STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Ports' weapon of choice was the long ball in collecting their sixth straight victory on Wednesday night. The Boys of Banner Island blasted a season-high four homers, including two from Austin Beck, on their way to a 9-3 win over the Visalia Rawhide.Ports starter Mitchell
STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Ports' weapon of choice was the long ball in collecting their sixth straight victory on Wednesday night. The Boys of Banner Island blasted a season-high four homers, including two from Austin Beck, on their way to a 9-3 win over the Visalia Rawhide.
Ports starter Mitchell Jordan (3-2) escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the top of the first. Beck rewarded him in the bottom of the first with a solo home run to give Stockton a 1-0 lead. The homers kept coming as Lazaro Armenteros hit his second homer in as many games in the second inning to make it 2-0. In the third, Beck came to the plate with one on and two out and delivered his second homer of the night, this time a two-run shot to right, to run the Stockton lead to 4-0. With the home run, Beck became the first Ports player this season to homer twice in a game.
Rawhide starter Cole Stapler (2-2) allowed one final run in the fourth on a two-out RBI single by Jonah Bride that stretched the Ports lead to 5-0. Stapler would suffer the loss, going five innings and allowing five runs on six hits while striking out five.
Jordan would allow a pair of runs in the fifth inning on a two-run homer hit by Camden Duzenack that cut the Ports lead to 5-2. Jordan, however, would go on to set down his final six batters to take him through the sixth. He punctuated his outing by striking out the side in order in the sixth. Jordan would earn the win, allowing two runs on six hits while walking one and matching a career-high for a second straight outing with 10 strikeouts.
Stockton put the game away with four runs between the sixth and seventh innings off Rawhide reliever Luis Castillo. Castillo gave up a leadoff single to Trace Loehr to open the sixth followed by a two-run homer to Jeremy Eierman to make it a 7-2 contest. After Visalia got a run back in the top of the seventh, the Ports got two in the bottom of the seventh on a two-out, two-run single by Eierman, who drove in four runs as part of a 3-for-4 night.
Castillo went 1 2/3 innings and allowed four runs on four hits.
Sam Sheehan allowed a run in the top of the seventh but would strand the bases loaded to avoid further damage. Seth Martinez came on to start the eighth and closed out the game, retiring all six batters he faced.
Looking for a second straight series sweep and a seventh consecutive win, the Ports wrap up their four-game series with the Rawhide in a matinee on Thursday at Banner Island Ballpark. Brady Feigl (2-0, 3.33 ERA) makes the start for Stockton, opposed by Rawhide right-hander Jeff Bain (1-1, 3.97 ERA). First pitch is set for 11:10 a.m. PDT.
