New Orleans ties it in ninth, then grabs victory
Mooney scores on grounder to lift visiting Baby Cakes.
Peter Mooney scored in the top of the 10th inning to lead the New Orleans Baby Cakes to an 8-7 win over the Round Rock Express Saturday.
Mooney scored after he started the inning on second and advanced to third on a single by Braxton Lee. Chris- topher Bostick grounded out to allow Mooney to cross home plate.
Jose Quijada got Cliff Pennington to ground out with a runner on second to end the game for his third save of the season.
After Round Rock’s Juan Centeno hit an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth, New Orleans (66-64) tied the game 7-7 in the ninth when Cristhian Adames hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Peter O’Brien.
Reliever Jumbo Diaz (5-6) picked up the win after he allowed one run and two hits over two innings. He also struck out two and walked one.
Brady Feigl (5-1) went one inning, allowing one run and one hit in the Pacific Coast League game.
Several Express players chipped in at the plate, as five picked up at least a pair of hits. Tommy Joseph homered and doubled, driving in two runs.
Willie Calhoun went 2 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI. Scott Heineman also had two hits on the way to driving home two runs.
Christian Lopes scored twice for the Express (5972) as six members of the team crossed home plate. the Indianapolis Star the series is in talks with three tracks, declining to name them. COTA is widely speculated to be in that mix. There also has been some talk about a street-course race in San Antonio or Oklahoma City.
“We’ll move in earnest to get one of those tracks to fill out the 17th spot,” Miles said. “We don’t think it will take too long to complete,” indicating a decision could be made as early as Labor Day weekend.
The race would likely be in spring. COTA already is committed to the Pirelli World Challenge sports car series March 1-3 and the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas in a yet-to-be-determined April date.
“It would be tough for this to all come together in time for next season, but don’t rule it out,” Epstein said.
What opened the door for the possibility were provisions in a new four-year deal between Texas Motor Speedway and the Verizon IndyCar series. The Fort Worth track will hold a 2019 race for the 23rd consecutive season.
TMS surrendered its territorial exclusivity clause in exchange for a lower sanctioning body fee for the race, according to Gavin Faretra, track media relations manager.
That cleared the way for possible negotiations between COTA and IndyCar.
“The oval race in Fort Worth is a staple for them. But the two tracks are very different, with ours being a road course,” Epstein said. “We want to help build the sport and widen our exposure. I see it as a good match.”
TMS’ 2019 IndyCar race will be June 8 and again will be paired with the NASCAR truck series.
“This is and always will be ‘America’s Original Nighttime IndyCar Race,’” TMS President Eddie Gossage said. “Photo finishes and victory lane drama have been the standard over the years. No other track has seen as many IndyCar races over the last two-plus decades.”
Next year’s TMS schedule is now finalized. The fall truck race moves to the spring NASCAR Cup weekend to create a tripleheader with the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The Tony Stewart dirt track event moves from the spring to the fall to complement the Cup and Xfinity playoff races.