Ninth Inning Rally Halted as Studs Fall to Sacramento

Tacoma, WA - Playing under the Cheney Studs moniker for game one of their annual Throwback Weekend, the Tacoma Rainiers came up shy in their come-from-behind effort on Saturday against the Sacramento River Cats, 4-3.
Trailing by a pair to start the inning, Tacoma (8-15) cut the deficit in half when second baseman Tim Lopes dumped a single into center field, scoring third baseman Shed Long. On the play, catcher Austin Nola advanced to second as the potential tying run.
After left fielder Kristopher Negrón's fly out to right for the second out advanced Nola to third, Ian Miller stung a broken bat groundout to second base, ending the game.

In the defeat, Studs shortstop J.P. Crawford belted his second home run to lead off the sixth inning, then making it a 3-2 Sacramento (12-10) advantage.
Nola, who went 2-for-4 with a run, scored on a wild pitch from River Cats starter Tyler Beede (1-1) in the bottom of the second inning to give Tacoma a 1-0 lead. With his pair of hits, the Louisiana native improved his slash line to .403/.486/.758, ranking among the top-5 in the PCL in average, OBP and SLG.
Right-hander Reggie McClain (0-1) got the start and made his Triple-A debut for Tacoma. The 26-year-old, who has pitched in Advanced A-Modesto since the start of the 2017 season, went four innings and allowed three runs on four hits while walking two and striking out three.
McClain was relieved by right-hander Robinson Leyer who combined with righty Nick Rumbelow to each throw two scoreless innings. Matt Festa pitched the ninth and allowed a solo home run to Sacramento right fielder Mac Williamson.
The Rainiers will don the Tacoma Giants uniforms of the 1960s in Sunday's homestand finale against Sacramento. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. PDT and fans can bid on game-worn jerseys until Sunday at 9 p.m. at RainiersAuctions.com.
All tickets, group outings, and suites packages for the 2019 season are available for purchase in person at the Cheney Stadium Box Office, online at TacomaRainiers.com and WeRTacoma.com, or over the phone at (253) 752-7707. The most up-to-date news and notes about the Rainiers throughout the season can be found by following the Rainiers on Twitter (@RainiersLand), Instagram (tacomarainiers) or liking the team on Facebook.
- We R Tacoma -