Generals Prevail in Extras

Victoria overcame a late rally from San Antonio to take Friday night’s series opener at Wolff Stadium 4-3 in 10 innings.

Following a tough, extra-inning loss in Victoria Thursday night, San Antonio appeared poised for revenge early on Friday as the rivalry shifted to the Alamo City. Leadoff man Jordan Thompson greeted starter Deryk Serbantez with a single and moved to second on a steal. With two outs, Ryan Flores gave the Chanclas an early 1-0 lead when he knocked in Thompson with a base hit of his own.

The lead held until the third when Victoria knotted the score against lefty Logan Garza courtesy of Payton Robertson, who walked, stole a pair of bases and then came in on Reese Johnson’s groundout to second.

Two innings later, the Generals cashed in on what looked like the game’s biggest rally. With two runners on and one out, Garza was lifted for newcomer John Gaddis. The fellow southpaw compounded the inning’s problems when he walked Steve Bonuz to load the bases. Two batters later, Tuffy Dornburg’s single to left scored two and gave Victoria a 3-1 lead.

For a while Friday night it felt like San Antonio was going to go quietly in the opener. However, Flores made the Generals sweat it out in the eighth. Following Anthony Forte’s leadoff single off reliever and San Antonio native Jack Payne, Flores ripped a triple to left to cut the deficit to just one. After walking Tyler LaRue, Payne was lifted for righty Jose Diaz.

Diaz nearly escaped trouble when he induced Lee Thomas to bang into a 3-2 double play, ending with Flores being thrown out on an ill-advised dash home. Now with LaRue on second and two outs, the inning was left up to Jalen Battles. The former Madison High School star did not let the rally die, tying the game at three with a single to right.

Neither team plated a run in the ninth, but Victoria struck early in extras. With Johnson beginning the 10th on second, Jonathan Tapia moved his teammate to third with a sac bunt. After Tyler Flores relieved Johnny Panatex (0-1), Bonuz put the Generals up for good with a single.

Diaz (1-0) retired the Chanclas in order in the bottom half to preserve the win.

The Chanclas resume their series with the Generals Saturday with first pitch slated for 7:05 PM. Righty Derek Klosowski (1-0, 2.61) will get the ball for San Antonio in game two, while Victoria has yet to name its starter.