9th inning rally falls short, TinCaps lose 9-8

FORT WAYNE, IN - Trailing by as many as six runs on two different occasions, the Fort Wayne TinCaps mounted one final rally against visiting South Bend on Wednesday night, scoring once and having both the tying and winning runs on base with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The rally fell short, however, as the Silver Hawks hung on to defeat Fort Wayne by a score of 9-8, in the opening game of a three-game series being played at Parkview Field.

South Bend broke a scoreless tie by jumping on TinCaps starting pitcher Keyvius Sampson for six runs in the top of the third inning, the key blows being a lead-off home run by Roberto Rodriguez, and a three-run home run (his 31st of the season) hit by Yazy Arbelo.

Fort Wayne got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth inning against Silver Hawk starter Tyler Green, taking advantage of singles from Luis Domoromo, Connor Powers, and Wes Cunningham, as well as a double off the bat of Rocky Gale and scoring twice to close to within 6-2.

South Bend got those two runs back in the top of the fifth, on a controversial two-run home run hit by Matt Helm.

The umpires ruled initially that Helm doubled off the top of the wall in left field, but later changed the call to a home run; a ruling that eventually led to the ejection of TinCap manager Shawn Wooten.

Trailing again by six runs (8-2), Fort Wayne again rallied, scoring four runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth, thanks to run-scoring singles by Rymer Liriano and Cunningham, and a two-run double hit by Powers.

The Silver Hawks scored a run in the sixth inning when Ender Inciarte (who singled) scored all the way from first base on a double by Niko Gallego to increase its lead to 9-6.

The TinCaps scored once in the seventh inning and added another run in the bottom of the ninth, when Domoromo walked with the bases loaded, making the score 9-8.

With the tying run at third base and the winning run on at second, South Bend manager Mark Haley summoned Randy Hamrick from the bullpen, and Hamrick responded, striking out both Powers and Cunningham to end the game.

Both starters figured in the decision, with Green (5-8) getting the victory, and Sampson (11-3) charged with the loss, while Hamrick collected his first save of the season.

The loss was the fourth in a row for Fort Wayne, and dropped them into a tie with West Michigan (which defeated Lake County, 7-3) for the final playoff spot remaining in the Eastern Division with just five games remaining in the regular season.

The TinCaps will attempt o snap their losing streak on Thursday night, when they again host the Silver Hawks at Parkview Field.

The starting pitchers are expected to be Todd Privett (3-3, 3.60) of Fort Wayne and South Bend's Mike Bolsinger (6-6, 2.73).