Blaze get first win

Ian Gac had a pair of sacrifice flies to help Bakersfield record its first win, 3-1, over visiting Visalia in the opener of a doubleheader on Thursday.

After two batters reached on errors and Ben Harrison singled to load the bases, Gac lifted a pop-up down the right-field line. First baseman Chris Nowak caught the ball in foul territory and German Duran tagged up and scored from third base. But Nowak's throw to the plate was wild, allowing Steve Murphy to come home from second for a 2-0 lead.

Harrison had three singles and Mike Nickeas smacked a double for the Blaze (1-5), who scored their final run on Gac's sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Eric Hurley (1-1) was masterful for Bakersfield in seven shutout innings, scattering four hits and striking out seven.

Oaks starter Jino Gonzalez III (0-2) yielded three runs -- one earned -- on six hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Patrick Breen had a one-out single and scored Visalia's only run in the fifth. --Christopher Heine/MLB.com