Law Dominates In First Minor League Start, Saints Blank Indianapolis 8-0

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (September 16, 2021) - Over the course of 231 Minor League appearances, Derek Law had never started a game. That all changed on Thursday night at Victory Field. Not only did he start his first Minor League game, he tossed a career high, at any level, 4.0 innings as he dominated the Indianapolis Indians. The offense did the rest in an 8-0 win as they two hit the Indians.

Law set the tone early retiring the first six men he faced while fanning four of the six. The lone hit he allowed was a leadoff single in the third. That was erased on a double play ground out before fanning Ethan Paul to end the inning. Law finished off his night by retiring the side in the fourth. He went 4.0 shutout innings allowing one hit while striking out six, one shy of his career high.

Meanwhile, the Saints took the early lead in the second as Jimmy Kerrigan led off the inning with a single to right. That was followed by an RBI double from BJ Boyd giving the Saints a 1-0 lead.

The Saints grabbed a 2-0 lead in the fourth as Mark Contreras led off with a double to left-center. Kerrigan’s one out single moved Contreras to third. Boyd’s RBI groundout scored Contreras.

In the fifth the Saints tacked on a couple of more runs as Sherman Johnson and Drew Stankiewicz led off the inning with walks. Jose Miranda followed with a two-run double to left increasing the lead to 4-0.

Chandler Shepherd took over for Law in the fifth and ran into a little trouble. Two walks and a single loaded the bases with one out, but Shepherd got a pop out and fly out to end the inning. Shepherd went 2.0 scoreless innings allowing one hit while walking three and striking out two.

In the sixth, the Saints added four more runs as Kerrigan led off with a single to center. He finished the night 3-5 with two runs scored. Kerrigan stole second and, with one out, scored on a single by Damek Tomscha making it 5-0. Johnson reached on a two base fielding error by the first baseman John Nogowski that put runners at second and third. Stankiewicz made it 6-0 with a sacrifice fly. Miranda then crushed a two-run blast to left, his 15th of the season, putting the Saints up 8-0.

Vinny Nittoli took over in the seventh and outside of a leadoff walk in the eighth was perfect. He went 2.0 hitless, shutout innings while striking out one.

Robinson Leyer capped off the shutout with a perfect ninth. The Saints recorded their seventh shutout of the season.

The same two teams meet in game four of the six-game series on Friday night at 6:05 p.m. central at Victory Field. The Saints send RHP Jason Garcia (0-0, 14.40) to the mound against Indians RHP Michael Yajure (1-3, 3.58). The game can be heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM.