renault delivered. It was his first quality start since June 25 and his first win since June 20.

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NOTES:

*The bullpen was great …

*Ricardo Gomez retired five of the six batters he faced. He was helped out by sterling defensive plays from Ivanon Coffie and Mike Woods.

*Paul Thorp retired Brandon Larson — the league’s home run leader — with the tying run on first base in the eighth.

*Ryan Cullen went 1-2-3 in the ninth for his seventh safe. The lefthander has lowered his ERA to 1.55. He’s starting to enter Derrick DePriest or Scott Patterson territory when it comes to late-inning effectiveness.

The offense did just enough …

*Lloyd Turner set a franchise record with his ninth triple. Turner brings some pop to the lineup. He has 28 extra-base hits and is slugging .462, which is second to only Danny Gonzalez among qualifiers.

*Matt LeCroy started a new hitting streak by going 2-for-4. He continues to excel in clutch situations. His RBI double in the fifth put the Barnstormers in front.

*Coffie made two more errors. As much as his bat has provided a lift, his glove has been an occasional problem. The third baseman has 11 errors in 39 games.

*Kevin Kotch made his second start in RF. He snapped an 0-for-14 skid with a single in the fifth and threw out Josh Pressley trying to stretch a single into a double.

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BOTTOM LINE:

The Barnstormers have won seven of their last nine games and captured a series at Commerce Bank Park for the first time since July of 2006. This was an impressive pitching effort against a good lineup. Lancaster is headed home for seven games and it holds a two-game lead over York in the Freedom Division. Life is good for the home team these days.