VISALIA, CA - In the midst of a deep slump that had held him hitless for his past 16 at bats, Drew Ellis came to the plate with the bases loaded and the Rawhide trailing 1-0 in the sixth inning.
VISALIA, CA - In the midst of a deep slump that had held him hitless for his past 16 at bats, Drew Ellis came to the plate with the bases loaded and the Rawhide trailing 1-0 in the sixth inning.
Ellis, whose last hit had been a run-scoring double in Modesto last Thursday, took the first pitch he saw from Nolan Riggs and laced a line drive down the right field line that nestled into the corner. The shot easily scored all three Rawhide runners to give Visalia their first lead of the series and put the Rawhide up for good.
Visalia (7-6) had begun the game hitless in their first six at bats with a runner in scoring position and had not scored more than one run in any inning since April 12 in Modesto.
The Rawhide tacked on an insurance run when Raymel Flores led off the seventh inning with a double and came in to score on a fielder's choice off the bat of Pavin Smith.
The Visalia bullpen held the line by delivering five shutout innings when starter Emilio Vargas was forced out after the fourth. Despite holding San Jose hitless, Vargas walked six Giants hitters, including four in the fourth inning to bring home a run. With 82 pitches, Vargas was removed from the game following the frame.
Randall Delgado (W, 1-0) entered in the fifth and pitched two perfect innings in a rehabilitation assignment from the Arizona Diamondbacks to earn his first decision in a Rawhide uniform. Austin Mason (SV, 1) struck out a pair of hitters in the ninth to record his first save of the season.
San Jose (8-5) lost a four-game winning streak tonight despite an outstanding start from Conner Menez. Though he had to weave in and out of traffic on the bases, Menez delivered five shutout innings while allowing only one hit and striking out eight. He walked three and hit one batter, but stranded five runners on base.
Riggs (L, 0-1) suffered his first runs scored against him of the 2018 season in the three-run Visalia sixth.
The Rawhide win forces a rubber match with the Giants tomorrow afternoon. Though Vargas didn't last five innings, his start moves the Visalia starting rotation's ERA to 2.19 through 13 games.
Ellis's double was his fifth of the season, moving him into a tie for the California League lead with Stockton's Greg Deichmann and Modesto's Nick Zamarelli.
Visalia looks to earn another series win at home tomorrow afternoon. The game will match up Visalia RHP Riley Smith (0-0, 3.38) and San Jose LHP Mac Marshall (0-0, 0.00). First pitch is set for 1:00 PM and tickets to the game are available on rawhidebaseball.com.
