Seizing an opportunity to shine

Little-used Missions utility man Blake Allemand had batted only once in each of the last two games on the homestand and 47 times all season.
Nevertheless, he made sure his 48^th at bat counted.
Allemand slapped an RBI single to left in the bottom of the 10^th inning Friday night as the Missions snapped a two-game losing streak with a 1-0 victory over the Fresno Grizzlies in the Pacific Coast League.
With teammate Cory Spangenberg at third base and one out, Allemand stepped to the plate against Fresno reliever Dakota Bacus.
The Grizzlies pulled their outfield and infield in tight. Bacus threw two balls, and then evened the count with two straight strikes.
On the second one, Allemand swung and missed.
He didn't miss the next pitch, which was a hanging slider. The fifth-year pro out of Texas A&M, a San Antonio native, deposited it into an open space in left field for the walk-off winner.
It was only his 12^th hit of the season and his first since July 20, but it was a big one, as the Missions snapped out of a 17-innings scoreless streak and avoided what would have been a dispiriting loss to a struggling team.
Missions manager Rick Sweet applauded Allemand for staying focused and doing a good job in the clutch against the Grizzlies, who lost their seventh straight.
"That's a great at bat," Sweet said. "I'll be honest, and Buffy (hitting coach Al LeBoeuf) said the same thing, and my gut feeling was the same way. When they went ahead and pitched to him, I felt pretty good about it."
Allemand, who played in high school locally at Boerne Champion, started the season in Double-A Biloxi and was called up on April 29.
A middle infielder, he hasn't played much since then in his first season at the Triple-A level.
"Right now, the role he has with us is a very, very tough role, and he does it very well," Sweet said. "…I see him being here several years, just playing more and more every year."
Allemand entered Game 1 of a four-game series against the Grizzlies on the bench.
But he started to get the idea that he might be used as the game went along, scoreless, with starting pitcher Trey Supak of the Missions matching Matt Copeland of the Grizzlies zero for zero.
Allemand was right.
In the ninth, Sweet called on him to enter the game as a defensive substitute at second base.
By the 10^th, he knew he'd get to the plate, which was a good thing for the Missions.
Even though Allemand's batting average was .234 coming in, it was .286 at home, and it was .313 with runners in scoring position.
"He left the ball up, and I got a barrel on it," he said.
Allemand admitted that "it's been a mentally exhausting year" for him to stay ready to play when he never has any assurances that he will be used.
"You either embrace that role or you're going to have a year where you'll struggle all year," he said. "If this is what I'm going to do, I might as well make the most of it and be as good as I can … and hopefully there'll be more opportunities."
PCL Standings
American Southern Division -- San Antonio 69-42, Round Rock 65-45, New Orleans 58-51, Oklahoma City 51-59.
Pacific Northern Division - Sacramento 61-50, Fresno 53-58, Reno 51-60, Tacoma 51-60.
Coming up
Fresno at San Antonio on Saturday at 7:05 p.m., on Sunday at 6:05 p.m. and on Monday at 11:05 a.m.
Pitching shines
In his second start for the Missions and his first at home, 23-year-old, right-hander Trey Supak worked 6 and 2/3 scoreless innings. He allowed four hits, walked one and struck out eight. Danny Coulombe, Jimmy Nelson and Angel Perdomo finished, with Nelson striking out three in a perfect eighth. Perdomo, credited with the victory, allowed only one hit and struck out five combined in the ninth and 10^th.
Homecoming party
Trey Supak, who grew up in La Grange, took an opportunity after the game to talk to and take pictures with a large contingent of family and friends.  
"It was awesome to have so many people here and throw well," he said.
Supak said he had "mom, dad, brother, sister-in-law, their two kids, grandma and grandpa on both sides, aunt, uncle, three cousins … I had everybody here. There was a bunch of people."
The Brewers have high hopes for Supak after he went 11-4 with a 2.20 ERA earlier this season in Double-A. Now he's 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA after two Triple-A appearances.
Defensive gems
Left fielder Troy Stokes Jr. and infielder Hernán Pérez made memorable defensive plays.
Stokes executed two spectacular catches to take away potential hits, one in the fourth inning and another in the fifth.  
In the fourth, he ran to his left, dove and made grab just above the grass off a drive from José Marmolejos. He hit the ground so hard it knocked off his sunglasses and cap. In the fifth, he sprinted back, leaped and gloved a drive off the bat of Raudy Read. Just as Stokes caught it, he crashed into the fence.  
In the 10^th inning, with runners at first and third and one out, Perez charged in on a bunt, fielded it, and tossed softly to catcher Jacob Nottingham, who put the tag on a sliding Read.
Offensive woes
After beating Sacramento 8-4 in the opener of the homestand Tuesday, the Missions lost their next two to the River Cats, 5-2 and 3-2. They followed with the 1-0 victory over Fresno on only four hits. Combined, they have 16 hits in the past three days.