Jun 22nd,

     The Corpus Christi Hooks started the first of a four game home stand against their I-37 rivals, the San Antonio Missions.  Casey Hudspeth took to the mound for the Hooks while Nathan Culp took the mound for the Missions.  Hudspeth and Culp each lasted four innings in their outings.  Each of them went into the 5^th but failed to retire any batters.  Hudspeth threw 91 pitches, 48 of them for strikes, he gave up 7 hits and six earned runs.  He walked three and struck out one.  Culp threw 68 pitches, 42 of them for strikes, gave up 12 hits and nine earned runs.  He walked one and struck out one. 

 

     The Missions scored first in the top of the 1^st when a Craig Cooper double scored Eric Sogard who had reached 1^st on a fielding error by Drew Meyer.  The Hooks knotted the score in the bottom of the 1^st when Drew Meyer hit his first home run at Whataburger Field.  The Hooks added four more runs in the bottom of the 2^nd.  Jhon Florentino walked and moved to 2^nd of a Collin DeLome single.  Florentino and DeLome each moved up a base when Nicholas Moresi single loading the bases for Casey Hudspeth.   Casey Hudspeth hit a single up the middle that plated Florentino and DeLome.  Wladimir Sutil was hit by a pitch again loading the bases for Drew Meyer whose sacrifice fly scored Moresi.  Hudspeth scored on a Drew Locke single which brought Locke's Texas League leading RBI total to 68.  At the end of the 2^nd the Hooks held a 5-1 lead. 

 

     Hudspeth started running into problems in the Missions 3^rd.  Cedric Hunter hit a single and he walked Sogard.  A double play got Hudspeth out of that jam.  The Missions added two in the top of the 4^th.  Kellen Kulbacki singled and moved to 2^nd when Brian Joynt walked.  Kulbacki and Joynt scored on a Mitch Canham double as the Missions cut the lead to 5-3.  Hudspeth ran into bigger problems in the Missions 5^th.  He walked Cedric Hunter, issued singles to Sogard and Cooper which left the bases loaded for Lance Zawadzki who hit a grand slam to right field which now left the Missions with a 7-5 lead.  McKeller replaced Hudspeth and retired the side. 

 

     The Hooks got the lead back in the bottom of the 5^th.  Jimmy Van Ostrand and Jason Castro hit back to back home runs.  Ostrand's home run was his 10^th of the season and Castro's was his 1^st at the Double A level.  Florentino and DeLome would each get singles that saw Culp get replaced by Carlos Guevara.  A Moresi bunt forced Florentino out at 3^rd.  A wild pitch by Guevara moved DeLome and Moresi up one.   A Sutil double plated DeLome and Moresi as the Hooks retook the lead 9-7. 

 

     Andy Van Hekken replaced McKeller in the 6^th and pitched two innings.  The Missions managed to cut the Hooks lead to one when Craig Cooper hit a home run to left field.  Daniel Meszaros replaced Van Hekken in the 8^th and the lead that the Hooks had vanished as Meszaros gave up a home run to Brian Joynt as the game was now knotted.  Meszaros retired the Missions side in the 9^th and was replaced by Chris Salamida as the Hooks went into the 10^th inning.  The Missions took the lead for good off of Salamida.  Kulbacki singled, moved to 2^nd on a Joynt single.  Kulbacki was thrown out at home on a Mitch Canham single.  Canham managed to steal 2^nd.  A wild pitch by Salamida scored Joynt which also moved Canham and Scribner up on.  A sacrifice bunt by Anthony Contreras scored Canham and a Cedric Hunter single plated Scribner.  The Missions now held onto a 12-9 lead as the Hooks came up to the plate. 

 

     Van Ostrand singled and moved to 3^rd when a fielding error by center fielder Cedric Hunter allowed Castro to get to 2^nd.  Van Ostrand scored on a Florentino ground out.  The Missions would hold on to win 12-10.

 

 

June 23rd,

     The Corpus Christi Hooks played their 2^nd of a four game series against the San Antonio Missions and as the night before the Hooks relief pitching would negate a strong outing put in by Wilton Lopez.  Lopez threw a solid 6 innings.  He threw 66 pitches, 50 of them for strikes, he allowed three hits, one earned one.  He struck out seven and walked one.  This was by far Lopez's strongest performance as his last two appearances he allowed 24 hits.  At one point he retired 10 consecutive batters.  Ernesto Frieri lasted 5 2/3 innings in his outing for the Missions.  He threw 93 pitches, 66 of them for strikes.  He allowed 7 hits, two earned runs, struck out six and walked two. 

 

     The Missions got on the scoreboard first in the top of the 1^st.  Eric Sogard singled and scored on a Lance Zawadzki double.  The Missions would hold onto this 1-0 lead till the Hooks 4^th.  Jhon Florentino tripled and scored on a Wladimir Sutil double.  The Hooks added another run in the bottom of the 5^th.  Collin DeLome tripled and scored on a Drew Meyer sacrifice fly as the Hooks took the lead 2-1.

 

     Ryan McKeller replaced  Lopez in the 7^th.  The Missions would even the score in the top of the 8^th.  Cedric Hunter singled, moved to 3^rd on a Sogard single and scored on a throwing error by Jason Castro as he tried to pick off Sogard at 2^nd.  The Missions batting coach Oriv Franchuk was ejected in the 9^th after Micheal Collins was called out on strikes. 

 

     T. J. Burton replaced McKeller in the 10^th and retired the side.  Burton was saddled with the loss when he gave up a solo home run to Mitch Canham in the 11^th.  With this win the Missions captured the Texas League South Division first-half title.

 

June 24^th,

     The Corpus Christi Hooks played their 3^rd game of a four game series against the San Antonio Missions.  Brad James took to the mound for the Hooks and Stephen Faris for the Missions.  James pitched a strong six innings.  He threw 94 pitches, 65 of them for strikes.  James allowed six hits, walked two and struck out six.  Faris threw a complete game but was saddled with the loss.  Faris threw 102 pitches, 63 of them for strikes.  He allowed five hits, one earned one, walked two and struck out one.  As the game progress it turned into a pitching duel.  The Missions would get runners to 3^rd in the 6^th and 8^th but the Hooks were able to nullify the threat.

