STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Ports couldn't stop Tyler Nevin on Friday night at Banner Island Ballpark. Nevin went 4-for-4 and drove in a run each time he stepped to the plate for the Lancaster JetHawks as Lancaster earned a 5-3 win over Stockton in the rubber game of a
STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Ports couldn't stop Tyler Nevin on Friday night at Banner Island Ballpark. Nevin went 4-for-4 and drove in a run each time he stepped to the plate for the Lancaster JetHawks as Lancaster earned a 5-3 win over Stockton in the rubber game of a three-game series.
Ports starter Xavier Altamirano (3-2) looked like he was going to breeze through the first inning as he retired the first two batters he faced. Colton Welker, however, extended the inning with a single and Nevin provided an RBI double that gave the JetHawks a 1-0 lead. Nevin scored on an ensuing triple by Vince Fernandez to make it 2-0.
Stockton answered in the bottom of the first using a familiar power source. With one on and two outs, Sandber Pimentel hit his third home run in as many at-bats going back to Thursday night to tie the contest at 2-2.
The JetHawks would jump on Altamirano again with two outs in the third inning. Welker singled, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Nevin to take a 3-2 lead that wouldn't be relinquished. Two innings later with Manny Melendez at second and two outs, Nevin struck again with an RBI single to right to stretch the Lancaster lead to 4-2.
Altamirano would suffer the loss, going five innings and allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out seven.
JetHawks starter Matt Dennis (7-10) allowed a leadoff home run to Luke Persico in the sixth that cut the JetHawks lead to 4-3. Pimentel followed with a double to right and wound up at third base with one out. Dennis, though, would get back-to-back strikeouts of Brett Siddall and Edwin Diaz to escape the inning with the lead still intact.
Dennis would earn the win for the JetHawks, going 6.2 innings and allowing three runs on eight hits while striking out six.
After Will Gilbert pitched two scoreless frames beginning in the sixth, Andrew Tomasovich took over in the eighth and allowed a leadoff home run to Nevin, completing a 4-for-4 night and giving Lancaster a 5-3 advantage. It was the only hit allowed by Tomasovich who went on to retire the next six batters he faced.
After a scoreless inning-and-a-third worked by Heath Holder, Reid Humphreys (SV, 21) took over in the ninth and set the side down in order while recording a pair of strikeouts to notch his league-leading 21st save of the season.
After dropping two of three to the JetHawks, the Ports welcome the Inland Empire 66ers to Banner Island Ballpark to open a three-game series on Saturday night. Left-hander Evan Manarino (3-2, 4.32 ERA) makes the start for Stockton, opposed by Inland Empire right-hander Luis Madero (1-0, 4.35 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. PDT.
