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AFL: Hanson and Ngoepe Collect RBI’s in Victory

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On Monday afternoon in the Arizona Fall League, Scottsdale was able to break their eight game losing streak, winning 7-4 in ten innings at Peoria. On Tuesday, the same two teams met up in Scottsdale and the Scorpions were able to make it two in a row, winning 4-0 with help from both Pittsburgh Pirates players in the lineup. arizona_fall_league_logo

Both Alen Hanson and Gift Ngoepe were in the starting lineup on Tuesday. Hanson started at shortstop and batted second, while Ngoepe was his double play partner, hitting ninth.

Alen Hanson came up with one out in the first inning and grounded out to first base on the second pitch he saw. In his second at bat, Hanson saw just one pitch, lining out to center field for the final out of the third inning. He came up in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and two outs. Scottsdale had taken a 3-0 lead at this point. Hanson saw four straight strikes, fouling off an 0-2 pitch before reaching on an infield single that brought home the Scorpions’ fourth run. In the seventh inning, he was called out on strikes.

Leading off the third inning, Gift Ngoepe tried to bunt his way on, fouling off the first pitch. On the next pitch, he grounded out to shortstop. In the fourth inning, Ngoepe came up with his team up 1-0, the bases loaded and two outs. He was able to work a full count walk, though the pitcher missed badly on all six pitches he threw. The RBI was the second in the AFL for Ngoepe, who also drove in a run yesterday with a sacrifice fly. In the sixth inning, he lined out to shortstop. Despite the recent RBI’s, he is still just 3-for-37 at the plate this season.

Alen Hanson has now gone since October 15th without making an error. That errorless streak follows five errors in the team’s first six games. Gift Ngoepe has been even better. He hasn’t committed an error all season.

Just a reminder that tomorrow’s game will be televised on the MLB Network. The game starts at 9 PM EST.

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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