 

     James was replaced by Chia-Jen Lo in the 7^th.  Lo would be replaced by Erick Abreu in the 8^th.  The Hooks scored the only run in the game in the bottom of the 8^th.  Collin DeLome singled, moved to 2^nd on Mitch Einertson's sacrifice bunt and scored on a Jimmy Van Ostrand single up the middle. 

 

     T. J. Burton replaced Abreu in the 9^th and recorded the save as the Hooks won 1-0.  

 

June 25^th,

     The Corpus Christi Hooks wrapped up their four game series against the San Antonio Missions.  Polin Trinidad took to the mound for the Hooks and Mat Latos for the Missions.  As the day before this game turned out to be a great pitching duel and it seems fitting that the only run that scored came off a wild pitch. 

 

     Trinidad pitched had a stellar performance as he went 8 innings.  He threw 89 pitches, 64 of them for strikes.  He allowed six hit, struck out three and walked no one.  In his last 31 innings, Trinidad, has allowed one earned run.  Latos lasted 5 innings.  Latos threw 49 pitches, 37 of them for strikes.  He struck out one and walked on one.

 

     The Missions only got a runner into scoring position once in the top of the 7^th.  Lance Zawadzki doubled and moved to 3^rd on a Craig Cooper ground out.  The Hooks defense would get Trinidad out of the jam as the game continued on into the Hooks 8^th. 

 

     The Missions replaced Scott Rice with Brandon Gomes.  Rice had replaced Latos.  Collin DeLome singled and stole 2^nd.  A throwing error by Catcher Mitch Canham moved DeLome to 3^rd when he tried to pick him off at 2^nd.  Jimmy Van Ostrand came on to pinch hit for Trindad and a wild pitch by Gomes plated DeLome.  T. J. Burton replaced Trindad in the 9^th and retired the Missions side as the Hooks won again by the score of 1-0.  The Hooks split the series.  The next game that Trinidad will pitch will be at the Triple-A level as he was called up to the Round Rock Express.

       

June 10^th,

     The Corpus Christi Hooks started the first of a four game home stand against the Texas League South Division, first place Midland RockHounds.   Polin Trinidad took to the mound for the Hooks and Jason Fernadez for the RockHounds.  Also joining the Hooks from the parent organization are second baseman Kazuo Matsui and pitcher Jose Valverde who are on rehab assignments.  A new face on the Hooks roster is catcher Jason Castro, the Astros first round draft pick from last year.  Castro was called up from High-A Lancaster Jethawks.  With Castro's promotion, Jonathan Fixler was sent down to Lancaster. 

 

     Trinidad stole the show as he pitched a solid seven innings.  He allowed only one hit, a single which Joshua Horton got in the top of the 1^st.  Trinidad would strikeout five and issued no walks.  He threw 74 pitches, 49 of those for strikes and he retired the last 20 batters he faced.  The Hooks provided Trinidad with plenty of offense in this outing. 

 

     The Hooks would score first in their half of the 3rd.  Kazuo Matsui singled, moved to 3^rd on a Drew Locke double and scored on a Mark Ori sacrifice fly.  It was a 1-0 ball game through four innings.  The Hooks added some breathing room in the bottom of the 5^th.  Kazuo Matsui reached first on a fielding error by RockHounds first baseman, Chris Carter, moved to 2^nd on a wild pitch.  Drew Locke the next batter walked.  Matsui and Locke were brought home by Jimmy Van Ostrand 9^th home run of the season which landed on the left field berm.  Seven of Ostrand's home runs have come off of the RockHounds. 

 

     The Hooks added two more runs in the bottom of the 6^th.  Felix Molina singled and while Wladimir Sutil was at the plate stole 2^nd.  Sutil walked.  Mitch Einertson who replaced center fielder Josh Flores hit a single which scored Molina.  Drew Meyer who replaced second baseman Kazuo Matsui hit a single that scored Sutil.  The Hooks notched two more runs in the bottom of the 7^th.  A fielding error by RockHounds second baseman, Michael Affronti allowed Jason Castro to reach 1^st.  Castro didn't have to wait long as Collin DeLome clubbed an opposite field home run over the left field berm.  DeLome's home run was his 12^th of the season and continues to lead the Texas League in that statistic. 

 

     Jose Valverde came on in relief of Trinidad in the 8^th.  In his inning of work he struck out two and walked two.  The bothersome part of his inning of work was that he threw 24 pitches, 1/3 the amount that Trinidad had thrown over 7 innings.  After eight innings the Hooks led 8-0. 

 

     The RockHounds finally got on the scoreboard in their half of the 9^th.  Ryan McKeller who relieved Valverde gave up a home run to Joshua Horton which landed in the swimming pool next to the visitor's bullpen.  The RockHounds would get one more hit off of McKeller, a single by Chris Carter.  The Hooks were victorious 8-1.

 

June 11^th,

     The Corpus Christi Hooks played their 2^nd of a four game series against the Midland RockHounds.  Sergio Perez took to the mound for the Hooks and Bobby Cramer for the RockHounds.  Perez pitched a solid six innings.  He gave up four hits, walked one and struck out two.  Perez threw 75 pitches, 52 of them for strikes.  Cramer threw 101 pitches, 65 of them for strikes.  He gave up six hits, 2 earned runs, walked one and struck out seven. 

 

     The Hooks got on the scoreboard first in the Hooks half of the 3^rd.  Felix Molina singled, moved to 2^nd on a Wladimir Sutil bunt.  A wild pitch by Cramer moved Molina and Sutil up one base.  A Kayuo Matsui groundout scored Molina which also moved Sutil to 3^rd.  Sutil scored on a Drew Locke single bring Locke's Texas League Leading RBI total to 61.  The Hooks would leave the bases loaded in the 4^th but they walked away with nothing.  Jimmy Van Ostrand singled, got to 3^rd on a single by Jason Castro that included a fielding error by RockHounds right fielder Matthew Sulentic.  Collin DeLome was hit by a pitch, but Felix Molina grounded into a double play eliminating the Hooks threat. 

