Ports Top Grizzlies in Saturday Slugfest

FRESNO, Ca. – The Ports scored seven runs between the seventh and eighth innings and held off a late rally by the Grizzlies to defeat the North Division’s first place team 10-8 on Saturday night at Chukchansi Park.

The Ports (17-27) took an early lead in the top of the second inning. Junior Perez led off with a single to left field, and after stealing second base scored on a double down the right field line by T.J. Schofield-Sam to give the Ports a 1-0 lead. Schofield-Sam scored from second when the next hitter, Robert Puason, doubled down the left field line to make it 2-0. After a strikeout and a walk put runners on first and second, Puason scored on a single to left field by Max Muncy to increase the Stockton lead to 3-0.

With two home runs in the bottom of the fourth, the Grizzlies (28-16) came back to tie the game. Facing Ports’ starter Mitch Myers, Fresno catcher Hunter Goodman hit a two-run shot down the left field line and Juan Brito drove a solo shot out to right field to tie the game at three.

The Grizzlies took their first lead with a run in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single by Warming Bernabel to make it 4-3 Fresno.

In the top of the seventh the Ports took the lead for good with a three-run frame against Fresno reliever Luis Amoroso. Schofield-Sam led off with a single up the middle and advanced to third on a throwing error by Bernabel on a one-out infield single by Nick Brueser to put runners on the corners. On a 3-2 pitch, Pedro Pineda drove a double over the head of Yanquiel Fernandez in right field to score Schofield-Sam and tie the game at four. Amoroso then balked to score Brueser and Muncy reached on an error by Adael Amador to bring Pineda home and make it 6-4 Stockton.

The Ports got four more in the top of the eighth against reliever Tyler Ahearn. Perez and Schofield-Sam led off with back-to-back singles and Puason reached on an error by Bernabel to load the bases with nobody out for Brueser, who crushed a 3-2 pitch from Ahearn over the wall in center field for a grand slam to give the Ports a 10-4 lead.

Still leading 10-4 in the bottom of the ninth, the Ports just held off a Grizzly rally. With Alexis Cedano on the mound, Fresno got singles from Brito and Juan Guerrero to start the inning and Zach Kokoska walked on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases with nobody out. Trevor Boone then blasted a grand slam to left field to trim the Ports’ lead to 10-8. After Amador flew out to deep right center, Cedano was lifted in favor of Aaron Cohn who induced a groundout off the bat of Braiden Ward for the second out. Bernabel reached with a single and Goodman doubled down the left field line to put the tying run at second base, and after falling behind 3-0 to Fernandez struck out the Fresno right fielder on three straight changeups to end the ballgame.

Offensively, the bottom four spots in the Ports’ lineup did the heavy lifting for the Stockton offense, going 9-for-19 with nine runs scored and six RBIs.

Myers (2-2) got the win for Stockton, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits over 6.2 innings. Amoroso (0-1) took the loss for the Grizzlies. With the final two outs, Cohn picked up his first career save.

The Ports will look for the series split on Sunday afternoon at Chukchansi Park, with first pitch coming at 1:05 pm.