By KEVIN JAKAHI
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
Arnoldo Ponce was feeling like his old self again, and couldn’t stop smiling — not after the Hawaii Stars won in walk-off fashion and his batting stroke appeared in fine form.
Who could blame him for grinning? After all, the Stars shortstop entered Tuesday’s game against the Sonoma County Grapes batting just .205, barely above the Mendoza line.
Ponce got healthy in a hurry, stinging the ball and going 3 for 4 with an RBI in Hawaii’s 7-6 victory over the Grapes Tuesday night in a North American Baseball League game at Wong Stadium.
The Stars (13-12) and Grapes (9-16) play at 5:35 p.m. today. Dallas Mahan (0-3, 4.13 ERA) is scheduled to start for Hawaii, which has won four straight.
In the ninth, Matt Hibbert reached on an error, and Dion Pouncil had a bunt single against Vinny Pacchetti. Then Anthony Lopez, Hawaii’s hottest hitter with a .337 batting average, walked to load the bases with no outs.
Brendan Davis hit a fielder’s choice dribbler and Hibbert raced home, making a winner of Steve Raburn, a new pick-up, who pitched an earlier interesting eighth inning.
Hawaii starter Ronnie Loeffler carried a 6-2 lead into the eighth inning before losing the lead. He’s still unbeaten in five starts at home. He’s 4-1 with a 4.01 ERA.
“In the eighth inning, I got tired. I wanted to close out and get the win,” he said. “It doesn’t always go that way. But I’m happy we came out with the win.”
Ponce gave the offense a good kick in the pants, and so did right fielder Steve Tedesco, who came in batting just .203 and went 3 for 5. Now, Ponce and Tedesco are on an hitting elevator, each raising their batting average to .230.
The Stars got comfortable later in the game, scoring six runs over the fourth and fifth innings off Grapes starter Matt Gibbs. Ponce had RBI single in the fourth to spark things.
“Right now I’m seeing the ball good,” Ponce said. “I was working in the cage before the game, trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. When I have two strikes, I go lower (with my stance) to see the ball more.
“In some games, I would have one hit in five games. I had a three-hit game and the old Ponce is coming back.”
His wife, Patricia, and his nearly two-year-old son are back home in Texas. Ponce, 30, is chasing his dream, hoping for another chance with a major league organization.
“It’s about working hard every day. When you have young kids behind you, you have to work harder,” he said. “You have to show you can continue to play. It’s not easy, but you have to work hard every day.”
Adam Jacobs had an RBI groundout in the fourth, and two unearned runs scored in the fifth on an outfield error by George Ban, who overran the ball. Dion Pouncil’s fielder’s choice RBI grounder accounted for the other run.
Stars manager Garry Templeton II knew it was only a matter of time before Ponce’s bat would heat up.
“His bat has been slow to come around, but I wasn’t too worried about his hitting,” he said. “Sometimes the veterans take longer to get going. He’s proven in the past he can pick up and swing a bat. Guys like him don’t last 10 years playing ball for nothing.”
Ponce, who was born in Venezuela, was in the Toronto Blue Jays farm system from 1998 to 2004, was released by the Philadelphia Phillies in spring training the next year, and has found various homes in indy ball ever since.
As the son of a major league shortstop, Templeton, whose dad played for the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres, most appreciates Ponce’s glove work.
“He’s the rock of our defense. He’s the most experienced and best shortstop in the league,” Templeton said. “He’s just solid. He makes all the plays and plays other guys can’t make. He has veteran leadership and the experience you want in a shortstop.”
The Grapes scratched Loeffler for a run in the third when George Ban bunted for a single, and Boon Maeda dunked a single to left, and later pulled off a double steal, one of home.
In the seventh, Mark Micowski feasted on a breaking ball that didn’t move much, yanking it over the right field fence for a majestic 360-foot home run. The next Grape, Sam Perry, walked and stole second base.
But Loeffler closed the lid on that little threat, getting two flyouts (one a nice rangy catch by Ponce), crushing the Grapes’ hopes for something big, and holding tight on a 6-2 cushion.
Then in the next inning, after a walk and back-to-back RBI doubles, including one to Fred Atkins, who was previously saddled with an 0-for-3 three strikeout collar, Loeffler was gone.
His replacement, Raburn, who was in the Pecos independent league, entered the eighth with Atkins on second and two outs and Micowski at the plate, licking his chops.
All Micowski and his lethal left-handed swing did was smoke a triple into the left-field corner, scoring Atkins and squeezing Hawaii’s lead to 6-5. Then those running Grapes pulled off another double steal of home, making it 6-6 and handing Loeffler a no-decision.
Loeffler pitched 7 2/3 innings and allowed five runs on six hits and two walks (both of scored) and struck out six; of course, whiffing Atkins three times before his tide-turning, seventh inning double that chased the right-hander.
Raburn’s debut appearance was not exactly a beauty. Before he struck out Joe Lewis, the 6-foot-5 right-hander had two wild pitches, hit a batter, and allowed the tying run. His next inning was much better: a scoreless inning, despite a one-out double by Maeda, who went to third on a wild pitch.
Then the Stars, with the help of two Grapes’ errors, scored the game-winner in the ninth, making a winner of Raburn and putting a smile on Ponce’s face.
Grapes 001 000 140 — 6 8 3
Stars 000 240 00 — 7 9 0