 

     RockHounds pitcher Cramer was pulled in the Hooks half of the 5^th and his relief Angel Garcia got the RockHounds out of the inning as the Hooks left runners at 2^nd and 3^rd.  After 5 innings, the Hooks held onto a slim 2-0 lead.  The Hooks got another run in their half of the 6^th.  Mitch Einertson started it out with a single, moved to 2^nd on a Collin DeLome fly out.  Einertson moved to 3^rd on a wild pitch and scored on a Wladimir Sutil single.  The Hooks led 3-0. 

 

     Perez was relieved by Jose Valverde in the 7^th and retired the three batters he faced.  There was less theatrics with this outing.  Chia-Jen Lo came on in relief in the 8^th.  Lo had some problems with the RockHounds as they got runners to 1^st and 2^nd.  In Lo's inning of work he threw 25 pitches, 12 of them for strikes.  This has been the first time that Lo has pitched at Whataburger Field.  In the Hooks 8^th, Mitch Einertson reached 1^st on a fielding error by 3^rd baseman, Adrian Cardenas.  Einertson came home when Collin DeLome launched his Texas League leading 13^th home run just to the left of the Hooks bullpen.  The Hooks now held a 5-0 led.  Daniel Meszaros came on in relief in the 9^th and retired the RockHounds in order as the Hooks came away with their second win against the RockHounds. 

 

     During the post-game interview Collin DeLome was interviewed.  What was obvious is that DeLome had changed something with his approach at the plate and his interview bore that out.  Around a month ago I saw DeLome in the batting cage with a member of the Astros Players Development working with DeLome as it looked like they were trying to change his approach at the plate but what became obvious watching DeLome was that whatever they taught him wasn't working as he went nearly a month before hitting a home run.  DeLome stated during the interview he talked with Hooks hitting coach, Keith Bodie and they agreed to let him go back to his old approach and since that time in four games he has hit three home runs.

June 12^th,

     The Corpus Christi Hooks played their third of a four game series against the Midland RockHounds.  Casey Hudspeth took to the mound for the Hooks and Graham Godfrey for the RockHounds.  Hudspeth lasted six innings in his outing.  He gave up four hits and the three runs which the RockHounds put of the scoreboard were off of him.  Hudspeth threw 97 pitches, 66 of them for strikes.  He walked walked one, struck out one and gave up two home runs.  Godfrey threw 100 pitches, 62 of them for strikes.  He walked two and struck out three. 

 

     Unlike the previous two outings the RockHounds got on the scoreboard first.  The got it started in the top of the 2^nd.  Hudspeth walked Josh Donaldson who would be brought home on an Alex Valdez home run to left field.  The RockHounds added another run in the top of the 4^th when Chris Carter hit a home run to left center field.  Unfortunately for the RockHounds these were the only runs which they scored and that left the door open for the Hooks.  The Hooks came close to scoring a run in their half of the 4^th.  Mark Ori doubled and would move to third on a wild pitch but the next two batters failed to bring him home. 

 

     The Hooks finally put some runs on the scoreboard in the bottom of the 5^th.  Drew Meyer walked, moved to 3^rd on a Mitch Einertson double and scored on a Wladimir Sutil ground out.  Einertson scored on a Kazuo Matsui single.  After the end of 5 innings the RockHounds held onto a slim 3-2 lead. 

 

     Hudspeth would be replaced by Chris Salamida in the 7^th and Godfrey would be replaced by Jared Lansford.  Salamida was replaced by Ryan McKeller in the top of the 8^th after he walked Adrian Cardenas and hit Matthew Spencer with a pitch. 

 

     Drew Locke started the Hooks bottom of the 8^th with a double, moved to 3^rd on a Mark Ori single and scored when Jimmy Van Ostrand grounded into a double play.  A Jason Castro single saw Lansford get replaced by Sam Demel.   Castro moved to 2^nd on a Drew Meyer single and scored on a Mitch Einertson single.  After 8 innings the Hooks led 4-3.  The RockHounds would get a runner to 3^rd in the top of the 9^th but failed to get him home.  The Hooks pulled off their third straight win against the RockHound 4-3. 

 

June 13^th,

     The Corpus Christi Hooks wrapped up their four game series against the Midland RockHounds.  Wilton Lopez made his 2^nd start for the Hooks as a starter and Travis Banwart for the RockHounds.  Lopez has been a relief pitcher for the Hooks but has been converted to a starting role since Douglas Arguello is on the disabled list.  Lopez lasted just over 4 innings.  He threw 71 pitches, 51 of them for strikes.  He gave up 12 hits, 3 runs, walked no one and struck out one.  Banwart went 6 innings, threw 91 pitches, 56 of them for strikes.  He walked one and struck out four. 

 

     As the night before, the RockHounds scored first in their half of the 2^nd.  Matthew Spencer started it out with a single, moved to 2^nd on a Corey Brown single and scored on an Alex Valdez double.  Brown scored from 3^rd on a Gabriel Ortiz ground out.  Alex Valdez tried to score on a Matthew Sulentic single but was nailed at home plate by a brilliant throw from outfielder Drew Locke to Brian Esposito.  The Hooks would get a run back in their half of the 3^rd.  Wladimir Sutil reached 1^st on a bunt, stole 2^nd and scored on a Collin DeLome single. 

 

     The RockHounds would add a run in the top of the 4^th.  Brown singled, moved to 3^rd on a Valdez double and scored on an Archie Gilbert single.  At the end of four innings the Rockhounds led 3-1.  Lopez started out the fifth inning but after giving up 2 more singles he was replaced by Andy Van Hekken who got the Hooks out of the inning.   Van Hekken would give up one run in the RockHounds 7^th when Josh Horton scored on a Spencer single.  At the end of seven innings the RockHounds led 4-1.  Midland relief pitcher Jon Hunter who replaced Banwart in the 7^th was replaced by Michael Benacka in the Hooks 8^th and he ran into problems really quick.  Collin DeLome singled, Kazuo Matsui and Drew Locke walked which brought up Jimmy Van Ostrand who up to this point had gone 0-2.  He ripped a double to the corner in left field that scored DeLome, Matsui and Locke.  Benacka was replaced by Chris Farley.  The Hooks left the 8^th with the score knotted. 

