Chiefs Sweep Snappers 6-3 in Game 2
Beloit, WI- The Peoria Chiefs played their first extra-inning game of the season in the night cap of Tuesday's double header and scored three runs in the top of the ninth for a 6-3 win and a sweep of the Beloit Snappers. The win moves the Chiefs to 15-8 while the Snappers fall to 8-16 with two games left in the series.
"Anytime you end a homestand by getting lambasted (15-3 Sunday loss) then a rain out it is good to get back after it in tough conditions," said Chiefs manager Joe Kruzel. "We had rain falling all day and for these kids to hang in there and grab the lead early it's good to see, just what you want out of a road double header."
After waiting more than 90 minutes between games due to rain, the Chiefs picked up where they left off in game one as C.J. McElroy Jr. hit the first pitch of the game into right field for a single off surprise starter Brent Powers. When Juan Herrera grounded to shortstop, no one covered third base and McElroy kept running. First baseman Ryan Huck's late throw to third sailed down the left-field line and McElroy scored for a 1-0 Chiefs lead.
Beloit tied the game in the bottom of the first, scoring the first run allowed by Chiefs starter Nick Petree all season. Herschel Powell bunted for a single and moved to third on a B.J. Boyd double. After a strikeout, Ryan Mathews drove in Powell with a sacrifice fly to right field before Petree ended the inning with the game tied.
Michael Schulze walked to start the third and moved to second on a wild pitch. McElroy singled to left to put runners on the corners. After a flyout to shallow right, McElroy was caught stealing second but Schulze sprinted home to put the Chiefs on top 2-1. Kenny Peoples-Walls and Ronald Castillo collected consecutive singles to put two on with two outs. Steve Bean singled up the middle to put the Chiefs on top 3-1.
Beloit tied the game against Petree in the bottom of the fourth. Ryan Huck led off with a solo home run to left, his second of the day. After McElroy made a diving catch in left-center to rob Luis Baez, Michael Soto tied the game with a solo home run to center. The two homers were the first allowed by Petree this season.
Both bullpens settled in and the game went into extra innings tied 3-3. The Chiefs broke through against Andres Avila in the top of the ninth. Matthew Young clubbed a double to left-center and scored on a double by Cesar Valera to right-center. Valera moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single by McElroy for a 5-3 Chiefs lead. Juan Herrera added insurance when he doubled off the center field batters eye to bring home McElroy for the 6-3 lead. Kyle Barraclough struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth for his second save.
"Zach Loraine settled the game down and got the momentum back on our side," said Kruzel. "Thomas made a great play on the double play and threw two strong innings. We got the lead in the ninth with the doubles and Barraclough threw strikes to finish it off."
Petree allowed three runs on six hits over four innings. He walked one and struck out five in the no-decision. Zach Loraine allowed three hits over two shutout innings. Chris Thomas (1-0) allowed one hit and struck out two in two scoreless innings for the win. Barraclough walked one and struck out three for the save.
Notes: The Chiefs won game one 11-6 and are now a season-best seven games over .500…The Chiefs had 25 hits and scored 17 runs in Tuesday's double header…Cesar Valera now has an eight-game hit streak while Juan Herrera's is at six…The Chiefs are now 5-1 in three double headers with sweeps today and April 16 at Lake County…Petree went 17 2/3 innings without allowing a run, tying Justin Pope (2002) for the longest streak to start a season scoreless by a Chiefs pitcher since 2000…Petree allowed two homers in the same game for the first time as a pro…The start of game two was delayed 66 minutes by rain and the tarp on the field…Thomas made his team leading ninth appearance out of the bullpen…Schulze played second base for the first time this season…Game two was the Chiefs first extra-inning game of the 2014 season…The Chiefs were the last team in the MWL to play an extra-inning game…The Chiefs are 6-2 in games decided by two runs or less…Valera drove in four runs in the double header…McElroy had four hits, scored three runs and drew two walks in the DH…The Chiefs bullpen threw five shutout innings in game two with five strikeouts…The series continue Wednesday as the Chiefs start RH Arturo Reyes (2-1, 2.45) against Beloit RH Dylan Covey (0-2, 6.63) at 6:30 p.m…Covey was originally announced as the Tuesday game two starter, no reason was given for his moving to Wednesday…The broadcast will begin with the pregame show at 6:10 p.m., on www.peoriachiefs.com/listenlive which also has downloads for a free app on the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and Android…The broadcast is also available on the Peoria Chiefs Network in the Tune-In Radio App and on the new MiLB Inside the Park app powered by Boomaphone.