Volcanoes victorious in extra inning classic

KEIZER, Ore. -- After a grueling four-hour, 11 inning affair on Tuesday night that ended in heartbreaking fashion for Salem-Keizer, the Volcanoes would bounce back to steal game two of the series on a similarly lengthy nailbiter at Ron Tonkin Field on Wednesday evening winning 5 to 3 in thirteen innings.
Centerfielder Malique Ziegler got the game going for the Volcanoes by hitting a high pop-up down the right field that fell in between three Hops' defenders converging on the ball. Ziegler hustled out of the box and wound up on third on the play, setting up a RBI groundout by Volcanoes second baseman Kevin Rivera.
Volcanoes right-hander Stetson Woods, who pitched six scoreless frames in his first outing, displayed the same polish in the early innings of his second start. The 6'8" Woods was pummeled for four hits in the first inning, allowing two runs in the process to allow the Hops to jump in front 2 to 1.
The Hops maintained a 2 to 1 lead until the top of the fourth when a leadoff single by right fielder Juan Rodriguez and a ground-rule double by the first baseman Ryan Kirby set up a RBI groundout by shortstop Manuel Geraldo to knot the score at two.
Ziegler jumpstarted the Volcanoes offense again in the fifth with a hard groundball single to left. With two away and Rivera at the dish, Ziegler would swipe both second and third base and then score on a wild pitch by opposing starting pitcher Jhoan Duran to put the Volcanoes on top.
Woods would preserve the 3 to 2 lead in the sixth, leaving the game with the lead. After a rocky start, Woods would finish with a quality start, tossing 6 innings, yielding just two first-inning runs, while striking out six. On the season, Woods has now pitched 12 innings and struck out 11, while walking just one en route to a minuscule 1.50 ERA.
Unfortunately for the Volcanoes, another stellar outing by the towering righty would be wasted as the Salem-Keizer bullpen surrendered yet another lead in the late innings.
Volcanoes right-hander Vic Black, who is on a rehab assignment with the team, battled bouts of wildness as he blew the save in the ninth. Black struck out left fielder Yan Sanchez on a wild pitch to start the inning, but Sanchez was able to reach first anyways on a drop third strike. Another wild pitch allowed Sanchez to reach second, paving the way for a RBI double by Hops' designated hitter Paxton De La Garza to tie the game. Black would eventually work out of the jam to prevent the Hops from walking off, but the two clubs were once again heading to extras due to some late game heroics from Hops' hitters.
After squandering a lead to the Hops en route to a fourth straight loss last night, the Volcanoes would not succumb to the same fate tonight. After narrowly escaping jams with runners in scoring position in both the tenth and twelfth innings, the Volcanoes offense pushed across two runs in the top of the 13th. Kevin Rivera singled with one out in the inning and was pushed across for the eventual winning run on a triple by Juan Rodriguez. The Volcanoes went on to add a run for good measure on an opposite field liner by Ryan Kirby to extend the lead to 5 to 3.
John Timmins shut down the Hops in the bottom half of the 13th to give the Volcanoes a much-needed win after coming up short in their previous four games.
Salem-Keizer will look to carry their momentum into the rubber game of the series against the Hops on Thursday when Volcanoes right-hander Jose Marte faces off against righty Mitchell Aker at 1:05 p.m.