 

     The RockHounds started the 9^th as Evan Englebrook who had replaced Van Hekken in the 8^th.  He successfully retired the RockHounds in the 9^th and 10^th.  The Hooks started the 10^th with Van Ostrand drawing a walk and got to 2^nd on a Drew Meyer bunt.  Mitch Einertson was intentionally walked which brought up Esposito to the plate who had gone 0-4.  He ripped a line drive to the corner in right field which scored Van Ostrand.  The Hooks recorded their second come from behind win against the RockHounds as they swept the series.  Englebrook recorded his first win of the season.  It was good to see Englebrook perform well since he got shellacked on his first outing.  Englebrook was a member of the 2008 squad and through talking with him that year found out that we had lived in neighboring towns when I was stationed in Pennsylvania.  Englebrook lived in Mechanicsburg while we lived in Boiling Springs.

May 30th,
     The Corpus Christi Hooks started a three game series against the Springfield Cardinals.  Sergio Perez took to the mound for the Hooks and Trey Hearne took to the mound for the Cardinals.  Hearnes appearance in Corpus Christi was a homecoming of sorts as he had pitched at Texas A&M Corpus Christi and at one time had been an employee with the Corpus Christi Hooks.

     The Cardinals got on the board in the top of the 1st when a fielding error by Drew Locke allowed Daryl Jones to score who had singled.  Jones had moved into scoring position on consecutive groundouts.  After four innings the Cardinals held onto their 1-0 lead.  James Rapoport started it off for the Cardinals in the top of the 4th with a single.  Antonio DeJesus followed with a bunt.  Trey Hearne came to the plate for his second at bat with the first offering he showed a bunt which left him in the count 0-1.  The next pitch Hearne sent over the left field berm and the Cardinals now held onto a 4-0 lead. 

     The Cardinals would add another run in the top of the 5th when Matt Arburr hit a home run over the left field foul pole.  This home run was argued unsuccessfully by Hooks coach Luis Pujols.  This controversial home run would end up being pivotal as it was the margin of victory.  After the 5th the Cardinals would not score another run.

     The Hooks would score two runs in the bottom of the 5th.  Felix Molina started it out with a double.  Jimmy Van Ostrand walked.  A Josh Flores single plated Molina and a Drew Meyer single scored Van Ostrand.  The Hooks would leave the inning with the bases loaded as the Cardinals held onto their 5-2 lead.  The Hooks added another run in the bottom of the 7th.  Wladimir Sutil would scored with a Drew Meyer groundout.  The Hooks would leave runners on 2nd and 3rd as the Cardinals lead shrunk to 5-3. 

     Francisco Samuel, the fourth Cardinals pitcher was on the mound in the Hooks ninth and he walked the first three batters he faced, Felix Molina, Wladimir Sutil and Jimmy Van Ostrand.  Samuel would be replaced by Tyler Norrick.  He got Josh Flores in a forced out the resulted in Molina being tagged out at home.  Drew Locke followed with a single bringing his Texas League leading RBI total to 55 as Sutil crossed home plate.  The Cardinals would escape this game with a 5-4 victory as the Hooks failed to further capitalize with the bases being loaded.
  


May 31st, 
     The Corpus Christi Hooks had an afternoon start against the Springfield Cardinals.  Casey Hudspeth took to the mound and pitched six solid innings.  He limited the Cardinals to two runs on five hits.  He struck out two and walked four.  Hudspeth's performance on the mound along with the three strong innings of scoreless relief pitching by Chris Salamida and T. J. Burton along with the Hooks offense stopped the Hooks losing streak at six games. 

     Josh Flores started it off for the Hooks in the bottom of the 1st in the lead-off spot.  Flores would turn in a great performance in the lead-off spot as he went 3 for 4.  He started it off with a double, moved to 3rd on a groundout by Drew Meyer and came home on a sacrifice fly by Drew Locke which brought his Texas League leading RBI total to 56.  The Hooks would add another run in the bottom of the 2nd when catcher Jonathan Fixler clubbed his 5th home run of the season into the Hooks bullpen. 

     The Cardinals would knot the score in their half of the 5th.  A Tyler Henley home run also brought home Curt Smith who had singled.  Unfortunately for the Cardinals these would be the last runs which would cross the plate for them in the game. 

     The Hooks pulled away in the bottom of the 5th.  Wladimir Sutil singled, moved to 2nd on a Hudspeth sacrifice bunt.  A Josh Flores single brought Sutil home.  Flores moved to 2nd on a Drew Meyer single.  Flores and Meyer would score when Drew Locke came to the plate.  Meyer reached home on a fielding error by Cardinals left fielder Daryl Jones.  Jimmy Van Ostrand walked and a Mitch Einertson single brough Locke home.  The Hooks at the end of five had a 6-2 lead. 

     The Hooks added two more runs in the bottom of the 8th.  Jonathan Fixler started it out by hitting a line drive home run onto the left field berm.  Wladimir Sutil followed with a double and scored on a Mark Ori single.  The Hooks won the game 8-2.  Jonathan Fixler has yet to record his first single of the season.
 

May 27th,
     Douglas Arguello took to the mound for the Corpus Christi Hooks as they started a three game series against the Arkansas Travelers.  Arguello pitched a stellar 8 2/3 innings, but it was for naught as the Hooks offense failed to support his strong effort by only managing three hits.  The Travelers got on the board first in the top of the 1st.  Traveler Peter Bourjos walked and stole second on a controversial call by the third base umpire which was argued by Coach Luis Pujols.  Bourjos would score on a Hank Conger single.  The call at home plate was also argued by Coach Pujols as outfielder Josh Flores threw a perfect pitch to catcher Brian Esposito that arguement got Pujols ejected. 

