Indians' Offensive Surge Continues in 10-2 Win

SPOKANE, Wash. - It's hard for a team to duplicate an 18-run, 20-hit performance, but the Indians tried their best on Friday night. Spokane got hits from nine different players and defeated Salem-Keizer 10-2 in front of 6,819 fans on Armed Forces Appreciation & Fireworks Night presented by Sturm Heating & Air Conditioning, KHQ, 93.7 The Mountain, 1510 KGA NW Sports Talk, and The Greater Spokane Valley Current Newsmagazine.

For most of the evening, it looked like Spokane was going to match their 18-run outburst from Thursday night. It started right away in the bottom of the first, thanks to some help from the Volcanoes. Salem-Keizer walked four batters, committed an error and had both a wild pitch and passed ball. When all was said and done, Spokane scored three runs on no hits in the first inning.
Starling Joseph didn't need any help leading off the second inning. He drove an 0-1 pitch into the Pepsi Porch in right field for his 10^th homer of the season. His 10 home runs are tied for third in the NWL. The league home run leader, Curtis Terry, drove in a run later in the second inning. He did the same again in the third and boosted his RBI total to a NWL-best 53 on the season. He's just the third Indians player to reach the 50 RBI plateau since 2005. The most recent was Luke Tendler in 2014.
The Indians scored 10 runs in the first three innings and that was plenty of support for Scott Engler. Engler (W, 3-6) worked around some first inning trouble and finished the night tossing five innings, giving up two runs and striking out four. It was his first professional win as a starter.
Diosbel Arias, who leads the league in both batting average and on-base percentage, went 1-for-2 with two walks and drove in a pair. Sherten Apostle, who has reached base in eight of his 16 plate appearances since joining the Indians, also drove in an RBI. Tanner Gardner, fresh off his eight RBI performance a night ago, brought home two more.
The Indians go for a third-straight win against the Volcanoes on Saturday for Yoke's $1 Family Feast presented by Yoke's Fresh Market and 92.9 ZZU. All hot dogs, ice cream sandwiches, and select Pepsi products are only $1.00 all night long! Get your BINGO card as you enter the stadium to participate in Coeur d'Alene Casino Baseball B-I-N-G-O. Gates open at 5:30 PM with first pitch at 6:30 PM. Tickets for all Spokane Indians home games are available to purchase at the Avista Stadium Ticket Office or at spokaneindians.com. Reserve your seats today by calling (509) 343-OTTO (6886) or TicketsWest at 1-800-325-SEAT.