Williams sizzles at plate for Silver Hawks

Justin Williams had so much steak on his plate Monday, Parks and Recreation's Ron Swanson would have shaved off his mustache to get at it.

The D-backs' No. 14 prospect went 3-for-4 with a home run and a triple while establishing career highs with four RBIs and four runs scored in Class A South Bend's 11-6 win over Dayton. Williams said the runs he drove in brought him more satisfaction than the runs he scored.

"We call them 'steaks,'" Williams said. "When you get your steak, you feel pretty good about yourself."

The 2013 second-round pick is batting .255/.333/.392 in 14 games with South Bend. He played the final three games of last season with the Silver Hawks, but Monday marked his first three-hit performance with the team.

"I was a double shy of the cycle. I didn't know that until after the game," he said. "It was shocking, but I was honestly more happy about us getting the win."

Against opposing starter Amir Garrett, the Reds' No. 18 prospect, Williams hit a two-run single to left field in the first inning before drawing a walk in the third. He tripled to center off reliever Joel Bender in the fourth, but went down swinging against the left-hander in the sixth. Then with Pedro Diaz on in relief for the eighth, he belted a two-run homer to left, his first round-tripper at Class A.

"I was pretty excited," Williams said. "When I hit it, I thought it was going to be like a double off the wall. It just kept going.

"When it cleared the fence, it was like a big sigh of relief. Honestly, I was thinking to myself, all right, I have a month left in the Midwest League. I was wondering if I was going to get one or not. I got one, and now I'm looking forward to the next one."

Prior to joining South Bend, the 18-year-old played in 46 games at Rookie-level Missoula, where he posted a .386/.433/.471 slash line with six doubles, two triples, two homers and 23 RBIs. His 73 hits rank third in the Pioneer League, even though he hasn't played there since Aug. 2.

The Louisiana native, who will celebrate his birthday Wednesday, said it was his best pro game yet by far.

"It feels good contributing to the win," Williams said. "Sometimes you have those games where your team wins and you feel like you didn't do anything to help the team win. But tonight was great."

Jamie Westbrook delivered three hits, including a triple and three RBIs for South Bend. Andrew Velazquez added three hits and Chuck Taylor drew four walks.

Silver Hawks starter Ryan Doran (2-0) gave up six runs on eight hits and one walk over five innings. Garrett was charged with six runs on five hits and five walks in two-plus frames.