Texas Collegiate League

The Bombers beat the Acadiana Cane Cutters 6-1 on Friday night behind another outstanding start by pitcher Damien Rivera. Rivera made quick work of his opponents on Strike Out Cancer Night at the ballpark, presented by Scott & White Health Plan.

The Bombers were able to capitalize on some miscues in the field by Acadiana, scoring four of their six runs as the result of errors by the Cane Cutters’ defense. Their defense looked to be off from the get-go of the game, as leadoff hitter Greg Olson advanced to first on an error by the shortstop, and later came around to score the first run of the game.

The Bombers scored two more runs in the bottom of the 4th inning, as Casey Dykes advanced from first base to third base on a misplayed ball by the Cane Cutters’ catcher, and ended up scoring a run on a passed ball. Matt Milligan scored on a sacrifice fly by second baseman Brennyn Smith to put the Bombers up for good.

While the defensive missteps by the Cane Cutters certainly helped the Bombers, they could’ve done without it based on the second straight dominant performance on the mound by their starting pitcher. Fresh off being named the TCL Pitcher of the Week, Rivera responded by throwing another outstanding eight innings, allowing just four base runners and striking out three. With the performance Rivera improves to 5-0 on the season, and lowered his earned run average to a microscopic 1.87.

Offensively the aforementioned Dykes and shortstop Scott Arthur led the Bombers. Dykes went 3-for-4 on the day, scoring twice, and Arthur collected two hits of his own and stole his sixth base of the year.

In other Bombers’ news, beloved announcer Damon Slaydon is unhappy with ownership. Slaydon is in the process of renegotiating his contract, and is believed to be demanding more Chicken Express Sweet Tea per game than owner Uri Geva is comfortable with. Ownership was quoted as saying, “We love Damon, but more sweet tea would result in more bathroom breaks, which would impact the flow of the game. If he can’t stay in the booth for the spots we need him to, then it’ll negatively affect the entire feel of the game.” We’ll keep you updated as the negotiations continue, but losing Slaydon to another team (the East Texas Pump Jacks are rumored to be interested in the announcer’s services) would be a big loss in Bomberland.

The Bombers will wrap up their series against the Cane Cutters on Saturday at Brazos Valley Bank Ballpark. Saturday is a very special day for the Bombers, as the team and the fans will celebrate Kaboom’s birthday. Fans will get presents too, as there will be a Kaboom bobblehead giveaway, in addition to the Kids Free Saturday, where all kids get in FREE to the game, and receive free food and tickets to play on the UPA Kids Zone.Tickets start at just $5. For more information, go to www.bvbombers.com