Rawhide Hold On For Another Win

VISALIA--The Rawhide won for a 14th time in 15 games, as they held off Modesto 6-5 in the series opener at Rawhide Ballpark on Thursday night.

Visalia jumped to a 3-0 lead in the 1st inning, on an RBI single by Brandon Drury, an RBI single by Socrates Brito, and a sacrifice fly by Raul Navarro.

Modesto scored in the 2nd on back-to-back doubles, but the Rawhide responded with a 2-run homer by Rudy Flores in the bottom of the 3rd to make it 5-1.

Flores repeated the trick in the 5th with a solo homer, bringing the score to 6-1. It was Flores' 21st homer of the season.

Blayne Weller was brilliant on the mound for the 'Hide; the Floridian pitched 8 innings, and struck out an incredible 16 batters. He allowed a solo homer to David Dahl in the 8th inning, making the score 6-2, and handed the ball to the bullpen for the 9th.

The 'pen struggled a bit; Daniel Gibson allowed a walk and a single, before being removed in favor of Enrique Burgos, who struck out 2 batters but then yielded a 3-run longball to Alex San Juan, making the score 6-5.

Dahl then crunched a ball to the top of the wall in dead center field, threatening to tie the game. But Breland Almadova raced back to the fence, timed his leap perfectly, and robbed Dahl of extra bases, ending the game in dramatic fashion.

The Rawhide are now 17-3 over their last 20 games. They'll continue the series tomorrow night at 7:00; it'll be Free Money Night presented by Tulare Outlet Centers!

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