Houle Just Misses Cycle in Game One at Dunedin


Dustin Houle
Dustin Houle
Brevard County Manatees catcher Dustin Houle went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs Friday night, helping the Manatees to a 7-5 win in game one of a doubleheader against the Dunedin Blue Jays. 

Houle doubled in the second, tripled in the third and singled in the fifth. He came up in the seventh, needing a home run for the cycle, but instead got an infield single. With the doubleheader, Houle missed out on another at bat, because the games are only seven innings long.

Brevard County’s offense was hitting on all cylinders in game one, putting up 14 hits and scoring in the first five innings. All of the Manatees runs were charged to starter  Kyle Westwood (0-5). Angel Ortega got things started with a single in the first, extending his hit streak to eight games. Dustin DeMuth followed with a double to left, scoring Ortega with the first run. Houle’s double got things going in the second inning. He scored on a single by Elvis Rubio, making it a 2-0 game. Two outs later, Johnny Davis extended his on-base streak to 19 games with a single, but the ‘Tees were unable to do further damage.

Dunedin tied things up in the bottom of the frame against Manatees’ starter Bubba Derby (3-1). back-to-back singles by Ryan McBroom and Jason Leblebijian came home to roost when D.J. Davis laced a 3-1 pitch down the right field line. Derby came back to get the next three outs and strand Davis at third. 

The Manatees answered back in the top of the third, getting those two runs back. George Iskenderian and Fidel Pena each hit one out singles, bringing Houle to the plate. He promptly lifted a ball to left that looked to be headed for the glove Jonathan Davis in right. According to the Dunedin broadcast, Davis must have lost it in the lights as it bounced in front of him and went by him, plating Iskenderian and Pena, while Houle got to third and just like that, Brevard County was back in front, 4-2.

The Manatees (11-23) added a run in the fourth with two outs. Ortega hit his second single of the night and stole second. DeMuth knocked him in with an RBI single, making it 5-2. They added two insurance runs in the fifth, starting with a walk by Pena. He went to third on a Houle single and scored on a wild pitch. One out later, Jose Cuas knocked Houle in with a single, giving the Manatees a 7-2 cushion. 

Dunedin (14-20) got a run back in the bottom of the fifth. Mike Reeves led off with a single and later scored on a double by MLB rehabber Devon Travis, who was playing his first game in 10 months as he recovers from a shoulder injury. With that, Dunedin was within four, at 7-3.

Bubba Derby
Bubba Derby
Derby came out for the sixth inning, but ran into trouble immediately. McBroom led off with a homer and Leblebijian doubled, ending the night for Derby. Josh Uhen came in and gave up an RBI sac fly to Jonathan Davis, making it a 7-5 game. The run was charged to Derby, who gave up five earned in five-plus innings. He allowed seven hits, walked one and struck out six. 57 of his 87 pitches were strikes. 

Uhen got through the sixth unscathed and worked a 1-2-3 seventh, picking up his first save of the season. Uhen got through the sixth unscathed and worked a 1-2-3 seventh, picking up his first save of the season.

For more info: Brevard County @ Dunedin boxscore

The Manatees will look for the sweep, as they try to win the first two games of the weekend series at Auto Exchange Stadium in Dunedin.

This article originally appeared on the now defunct Examiner.com on 5/13/16

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