Volcanoes can't hold early lead, fall to Hawks

Boise, ID -- The Volcanoes lost to the Boise Hawks 5 to 3 in the second game of a three games series on Saturday night. The Hawks put up four runs in the fifth inning to help them pull ahead of the Volcanoes and they would not look back. The win is the first for the Hawks since July 18th after the club had lost ten consecutive games coming into the contest.
The Volcanoes struck first in the top of the second inning on a blooper to left field by third baseman Shane Matheny, scoring All-Star shortstop Manuel Geraldo on the play.
In the third, right fielder Logan Baldwin stayed hot with an RBI triple, which scored centerfielder Bryce Johnson to give the Volcanoes a 2 to 0 lead. Baldwin and Johnson have lead the Volcanoes offense over the last two weeks as the two outfielders have combined to go 29 for 71 (.358) in that timespan.
Kevin Rivera extended the Volcanoes lead in the top of the fourth by ripping a triple and then scoring on an RBI groundout, putting the score at 3 to 0.
Volcanoes starting pitcher Jose Marte cruised through the first four innings having not allowed a hit, but the wheels came off in the fifth. The Hawks used four hits and two Volcanoes errors to score four runs in the frame, taking the lead 4 to 3.
The Hawks added an insurance run in the top of the 9th inning, to push the score to 5 to 3. That is where the score would stand as the Hawks won their first game in nearly two weeks, despite getting just four hits on the night.
The Volcanoes had over twice as many hits as the Hawks tonight, but struggled to get hits when they counted as they were just 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position.
Right fielder Logan Baldwin had another multi-hit game for the Volcanoes, going 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs on the night. Baldwin now has three consecutive multi-hit games for the Volcanoes and has gone 8 for 12 with 3 RBIs and 3 runs during the recent hot streak.
The two clubs will square off in the rubber match at 7:15 p.m. tomorrow night at Memorial Stadium. Right hander Jason Bahr will make his second start for the Volcanoes against left hander Nick Kennedy of the Hawks.