Dynamic contest sets up pivotal doubleheader

Seven homers. 28 runs. A gazillion hits.

The Broncos move up and over .500 with their explosive 15-13 win over Harlingen on Friday at Veterans.

Now comes a pivotal doubleheader on Saturday. Two wins would be crucial as the Broncos look to move up and up in ULB standings.

Here's a game report from Friday's gem, courtesy of Harlingen media director Jonah Goldberg:

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July 4, 2008 - Laredo, TX – The Laredo Broncos (25-24) launched every kind of home run, including a grand slam to cap off a 12-run fifth to beat the Harlingen WhiteWings (16-33) 15-13 tonight at Veterans Field.

The WhiteWings sent ten batters to the plate in a seven-run second inning against Gregorio Martinez. David Cardona started with a single and David Fowler followed with a two-run home run. Amadeo Zazueta followed by reaching on an error. Two outs later, Anthony Slagle and Matt Kramer drew walks to load the bases. Ryan Fox hit an RBI-single and Argelis Nunez followed with a grand slam to make it 7-0.

The Broncos responded with some long ball of their own in the the third against Bobby Darling as Dwayne White hit a solo home run and former-WhiteWing Luany Sanchez a two-run shot.

The WhiteWings got those runs back in the top of the fifth against Nathan Crawford. Joel Gonzalez led off with a single. Kevin Griffin followed with a walk and Slagle also walked. One out later, Fox hit a sacrifice fly and Nunez hit a two-run double to make it 10-3.

The Broncos exploded for 12 runs (two earned) in the bottom of the fifth. Clemente started with a single and Sanchez followed with a double. Ben Tinius hit a popup to first that was dropped by Griffin to load the bases. Ivan Reyes drew an RBI-walk. Ericnardo Padilla then hit what could’ve been a double-play grounder to second, but Slagle bobbled it to allow a run to score and the bases to remain loaded. Anthony Bennett followed with a sacrifice fly. Steven Wright followed with a three-run home run to knock out Darling. Brandon Kling (2-2) came in, and the first two batters he faced, Arnold Ponce and White, reached on errors. Clemente and Sanchez followed with RBI-singles and Reyes capped the inning with a grand slam to make it 15-10.

The WhiteWings got one back against Rhett Barber (1-1) in the sixth when Fowler led off with a double, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a wild pitch to make it 15-11.

In the ninth, Griffin led off with a double against Rusty Jones, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a wild pitch. Fox hit a two-out solo home run, his seventh of the season, to make it 15-13.

The WhiteWings and Broncos will close out the three-game series with a doubleheader of seven-inning games starting tomorrow at 5:05 p.m. In game one, the WhiteWings will send right-hander Todd Lutz (2-2) to the mound against right-hander Santo Hernandez (5-3). In game two, right-hander Alex Gett (1-6) will face right-hander Richard Bartlett (1-2).