Thursday, Jul. 02, 2009

Zuanich finds Gesa to his liking

By Jack Millikin, Herald staff writer

Any Northwest League player or coach will tell you that Gesa Stadium has never been known as a hitter's park.

That reputation may never change, but if it does, Michael Zuanich may be writing its obituary.

The 6-foot-4 first baseman from Torrance, Calif., blasted his sixth home run in his last six games -- a two-run shot that barely cleared the left-field wall in the first inning -- that highlighted the Dust Devils' 6-4 win over Boise on Wednesday in Pasco.

No Tri-City player has ever led the NWL in homers, but Zuanich's six homers currently lead the league. And just 12 games into the 76-game season, Zuanich is already tied for 10th on the Dust Devils' single-season list for home runs.

"I'm just seeing the ball well," Zuanich said. "This year they've let me spread out my stance, and I've just tried to quiet my head at the plate."

Zuanich came to the plate with two out in the first with the Dust Devils trailing 1-0 and a chance to drive in Jeremiah Sammy at third base. But Zuanich instead drove an 0-2 pitch from Boise starter Robert Hernandez over the Rent-A-Center sign in left for a 2-1 lead.

"I thought it was probably a double. This isn't really a hitter's park," he said. "You just try to get as many good at-bats as you can before the sun goes down."

The Dust Devils broke a 4-all tie in the bottom of the eighth after Tim Wheeler drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Sammy, took third on a wild pitch by Hawks reliever Mike Perconte and scored on a sacrifice fly by Bo Bowman.

"Bo did a good job getting the run in," said Wheeler, who also drove in Joey Wong with a two-out single in the second inning to give Tri-City a 4-1 lead. "It's always fun to play for a winning team, and we're still improving."

Kent Matthes had a 10-game hitting streak snapped but added an insurance run for the Dust Devils with one out in the eighth, scoring on a passed ball by Boise catcher Matt Williams.

The Dust Devils' win kept them undefeated in seven games against East Division rivals. Tri-City swept Boise in a three-game series at Memorial Stadium to open the season and then swept Spokane in three games at Avista Stadium earlier this week.

The Dust Devils hold a four-game lead over Yakima in the East Division. Boise fell back into last place.

"We've just blended well together," said Tri-City manager Fred Ocasio. "We've been swinging the bats well, and if we get good pitching we should be OK."

Craig Bennigson (2-0) got the win for the Dust Devils, allowing two runs on three hits in three innings, and Charlie Ruiz picked up his second save. Ryan Sontag (1-1) took the loss for the Hawks.

Notes

The Colorado Rockies assigned two more players to Tri-City on Wednesday -- C Chris Valdez from rookie-level Casper and LHP Josh Hungerman, a 17th-round draft pick out of Cleveland State. ... Dust Devils OF Scott Beerer, last week's NWL Player of the Week, is nursing a hip flexor strain and is still day-to-day. ... Former Tri-City pitcher Brandon Hynick pitched the ninth perfect game in Pacific Coast League history for Triple-A Colorado Springs on Tuesday night, blanking Portland 2-0. Hynick appeared in two games for the Devils late in the 2006 season.