     The Hooks would knot the score in their half of the 3rd when Esposito hit a solo shot onto the left field berm.  No other Hook that night would reach second base for the rest of the game.  Through eight innings the Travelers had managed four hits.  Arguello went into the 9th inning with two out and runners at 2nd and 3rd.  Ben Johnson who had a 1-2 count hit a home run onto the left field berm making the score 4-1.  Besides the home run by Esposito, the only Hooks who managed to get a hit were Mark Ori and Mitch Einertson.  Arguello gave up 7 hits, 4 earned runs, walked one and struck out six in the loss. 

     Arguello's 1-3 record really doesn't do him justice as he has turned in some brilliant performances on the mound only to be let down by the Hooks offense.  The last four game series against the Midland RockHounds saw the bullpen but in a dismal performance as they gave up 53 hits.  One of those games they lost 24-6. 




May 28th,
     The Corpus Christi Hooks played the second game in their series against the Arkansas Travelers and as the night before a late inning home run by the Travelers sealed the Hooks fate.  Brad James toed the rubber and had a decent outing.  He went six innings, gave up three hits, one earned run.  The walked three and recorded no strikeouts.  James needed a decent outing.  Over his last four starts he has given up 24 runs over 15 innings. 

     The Hooks scored their only two runs in their half of the 5th on a Wladimir Sutil single off of Travelers starter, Trevor Ball.  Sutil's single plated Collin DeLome and Chad Spann.  Collin DeLome had walked and stole second.  Ball would also walked Spann.  The Hooks led at the end of 5 innings, 2-0. 

     The Travelers cut the lead by one in their half of the 6th when Coby Smith scored.  James had walked Smith who then stole 2nd.  He moved to 3rd on a Hank Conger ground out and crossed home plate on a Mark Trumbo sacrifice fly. 

     Danny Meszaros relieved James in the 7th and as of late had been the Hooks most effective reliever.  The Travelers managed to get one hit off of him in the 7th when Nate Sutton singled.  In the Travelers 8th, Peter Bourjos got a single.  Meszaros retired the next two batters.  The next batter he faced, Mark Trumbo launched a home run off of the scoreboard in left field.  The Hooks would get the tying run on base in their half of the 8th and 9th but couldn't get the runner home. 

     There was some roster movement within the Hooks bullpen.  Rob Seremano was released and Erick Abreu was reassigned to the High A Lancaster Jethawks.  The release of Seremano was expected as he has been torched on quite a few of his relief efforts and his ERA stood at 8.87.  He had appeared in 12 games with 22.1 innings of relief.  He had given up 33 hits with 22 earned runs.  RHP's Evan Englebrook and Ryan McKeller were reassigned from Triple-A Round Rock Express.  Englebrook and McKeller were part of the 2008 Hooks bullpen. 

May 29th,
     The Corpus Christi Hooks wrapped up their three game series against the Arkansas Travelers.  Polin Trinidad took to the mound for the Hooks.  The Hooks scored first in their half of the 3rd.  Collin DeLome singled, managed to swipe second and moved to third on a throwing error by pitcher Jordan Walden.  DeLome crossed home plate when Drew Locke singled.  That RBI brought Locke's Texas League RBI total to 49.  After four innings the Hooks held onto a 1-0 lead.  Up to this point Trinidad had pitched well and had recorded one strikeout.  In the Travelers fifth he managed to get the first batter, Brandon Florence out.  That would be the last out he recorded.  Over the course of the next eight batters he would give up four singles, one triple and two home runs.  He was also responsible for one of the two Hooks errors that inning when he tried to pick-off Coby Smith.  Trinidad was relieved by Andy Van Hekken who retired the side.  The Travelers held a 8-1 lead.   

     The Hooks would were able to close some ground in their half of the 5th.  Wladimir Sutil started the scoring off when he hit his first home run in Double A ball.  The last time that Sutil had hit a home run was on July 23, 2003 when he played in the Venezulan Summer League.  Collin DeLome walked and reached second on a passed ball.  Drew Meyer walked.  DeLome and Meyer scored when Drew Locke double bringing his RBI total to 51, he would reach third on a throwing error.  Locke scored when Mark Ori ground out.  At the end of five innings the Travelers lead was 8-5. 

     Any hopes of a Hooks victory vanished when the Travlers game to the plate in the top of the 6th as 11 batters came up to bat.  Van Hekken would get tagged with three singles and a fielding error.  Catcher Brian Esposito was charged with a catching error.  Evan Englebrook relieved Van Hekken and his first pitch was greeted warmly by Mark Trumbo who clubbed a three run homer.  Englebrook wasn't finished as he gave up another two run blast to Hainley Statia.  The Travelers at the end of 6 innings led 17-5. 

     Chris Salamida came on in relief in the 7th and in his two innings of work the Travelers managed only one run.  That run came when Hainley Statia singled which allowed Wilberto Ortiz to score.  The Hooks managed to get two runs back in their half of the 8th.  Drew Locke started it out by doubling, he moved to third on a wild pitch which also allowed Mark Ori to get to first.  Locke and Ori scored when Jimmy Van Ostrand doubled.  The Travelers led 18-7 as the game entered the 9th. 

     The Travelers got one more run in the top of the 9th off of Hooks pitcher T. J. Burton.  A Mark Trumbo ground out allowed Coby Smith to score.  The Hooks started their half of the 9th off with a Sutil walk.  Sutil moved to second on a Drew Meyer single.  Drew Locke stepped up to the plate and clubbed his 10th home run of the season and also managed to bringing his Texas League leading RBI total to 54.  Locke's home run also moved him into a tie with Collin DeLome as they both lead the Texas League in Home Runs. 

    What was sad with this series is that we were playing the team with the worst record in the Texas League North Division and we couldn't manage one win.  This loss was the Hooks fifth consecutive loss.  In their last 11 games the Hooks have lost 10.  The Hooks went from being two games behind the Midland RockHounds and are now seven game behind.  The dropped from 2nd to last place in the Texas League South Division. 

