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Bolivar produces Cards' first cycle

Springfield shortstop ties game with two-run triple in ninth
June 11, 2011
Playing in just his fourth game in the Texas League, Domnit Bolivar made history on Friday night.

Bolivar became the first player in team history to hit for the cycle as the Springfield Cardinals walked off with a 10-9, 10-inning victory over the Tulsa Drillers.

The 22-year-old infielder started his night with a second-inning double, then led off the fifth with his first home run since Aug. 18. After hitting into a double play in the sixth, he singled in a run in the eighth to set up his dramatic final at-bat, unaware of what separated him from history.

"I had no idea until I went on the field for defense," Bolivar said through teammate and translator Alex Castellanos. "Jermaine Curtis told me after the inning was over. I was happy and surprised at the same time because I had no idea."

With the Cardinals trailing, 9-7, Bolivar stepped to the plate with runners at the corners. He lined an 0-1 pitch from reliever Adam Jorgenson to center field for a game-tying triple. While it was the second cycle of the season in the Double-A Texas League, it was the first in Springfield's seven-year history.

"[I wanted] to hit it as hard as I can in the gap," Bolivar said. "I thought it was going to go over the fence, but I wasn't thinking triple until I saw it land."

Signed by the Cardinals as a non-drafted free agent in July 2005, Bolivar was promoted on June 4 after playing 38 games for Palm Beach. The native of Venezuela was batting .248 in the Florida State League and had not homered in his last 186 at-bats.

"I was looking for a ball away, a fastball, and I just drove it over the right-field wall," Bolivar said.

Steven Hill completed the Cardinals' comeback with an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th. He also hit a solo homer, while Chris Swauger was 2-for-4 with a run scored.

The game began as a duel of Top 50 prospects. Springfield's Shelby Miller struck out nine and allowed three runs over six innings in his second Texas League start; Christian Friedrich fanned seven and yielded two runs over 5 1/3 frames for Tulsa.

Tim Wheeler had a triple, double and two RBIs, while Wilin Rosario, MLB.com's preseason No. 41 prospect, was 3-for-6 and scored twice for the Drillers.

Robert Emrich is a contributor to MLB.com.