Nola Erupts, Sheffield Deals but Rainiers Fall in Walk-Off Fashion

El Paso, TX - Catcher Austin Nola and third baseman Orlando Calixte carried the Tacoma Rainiers offense in their comeback effort on Wednesday at El Paso while Mariners top prospect Justus Sheffield delivered his first quality start of the season, but Ty France clubbed a game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth to earn the Chihuahuas the series victory ahead of Thursday's series finale, 11-10.
Once up 7-2, the Rainiers (5-8) found themselves trailing El Paso (7-6), 9-7, with two outs in the top of the ninth. With the bases empty, Calixte reached on a single before Nola obliterated his second long ball of the game, tying the contest, 9-9. The next three Tacoma hitters also reached, including pinch hitter Ian Miller's go-ahead RBI single to center field, scoring Tim Lopes.
Matt Festa (0-1) closed out the eighth for Tacoma, but suffered the loss after France's home run cleared the fence in the bottom of the ninth.

Lefty Justus Sheffield left in line for the win after 6 2/3 innings where he surrendered three runs (two earned) on three hits while striking out six. The quality outing was Sheffield's longest of the season and his six punch-outs were a season-high.
Nola tagged his first round-tripper of the game in the third inning which was the second dinger in a back-to-back sequence with Calixte. Nola doubled home shortstop J.P. Crawford in the fifth and finished the game 4-for-5 with two home runs, a pair of doubles, four RBI and three runs.
Calixte went 2-for-5 with his first home run of the season, a three-run jack as part of Tacoma's five-run third. In his first two games since being activated from the IL, the 27-year-old is 5-for-9 with five RBI and four runs.
Crawford added a pair of hits, an RBI and two runs in the defeat, extending his hitting streak to a Rainiers-best 12 games. Over the dozen-game stretch, the former Philadelphia Phillies top prospect is 17-for-49 (.347).
The Rainiers and Chihuahuas wrap up their three-game tilt Wednesday at 6:05 p.m. PDT. Tacoma right-hander Nabil Crismatt (0-1, 8.68) will try to salvage a win in El Paso before heading to Albuquerque for the back-end of the road trip. Mike Curto will have the call on South Sound Talk 850 with audio streaming available on the Rainiers TuneIn Radio Network.
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 -
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