Tena's Punctuates Grizzlies Walk-Off Winner on Opening Day

Fans waiting for Opening Night Fireworks got an even better deal with free baseball and a walk-off 4-3 Fresno Grizzlies win in 11 innings over the Stockton Ports on Friday night.

Felix Tena’s sacrifice fly punctuated a solid opening effort from the Grizzlies that relied on great pitching and timely hitting.

Both starting pitchers made their triumphant returns to the mound after long layoffs due to injury.

Fresno’s Jackson Cox breezed through the first inning with just eleven pitches and flashed an electric fastball and devastating breaking ball.

Things were trickier in the second but Cox kept Stockton scoreless in his first professional outing in twenty months.

Stockton finally broke through in the fifth with a pair of singles against Yanzel Correa. Davis Diaz grounded into a fielder’s choice but produced the game’s first run.

Roynier Hernandez drove in Fresno’s first run in the bottom of the inning, cashing in Alan Espinal after a one-out walk.

Stockton regained the lead in the sixth when a leadoff walk and a single to start the inning setup the Ports. Fresno chose to concede the run and take the double-play before ending the inning.

The fireworks started in the bottom of the inning when Kevin Fitzer singled to start the inning. Fitzer was replaced on first on Blake Wright’s fielder’s choice.

Tommy Hopfe stepped to the plate and crushed a 3-1 pitch over the left center field fence to give Fresno its first lead of the season.

However, Stockton took advantage of a dropped fly ball in shallow right to tie the game in the seventh.

Both bullpens locked things down, even escaping the jams created by automatic runners.

For Fresno, Fidel Ulloa, Luke Taggart and Nathan Blasick combined for four scoreless innings of relief and Fisher Jameson did not allow an earned run in 2 innings of work.

By the time the bottom of the eleventh rolled around, the Grizzlies executed the sacrifice bunt off of the bat of Hopfe before Felix Tena, who had two hits in his previous two at-bats, delivered the heroic sacrifice fly to plate Wright for the 4-3 win.

Blasick earned the win after a scoreless ninth.

The series continues at 6:50pm on Saturday night as Ismael Luciano is slated to start for the Grizzlies against Aidan Layton off the Stockton Ports.

The first 1,500 fans through the gates will receive a replica Fresno Grizzlies road jersey.

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The Fresno Grizzlies are a proud affiliate of the Colorado Rockies organization. During the 2024 season, the Grizzlies held several California League season records, including most attended game, highest overall attendance, the top 14 attended home games, and the 19th-highest attended game in all of Minor League Baseball. The team plays at Chukchansi Park in Downtown Fresno, which is also a year-round community venue that hosts a myriad of other special events including concerts, high school sporting events, and over 100 non-profit community events annually. The 2025 season will mark the team’s 23rd year in Downtown Fresno and 27th baseball season since its inception in 1998.