Late Slam Lifts Fort Wayne over Clinton

Fort Wayne, IN - It was all LumberKings until the eighth inning on Tuesday afternoon at Parkview Field. That's when Alberth Martinez came to the plate with the bases loaded and launched a grand slam to give the TinCaps a 7-5 win in the series rubber match.

Clinton jumped out to a fast start and scored a pair in the first inning on an RBI double by Guillermo Pimentel and Gaby Guerrero's RBI groundout.

They added two in the third when Pimentel delivered his second run-scoring double of the game and shortstop Stephen Carmon committed a fielding error. 

Victor Sanchez was dialed in on the mound and didn't allow a run until the fourth. It was an unearned run when Pimentel air-mailed a throw to second after a single to start the inning by Gabriel Quintana. Two batters later, Quintana scored on a sac fly when Clinton shortstop Brock Hebert laid out and caught Corey Adamson's shallow fly ball down the left-field line. 

Fort Wayne added a two-run double from Jeremy Baltz in the bottom of the fifth to cut the lead to 4-3. The LumberKings had an answer as Jabari Henry lined a base hit up the middle to score Taylor Ard and give them a 5-3 cushion. 

It stayed that way until LumberKings reliever Matt Vedo loaded the bases with a two walks and a single, setting the stage for Martinez. The grand slam came with two outs and was the first allowed by a LumberKings hurler this season. It is Clinton's first loss when leading after seven innings. 

The offense was paced by Pimentel and Henry who combined for six of the nine hits for Clinton. 

Despite the loss, Clinton returns home after a 4-2 road trip. The LumberKings welcome the Dayton Dragons to town for a three-game series set to begin on Wednesday. Clinton sends left-hander Tyler Pike to the mound against Dayton's Robert Stephenson. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 PM CT at Ashford University Field.