Great Falls in slump

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Mustangs hang Sox out to dry

Nanita extends hitting streak to 26, one short of record

By Tribune Staff

 

 

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BILLINGS -- It's official. The Great Falls White Sox are slumping.

 

The Sox managed only three harmless singles and were shut out for the first time this season as the Billings Mustangs cruised to a 10-0 victory here Wednesday night in a Pioneer League baseball game.

 

Luis Bolivar and Habelito Hernandez combined for seven hits and three RBI as Billings clobbered Great Falls and moved into a tie for second place in the Pioneer's Northern Division.

 

The Mustangs, winning for the 11th time in 13 outings, improved to 17-10. That's the same record as the White Sox, but Great Falls is most definitely not on a winning streak.

 

It was the White Sox' third straight loss, and fifth setback in six straight games to the Mustangs. With 11 games left in the 38-game first-half schedule, Great Falls, which has dropped six of eight overall, and Billings trail the Northern Division-leading Helena Brewers by a single game.

 

As was the case Tuesday night in the Sox' 14-5 loss to the Mustangs, there was some good news despite the one-sided setback. That's because outfielder Ricardo Nanita extended his hitting streak to 26 games on Wednesday and can tie the Pioneer record tonight with a safety.

 

Nanita, 21, a 13th-round pick in the 2003 draft out of Florida International University, lined a fourth-inning single Wednesday night.

 

Antoin Gray and Clinton King also had singles for Great Falls Wednesday night, but that was the extent of the White Sox offense.

 

The homestanding Mustangs, meanwhile, had little trouble getting the sticks warmed up before 4,253 fans at Cobb Field.

 

The Sox started left-hander Dennis Ulacia, a fifth-year professional who started the season at Double-A Birmingham and is on the Great Falls roster because of a rehabilitation assignment. Ulacia allowed three hits and two runs in the first inning as the White Sox, who have been victimized early on in many games recently, fell behind 2-0.

 

Billings added three more runs in the second off Ulacia.

 

Joey Votto hit a two-run shot in the fifth as the Mustangs increased their lead to 7-0. The southpaw-hitting Votto, a second-round pick in the 2002 draft out of high school in Toronto, has reached base in all 27 Mustang games this season.

 

Later in the fifth, Bobby Mosby hit a two-run single down the left-field line as Billings poured it on against Great Falls relievers Boone Logan and Mike Moat.

 

Camilo Vasquez worked five scoreless innings to pick up his second victory in five decisions.

 

Carlos Bohorquez worked two hitless innings, and Mark Wells mopped up with a pair of effective frames as the Billings pitching staff, which leads the Pioneer in many statistical categories, dominated the White Sox.

 

Tonight at 7 (KMON-AM), the White Sox of manager Chris Cron will send right-hander Sean Tracey to the mound. Tracey is 3-2 with a 4.33 earned-run average. The Mustangs of manager Rick Burleson will counter with right-hander Derek Hawk (3-0).

 

The Tracey-Hawk battle is a rematch of last Saturday's showdown at Legion Park, which Billings won 7-4. That started a string of six straight games between the two longtime Pioneer foes, and the Mustangs have now won four of the first five.