Broncos win, 2-1

By DENNIS SILVA II
LAREDO MORNING TIMES

Andy Schon has had his way of late with the Edinburg Coyotes.

The Broncos right-hander followed last week’s complete-game, nine-strikeout win in Edinburg with another gem on Monday, throwing six innings and allowing one run on eight hits en route to a 2-1 win before a crowd of 576 at Veterans Field.

Schon struck out five and walked three to improve to 5-2, and was supported by Luany Sanchez’s two-run bomb with two outs in the sixth inning.

"What we got out of Schon is what we’ve been getting the last two starts," Broncos Manager Dan Shwam said. "He’s a competitor. He had his curveball working and he was down in the zone. He was very effective and he was a bulldog out there."

The Broncos improved to 23-24 while the Coyotes fell to 20-27. Laredo boosted its fourth-place lead to three games over Edinburg.

The Broncos received a much-needed dose of familiarity on Monday when veteran infielders Arnoldo Ponce and Ivan Reyes, two of their top three hitters, were activated off the inactive list.

The moves paid vast dividends as an improved infield defense ignited a fine start by the Broncos defensively.

Laredo held Edinburg to one hit over the first four innings, allowing just two baserunners, as the Coyotes never gathered a rhythm offensively.

Ponce and Reyes, who had missed many games over the last two weeks, combined for 14 putouts and six assists.

"It’s a whole different club when Ponce and Reyes are out there," Shwam said. "Even mentally, you can see how it affects the other players. It’s like a breath of fresh air."

Eventually, both offenses – Laredo was held to three hits over the same span – would awaken.

After throwing a spectacular first five innings, Schon eluded a critical jam in the sixth after loading the bases with no outs.

After Robert Matlock scored on a bases-loaded walk to Logan Wood, a heady double-play ended the inning.

With one out, Alex Entrekin flew out to shallow right field. The Coyotes then sent Amado German home after tagging from third base, but he was tagged out by Sanchez on Dwayne White’s quick throw from right field.

That crowd-pleasing play set the stage for another as Sanchez drilled a two-run home run to deep left field with two outs in the bottom of the inning to put Laredo ahead, 2-1.

It was Sanchez’s 11th homer of the season. He is tied with Amarillo’s A.J. Johnson for second in the league in home runs.

"Luany has been big for us all year," Shwam said. "He gets the hits when we need them and he does the right things. He really called and caught a great game tonight, but he got the big hit when we needed it."

Edinburg left-hander Miguel Martinez (4-3) got the loss. He threw six innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out five and walking four.

Dave Wasylak earned his first save of the season after pitching the ninth.

The Broncos compiled two runs on four hits to the Coyotes’ one run on eight hits.
Sanchez led the Broncos at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Matlock and Angelo Fermin led Edinburg with two hits apiece.

Game 3 is tonight at 7:35 p.m.

BRONCO BITS: On Monday, the Broncos traded reliever Benny Cepeda to Lincoln as part of the deal that brought Ben Tinius to Laredo on June 11. Cepeda was the "player to be named later" in the deal for the Broncos. As a Bronco, he went 1-0 with a 1.40 ERA in 13 appearances with three saves. The Broncos were caught off guard as it was agreed to informally that Lincoln would not ask for the player until late in the season. "We kind of got duped," Shwam said. "When we made the deal, they said they’d ask for the player at the end of the year. I would never have done it if I knew they’d want the player in June or July. It was very unprofessional of them, and I learned that is one organization we won’t be doing business with ever again."… The Broncos released catcher Josh Morrison, infielder Mark Perez and outfielder Santiago Guerrero on Monday. Morrison hit .100 (4-for-40) with five RBIs and two home runs in 18 games with Laredo. Perez, who played with the Broncos in 2006, hit .263 with three RBIs and three walks in six games. Guerrero hit. 241 with 14 RBIs and four home runs in 41 games for Laredo… The Broncos also announced on Monday that they signed catcher Josue Gonzalez out of Puerto Rico. Gonzalez played under Dan Shwam last season with the Can-Am Grays…Harlingen manager Al Gallagher was replaced by closer Caleb Balbuena on Monday. Balbuena had been the closer and pitching coach, but will now also assume managerial duties. Gallagher, who was in his first season as manager of the WhiteWings, had led Harlingen to a 16-30 record this season, the worst in United League Baseball. This season, Balbuena is 0-1 with seven saves and a 1.08 ERA. He has struck out 20 in 16.2 innings. He was a 26th round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners in 1998. He spent four years in A-ball before moving to Independent baseball.
(Dennis Silva can be reached at (956) 728-2579 or Dsilva@lmtonline.com)