No Home Run, No Win for Kings

South Bend, IN - A home run-turned-ground-rule double for Denny Almonte was the turning point as the Clinton LumberKings again struggled to find their swings in a 5-1 loss at the hands of the South Bend Silver Hawks Saturday afternoon at Coveleski Stadium.

Trailing 5-1 in the fourth, Almonte lead off the inning with what appeared to be a solo home run to the right-field berm. As the ball ricocheted back onto the field, the call was reversed and Almonte was given a ground-rule double. Manager Scott Steinmann was ejected after a long debate, and the LumberKings still couldn't drive him in as Travis Howell grounded into a rally-killing double-play.

The Silver Hawks took flight early on starter Alfredo Venegas, getting a three-run homer from Alberto Diaz in the first inning and a two-run double from Alfredo Marte in the second. Venegas (L, 0-2) allowed five runs, three earned on five hits over 3.0 innings.

The Clinton bullpen was stellar the rest of the way. Cheyne Hann stifled the Hawks to three singles over 3.2 innings, while lefty Greg Moviel worked an additional 1.1 scoreless innings. However, the Kings never got the bats going against South Bend. Ogui Diaz doubled and scored on a groundout from Terry Serrano in the third, but that was the only run given up by Silver Hawks' starter Sean Morgan.

Morgan (W, 2-1) scattered three hits over 5.0 innings, walked one and struck out six. Three relievers combined to shut out the LumberKings for the final 4.0 innings.

The LumberKings (25-24) and Silver Hawks (24-23) conclude the series tomorrow afternoon at The Cove, first pitch scheduled for 1:00 PM central time. Listen to the game on AM 1390 KCLN in Clinton or live on the web at www.kcln.com.