  

May 9th,
     The Corpus Christi Hooks traveled to San Antonio for a split four game series against the San Antonio Missions.  The first two games would be played in San Antonio and the next two would be played in Corpus Christi.  The series was split so that the Southland Conference Baseball Tournament could be played at Whataburger Field.  The Hooks went to Nelson Wolff Stadium a venue which hadn't been too friendly for the Hooks in the past.  Polin Trinidad took to the mound and pitched five solid innings.  Polin gave up three runs off of eight hits.  He walked five and struck out two.

     The Hooks got on the board early in the top of the 1st as Josh Flores and Drew Meyer singled.  Drew Locke doubled and plated Flores and Meyer.  Jhon Florentino singled which brought Locke home and the Hooks had an early 3-0 lead.  The Hooks were able to add another run in the top of the 3rd.  At the end of 4 innings the Hooks had a 4-2 lead over the Missions.  The Hooks added another run in the top of the 5th after a Drew Locke double brought home Josh Flores who had also doubled making it 5-2.  This double was Locke's third double of the night and brought his Texas League RBI total to 34.  The Missions closed to within two in the bottom of the 5th.  That would be the last run which would cross home plate for the Missions that night.  The Hooks added two more runs in the top of the 7th after a Josh Flores single.  Drew Meyer brought Flores home on a towering shot over the right field fence.  The Hooks added another run in the top of the 8th when a Jonathan Fixler double brought home Felix Molina who had singled.  Chad Wagler and Andy Van Hekken recorded four innings of shutout relief to win the game for the Hooks 8-3. 

     The Hooks recorded four double plays.  To date Hooks catcher Jonathan Fixler has yet to hit a single.  All of his hits have been for extra bases.

                                         (Colby and Hooks Pitcher Rob Seremano)

May 11th,
     The first of a two game home stand against the San Antonio Missions saw Casey Hudspeth take to the mound and the fans were treated to the second Corpus Christi Hooks pitcher go the distance in the last six days for a win.  Hudspeth gave up two runs off of nine hits.  The Missions got on the board in the top of the 1st off of a Mike Baxter RBI single.  The Hooks answered back in the bottom of the 1st when Josh Flores hit his first round tripper of the year which landed on left field berm.  The score was knotted at 1.  The Missions added another run in the top of the 2nd when Seth Johnston hit a home run which cleared the left field berm.  The Missions led 2-1.  The Hooks got two runs across the plate in the bottom of the 4th.  Drew Locke started the inning out with a single and Mark Ori doubled.  Locke and Ori would score on RBI groundouts by Mitch Einertson and Jhon Florentino.  The Hooks led 3-2.  The Hooks added another run in the bottom of the 6th.  Drew Meyer started out by hitting a ball that fell out of the glove of Luis Durango which allowed Meyer to get to third.  Drew Locke singled bringing his Texas League RBI total to 35 when Meyer crossed home plate.  The Hooks added one more run in the bottom of 7th.  Josh Flores single, stole second and cross home plate on a Drew Meyer single.  A throwing error to 1st by Keoni Ruth allowed Flores to score.

     Hudspeth threw 109 pitches, 74 for strikes.  The struck out two and walked no one.

May 5th
     The Corpus Christi Hooks started their current home stand against the Midland RockHounds.  Casey Hudspeth took the mound and he pitched a solid seven innings giving up seven hits, four strikeouts, two walks and two earned runs.  He had a shaky first half but a visit to the mound by pitching coach Stan Boroski did some good.  Casey did give up a home run to RockHound Corey Brown who hit the ball onto the left field berm in the RockHounds top of the 2nd.  The Hooks batters provided Casey with a lot of offense.  The Hooks got onto RockHounds pitcher Chris Farley early.  The Hooks scored three runs in their half of the 1st inning as Mark Ori brought home Drew Meyer and Drew Locke with a RBI single.  Ori would be brought home on a Jhon Florentino RBI single.  The Hooks added one more run in their half of the 3rd.  Farley was pulled as Jason Glushon relieved him in the 4th and it didn't get any better.  The 1st batter he faced, Collin DeLome hit a home run into the visitor's bullpen.  Two more runs would cross the plate in the Hooks half of the 6th inning.  Andy Van Hekken come on in relief of Hudspeth and got the save as he recorded one strikeout.  The Hooks won 10-3. 

  


May 6th
     Today's game ended up being a pitchers duel.   Douglas Arguello took to the mound for the Corpus Christi Hooks and Graham Godfrey for the Midland RockHounds.  Arguello pitched a spectular game as he went the distance, the first Hooks pitcher to do it and get a win since June 9, 2007.  Arguello gave up 7 hits and one earned run.   Outfielder Drew Locke hit a solo shot onto the left field berm in the Hooks half of the 1st inning.  Locke collected his 30th RBI and currently leads the Texas League in RBI's.  The earned run that Arguello was responsible for came across in the RockHounds top of the 5th inning, making the score 1-1.  That tie didn't last long as the Hooks came to bat in the bottom of the 5 inning.  Jhon Florentino and Felix Molina singled.  Florentino and Molina were brought home when catcher Jonathan Fixler launched a home run that cleared that left field berm making the score 4-1.  The Hooks defense backed up Arguello with some stellar defensive plays.  Arguello got himself into one jam in the RockHounds top of the 7th.  The RockHounds had individuals at the corners with two outs.  This threat was negated when RockHound hitter, Chris Carter grounded out to Fixler and was called out on batters interference. 

     Arguello collected his first win of the season.  He faced 34 batters.  He threw a total of 116 pitches, 75 of those for strikes.  He struck out six.

 

     April 23rd game is the first of a four game home stand that the Corpus Christi Hooks will have against the Frisco RoughRiders.  Casey Hudspeth took the mound for the Hooks.  In his six innings of work he recorded only one strikeout and walked no one.  He did manage to give up 8 hits which resulted in four runs.  The Hooks at the time when Hudspeth left were winning 6-4.  Seremano came on in relief and gave up a homer and by the end of the RoughRiders top of the seventh were winning 7-6.  Wilton Lopez relieved Seremano and he gave up two solo shots which left the Hooks trailing 6-9 after the RoughRiders top of the 8th.  Beau Jones was the RoughRiders reliever in the Hooks half of the 8th and he gave up a singles to Brian Esposito and Wladimir Sutil.  Esposito reached first on an error. Collin DeLome came to the plate and blasted an opposite field home run which went past the scoreboard.  Jones gave up another single to Drew Meyer at which pointed he was relieved by Jose Diaz who gave up a single to Mark Ori.  Drew Locke came to the plate who clubbed a three run homer.  The six runs put the Hooks in front 12-9.   T. J. Burton came on in relief and retired the RoughRiders side to record the save. 




