ULB at the halfway mark

United League Baseball will begin its second half of the 2009 season tonight, with the San Angelo Colts holding onto first place, where they have been most of the season, with a 27-13 record.

Still, the league shows it is evenly matched.

In the last 10 games of the first half, the second-place Coastal Bend Thunder (21-19) and Amarillo Dillas (21-19), the fifth place Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings (18-22) and the last place Laredo Broncos (14-26) all had five wins and five losses.

The Colts won six of their 10, while the fourth-place Edinburg Roadrunners (19-21) were 4-6.
The WhiteWings accomplished something that no other club had been able to do, defeat San Angelo’s previously unbeaten Chandler Barnard, who had been 7-0, and former major leaguer Ezequiel Astacio, who was 5-0.

The WhiteWings handled both Colt hurlers with ease.

They scored six earned runs off 12 hits in five innings against Barnard, and then in a battle between former major league pitchers Jesus Sanchez (3-0), of Rio Grande Valley, and Astacio, they scored seven runs in the second inning, chasing him from the mound.

However, Barnard could be on his way to breaking the ULB’s all-time best winning record. His 7-1 record is tops in the league.

The league record is 12 wins, held by Alexandria’s Adam Cox, in 2007, and tied by Amarillo’s Logan Williams last season.

However, both of those marks were achieved in more games than the league is playing this year.
Dating back further, and involving clubs that are now, or were, in ULB through last year, Amarillo’s Michael Leach won 16 games in 2000, in the Texas-Louisiana League, and Amarillo’s Darren Brown and Alexandria’s David White each had 15, in 1997 and 1998, respectively.

Barnard, 23, played for Trinity College of Connecticut, graduating in 2008, when the school won the Division III national championship.

He was named a first-team All American and went on to play pro ball last year for the Worchester Tornadoes.

San Angelo may have the best hurling staff, including two former major league pitchers – Astacio, who played for the Houston Astros, including in the 2005 World Series, and newcomer Tom Martin, who played for seven clubs, including the Astros and Rockies. He last played for the New York Mets.

The Colts also have Brian Henschel, who is second in the league in ERA at 2.48.

(The WhiteWings’ former major league pitcher’s, Jesus Sanchez, tours of duty include the Colorado Rockies and the Cincinnati Reds.)

The Colts also have the best hitting average at .303. Second is Amarillo (.288), followed by Laredo (.280), Rio Grande Valley (.276), Edinburg (.264) and Coastal Bend (.252).

The Broncos have the best record of the clubs against the Colts, having won five and lost seven.
The Colts also have the best hitter in Brian Frichter (.448), who is back playing after being out with a broken nose.

Other top hitters include:

Terrance McClain, Amarillo (.366); Jason Landreth, San Angelo (.364); Argelis Nunez, Laredo (.350); Trent Lockwood, Amarillo (.347); Santeil Smith, Amarillo (.339); Brian Nichols, Rio Grande Valley (.338); and Agustin Septimo, Rio Grande Valley (.329).

Lockwood leads in RBIs, with 46, and Landreth has 43.

Lockwood and Landreth lead in home runs, with 10 each.

San Angelo’s Jason Diaz leads in stolen bases with 19 and Frichter is second with 18.

Amarillo’s Ralph Roberts has the lowest ERA among the pitchers, at 2.32. Henschel is second at 2.48.

WhiteWings closer Julio Santana has 10 saves and San Angelo’s Chase Vacek has seven.