LANCASTER, Calif. - The Lancaster JetHawks took their first lead in Wednesday night's game with two outs in the bottom of the eighth. The Stockton Ports, as a result, would suffer their second straight loss to open a six-game road trip. The JetHawks got back-to-back two-out hits to score a
LANCASTER, Calif. - The Lancaster JetHawks took their first lead in Wednesday night's game with two outs in the bottom of the eighth. The Stockton Ports, as a result, would suffer their second straight loss to open a six-game road trip. The JetHawks got back-to-back two-out hits to score a pair of runs when down to their final four outs as Lancaster sent the Ports to a 4-3 loss to take a second straight game in the late innings at The Hangar.
The Ports scored the first run of the game in the second inning on one swing of the bat from Austin Beck, who homered to straight-away center field to give Stockton a 1-0 lead. Two innings later, the Ports doubled the lead as Hunter Hargrove reached on a two-out fielding error. Jonah Bride and Jeremy Eierman followed with back-to-back singles that loaded the bases before JetHawks starter Lucas Gilbreath uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Hargrove to score and make it a 2-0 advantage.
Stockton starter Brady Feigl, who worked out of a jam with runners at the corners and nobody out in the third, allowed his first run of the game in the fifth. With one on and one out, Carlos Herrera flared a single into right-center field that scored Austin Bernard and made it a 2-1 game.
Feigl worked into the seventh inning and gave up a single to Matt McLaughlin followed by a double to Bernard that put runners at second and third with nobody out. At that point, Feigl was lifted for Pat Krall, who saw Matt Hearn tie the game with a sac-fly to left field. It was the only one of the two inherited runners that scored on Krall's watch.
Feigl would be rendered a no-decision, going six-plus innings and allowing two runs on eight hits while striking out six.
Gilbreath pitched into the eighth inning for Lancaster and gave up a leadoff triple to Nick Allen followed by an infield single to Mickey McDonald. After Alfonso Rivas walked to load the bases, Gilbreath was lifted for Kenny Koplove (1-0). After striking out Lazaro Armenteros, Koplove saw Austin Beck hit a sac-fly to right field that scored Allen and gave Stockton a 3-2 advantage. The run was charged to Gilbreath, who was also rendered a no-decision after going seven-plus innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on eight hits while striking out three.
Jesus Zambrano (0-1) came on to pitch the eighth for the Ports and issued a one-out walk to Casey Golden. After a groundout advanced Golden to second base with two outs, Zambrano gave up a double to right field to Sean Bouchard on a 3-2 pitch that tied the game at 3-3. McLaughlin followed with an RBI single to left to score Bouchard and give Lancaster its first lead of the night at 4-3.
Zambrano would suffer the loss, going two-thirds of an inning and allowing two runs on three hits.
Koplove would pick up the win for the JetHawks. Salvador Justo (SV, 2) came on to work the ninth and gave up a two-out single to JJ Schwarz but then got Allen to fly out to right field to end the ballgame and notch his second save of the season.
The Ports will try to salvage the final game of their three-game series with the JetHawks on Thursday night at The Hangar. Joel Seddon (0-1, 5.59 ERA) makes the start for Stockton, opposed by Lancaster left-hander Ryan Rolison (1-0, 1.53 ERA). First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. PDT.