     Prior to the game I had a chance to talk with Drew Locke who is leading the Texas League in Home Runs as he was stepping out of the batting cage.  I was able to get a picture of him with my younger son, Colby, who now has another baseball buddy.

Apr. 24th
     Douglas Arguello took the mound and lasted five innings and he worked his way out of a couple of jams.  He gave up eight hits and when he left the game the RoughRiders were only up 1-0.  The run which came across the plate was Jose Vallejo.  Who had singled in the RoughRiders top of the 1st and stole second base.  It wasn't until the Hooks bottom of the 4th that a Hooks player reached third base.  Chris Salamida came on in the 6th and was able to retire the RoughRiders side.  The wheel literally came off the truck in the RoughRiders top of the 7th as Salamida gave up a three run homer to Chad Tracy and two batters later a solo shot to Manuel Pina.  At the end of seven innings the RoughRiders were leading 5-0.  The Hooks avoided being shut out when Brian Esposito clubbed a solo shot onto the left field berm in the Hooks half of the 9th.  The RoughRiders won 5-1. 

     The Hooks pitchers managed to record eight strikeouts but the 16 hits they surrendered didn't help.  Wladimir Sutil managed to turn a superb double play.  Brian Esposito was promoted to Triple A Round Rock Express to take the spot vacated by J. R. Towles.

 



Apr. 25th,
     Brad James was the starting pitcher tonight.   While he had a much better performance some great defensive plays really helped him get out of a couple of jams.  James gave up five hits with only one run scored.   He struck out three over six innings.  Frisco pitcher Guillerno Moscoso was able to keep the Hooks off of the scoreboard through five innings.  Including getting himself out of a bases loaded jam in the Hooks half of the 2nd.  The Hooks scored one run in their half of the 6th when a Jonathan Fixler double plated Jimmy Van Ostrand who had doubled earlier. 

     Andy Van Hekken relieved James in the 7th and struck out two batters.  The Hooks added two more runs in their half of the 7th when a Van Ostrand double brought home Drew Meyer who had singled and Drew Locke who had walked.  T. J. Burton relieved Van Hekken for the 9th inning and retired the RoughRiders side.  Andy Van Hekken recorded his 100th win as a pitcher.  Wladimir Sutil's hitting streak came to an end at nine games. 

Apr. 26th,
     Sergio Perez took the mound for the last game of the series and he did a fairly good job through five innings.  The only rough spot he had up until then was a two run homer he gave up to Justin Smoak in the 1st inning.  The Hooks halved that lead off after Collin DeLome tripled.  DeLome was brought home on a sacrifice fly by Drew Meyer.  Things went from good to ugly for Perez in the RoughRider top of the 6th.  As 11 RoughRiders would come to the plate.  Chad Tracy hit a two run homer onto the left field berm and the last two runs which were scored in the inning came courtesy of two throwing errors on the same play.  Jhon Florentino overthrow Mark Ori and when Drew Meyer tried to pick off the runner going to 3rd he overthrow Felix Molina and the ball went into the Hooks dugout.  Between Sergio Perez and Wilton Lopez they gave up 7 runs.   At the end of the 6th inning the RoughRiders were leading 9-1. 

     The Hooks were able to get two runs across the plate in their half of the 7th off of RBI singles by Collin DeLome and Drew Locke.  In the Hooks half of the 8th Mitch Einertson and Jhon Florentino hit back to back home runs onto the left field berm.   The Hooks lost the game 9-5.  Chad Spann was promoted to Triple A Round Rock Express.  The Hooks pitching needs to find a way to shut down the RoughRiders as they collected 50 hits over the series. 

 


     Astros pitchers Brian Moehler and Brandon Backe will be making rehab starts with the Hooks.  Moehler is slated to pitch on Wednesday, April 29th against the Midland Rockhounds.  Backe is tentatively slated to pitch on Saturday, May 1st against the Frisco RoughRiders. 

     This is a small sample of the Round Trippers which were hit by the Corpus Christi Hooks during the 2008 season.  It includes the multi home-run games that Ole Sheldon and Brian Bogusevic had.  The Frisco Rough Riders and the San Antonio Missions pitchers accounted for a majority of the round trippers which I was able to catch last year.      

 

     The Corpus Christi Hooks wrapped up their home stand on Tuesday night and leave on their road trip on a positive note.  The Corpus Christi Hooks finished up their series against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. 

     The Hooks and Naturals first game was on Easter Sunday, Apr. 12th.  Of the twelve games these two teams played last year against each other the Naturals were victorious in eight of them.  The last win that the Hooks had against the Naturals was on April 15, 2008.  Douglas Arguello made his Double A debut and he did not disappoint.  He pitched a solid five innings and left the game with a 5-1 lead while walking three and striking out two. 

     The Hooks got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the second inning.  Mark Ori singled who was advanced to second when Jimmy Van Ostrand was struck by a pitch.  The bases were cleared when Drew Locke blasted a homer into the visitor's bullpen.  The Hooks added two more runs in the bottom of the third.  Jhon Florentino singled and was moved to second after Mark Ori was walked.  Jimmy Van Ostrand and Mitch Einertson each recorded an RBI on their consecutive singles. 

     The Naturals added a run in their top of the sixth when Brian McFall hit a three run homer against Hooks reliever Rob Semerano.  The Naturals would tie the game in their top of the ninth when Howell hit a solo shot onto the left field berm.  The Naturals would add another home run in their top of the tenth when Lisson hit a pitch off of Hooks reliever T. J. Burton.  The Naturals won the game 6-5. 

