San Bernardino, CA. -Nathan Bannister's career night shined in an 11-1 rout by the Modesto Nuts of the Inland Empire 66ers on Saturday night at San Manuel Stadium to clinch the First Half North Division title.Bannister (W, 3-4) surrendered a solo home run to 66ers (30-39) leadoff man Troy Montgomery
San Bernardino, CA. -Nathan Bannister's career night shined in an 11-1 rout by the Modesto Nuts of the Inland Empire 66ers on Saturday night at San Manuel Stadium to clinch the First Half North Division title.
Bannister (W, 3-4) surrendered a solo home run to 66ers (30-39) leadoff man Troy Montgomery on the first pitch of his night. The Nuts' (38-31) righty responded by striking out the side in order. Bannister would only walk two batters the rest of the night while striking out a career-high eight batters.
It was the third inning in which the Nuts' offense was sparked by Eric Filia who finished with five RBI. With the bases loaded and no outs, Filia smacked a three-run double to put the Nuts on the board and erase the early one-run deficit. Filia would add a two-run homer in the ninth.
Later in the third, Logan Taylor smacked a two-run single. He finished 2-for-4. Chris Mariscal went 3-for-6 with a two-run double. In his California League debut, Luis Liberato went 4-for-5 with three runs scored.
Luis Pena (L, 2-8) worked three innings and was tagged for six runs on four hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
Marvin Gorgas (S, 1/1) slammed the door shut but working the final three innings allowing just one hit while striking out three.
The Nuts wrap up a four-game series with the Inland Empire 66ers and conclude the first half of the season on Sunday afternoon at 2:05 p.m. Coverage on ModestoNuts.com will start at 1:55 p.m. Listen live online on your phone, tablet or PC by CLICKING HERE.