April 13th
     Brad James took the mound for the Hooks against the Naturals and he ran into problems early.  The Naturals scored three times in their half of the first.  The Naturals were aided by a fielding error by shortstop Wladimir Sutil which would have resulted in a double play and another error by Mitch Einertson which plated one.  Mark Ori's  double got things started for the Hooks in their half of the second.  He advanced to third on a hit by Jimmy Van Ostrand and crossed the plate when Drew Locke hit a deep fly ball.  The Naturals added another run in their half of the fourth.  Brad James exited the game at the end of the frame, he gave up five walks and recorded one strikeout.  The Naturals led 4-1.

     Last years starting pitcher, Andy Van Hekken came on in relief and pitched three solid innings.  The Hooks were able to pull to within one run in their half of the fifth when Wladimir Sutil single and would be brought home on Collin DeLome's towering shot into the visitor's bullpen.  The Hooks evened the score in their half of the seventh when Wladimir Sutil scored on a error. 

     Van Hekken ran into problems in the eighth as the Naturals added four runs off of six hits in their half of the eighth.  Catcher Brian Esposito was bowled over by Naturals Outfielder Jordan Parraz after Esposito had given him the plate since the play was going to first when Wladimir Sutil realized he wouldn't be able to turn the play at home plate. 




    Many people felt that Parraz should have at least received a warning off of this call.  Parraz would come to bat in the Naturals half of the ninth inning and would be beaned by relief pitcher Chris Salamida.  The umpire ejected Esposito, Salamida and manager Luis Pujols over the play.  Salamida's actions earned him a three game suspension.  The Naturals won 8-4.   

     On a postive note the two millionth fan entered Whataburger Field this night and won a five day Carnival Mexican cruise for two.

Apr. 14th
     The Hooks wrapped up their three game series with Hooks pitcher Sergio Perez toeing the rubber.  The Hooks were victorious spanking the Naturals 9-1.   Perez pitched six scoreless innings, giving up 5 hits, two walks and striking out one.  Naturals pitcher Dan Cortes lasted only 3 2/3 inning.  He gave up five hits, one walk and struckout five.   Collin DeLome put the Hooks on the scoreboard first with his third round tripper of the year on an opposite field home run.  The Hooks added three runs in their half of the third when it appeared Cortes was going to get himself out of a bases load jam but a throwing error by Cortes to first off of hard hit ball from Brian Esposito scored one.  Wladimir Sutil added two more runs with a bloop single to centerfield.  Josh Flores added a hit and Jimmy Van Ostrand was struck by a pitch.   

     The Naturals lone run came in their half of the seventh after Hooks reliever Erick Abreu came in and walked the first two batters he faced.  Hooks manager Luis Pujols pulled Abreu at this point.  The Hooks loaded the bases in their half of the seventh on singles by Jhon Florentino and Mark Ori.  Van Ostrand was hit by another pitch.  Outfielders Drew Locke and Josh Flores each recorded an RBI on their hits at the plate. 

     The Hooks added three more runs in their half of the eighth.  Jhon Florentino single and Drew Meyer double which brought Florentino home.  Naturals reliever Kyle Crist walked Mark Ori and Van Ostrand.  Drew Locke ripped one deep to left field which plated two.

   One concern which has emerged is the top half of the batting order which on the night of April 13th went 2 for 14.    The batting averages of Drew Meyer .053 and Mitch Einertson .125 bear this out.     

     The Corpus Christi Hooks completed their first three home games against the Tulsa Drillers.  The Hooks took two of the three games.  Opening Day, April 9^th, drew a crowd of over 7,000 to Whataburger Field.  Before the seasons first pitch was thrown out a moment of silence was held for all of the veterans who have made the ultimate sacrifice and for Nick Adenhart, a pitcher for the California Angels who was killed by a drunk driver hours after pitching six scoreless innings in front of his father.  Adenhart was with the Arkansas Travelers, a Texas League team for the entire 2007 season.  Adenhart had pitched three games at Whataburger Field.    After the moment of silence the ball made its way through the infield and was then thrown to the outfield and the last player to catch it threw the ball out of the park.

 

     Sergio Perez was the Opening Day pitcher for the Corpus Christi Hooks and he pitched a solid five innings and allowed one run off of one hit.  The Corpus Christi Hooks bats provided Perez with plenty of offense.  It was a 3-1 game before a Mitch Einertson double brought in two runs.  The Tulsa Drillers coach had walked Outfielder Jimmy Van Ostrand hoping for a double play when Einertson came up to bat.  Two players where left on base when Catcher Brian Esposito sent a three run blast onto the left field berm.  Outfielder Collin DeLome added a solo shot onto the left field berm in the bottom of the eighth.  (I was within 20' of each of these home runs.)  The Tulsa Drillers managed to score two runs in the top of the 9^th inning when Chris Salamida gave up a home run.  The Hooks beat the Drillers 9-3. 

 

April 10^th

     Polin Trinidad was the Corpus Christi Hooks pitcher tonight.  While he did pitch six innings the Tulsa Drillers managed to rough him up.  Particularly Outfielder Anthony Jackson who clubbed two home runs off of him.  The first one came in the top half of the 1^st inning off of Trinidad's first pitch of the game.  Jackson followed up with a two run blast a couple of innings later.  The three runs which Jackson was responsible for was all that the Drillers needed.  The Corpus Christi Hooks did manage a late 9^th inning rally when Mitch Einertson and Brian Esposito were hit by pitches.  The Hooks lost the game to the Drillers by a score of 4-2 leaving the bases loaded.

 

April 11^th

     Casey Hudspeth toed the rubber for the Corpus Christi Hooks tonight.  This game ended up being a pitchers duel.   Hudspeth pitched a stellar six innings.  He had a shaky start in the top of the 2^nd but after a visit to the mound by pitching coach, Stan Boroski, he quieted down.  Casey recorded three strikeouts and the relief pitchers finished off the Drillers over the final three innings.  Infielder Jhon Florentino's solo blast onto the left field berm in the bottom of the 1st inning was the margin of victory.  The Hooks beat the Drillers 1-0.