Cardiac Kids Win Another Thriller
July 14, 2004 - Northwest League (NWL1)
Spokane Indians News Release
SPOKANE, WA â It is safe to say that the Spokane Indians (13-12) have established themselves as the "Cardiac Kids" of the Northwest League and their 7-6 late-inning win over the Eugene Emeralds (10-15) only helps to solidify the reputation. No stranger to late inning heroics, Indians catcher Mike Nickeas, who was voted "Mr. Clutch" by his teammates at Georgia Tech, came through for the Indians in the ninth inning to give the Indians the win. Unlike his previous heroics, which include a walk-off homerun, Nickeas got some help from the Emeralds in pushing across the winning runs.
Trailing 4-0 after four frames of play, the Indians finally got on the board with one run in both the 5th and 6th innings with RBI doubles by Nickeas and Tug Hulett. The Indians took the lead in the 7th inning as Nickeas came through with another RBI double to score Brandon Boggs to tie the game, and was driven home by Ben Harrison, who's RBI double gave the Indians the lead 5-4.
The Emeralds rebounded in the top of the 8th inning to take a 6-5 lead, thanks to Lachlan Dale. Dale did his best Nickeas impression by belting a Jarrad Burcie (2-0) pitch deep to right field to give Eugene the lead. Of Dale's 17 hits on the season, six of them have left the yard to push his slugging percentage over the .400 mark, despite his sub .200 batting average.
After Boggs was hit by a Brian Burks (1-1) to lead off the 9th inning, the Emeralds botched a double play attempt that allowed Travis Metcalf to reach base, giving the Indians two runners on with no outs. With fans on the edges of their seats and expecting Nickeas to be swinging for the fences, the Spokane backstop attempted to lay down the sacrifice bunt to put the winning run in scoring position. Dale went from hero to goat in the flash of an eye as he fielded the Nickeas bunt cleanly, but his throw to third to get the lead runner found the dirt and rolled into the Emeralds bullpen. Boggs quickly scored and Indians Manager Darryl Kennedy waived Metcalf around third as he slid in to score the winning run.
The last inning victory marks the fifth time in the 2004 season that the Indians have won a game in their last at-bat at Avista Stadium. Tonight, the 3,341 fans attendance played witness to the third 7-6 last at-bat victory by the Indians this season.
The Indians offense pounded out nine hits off the Emeralds, who had given up 20 runs in their last two games entering the series. Nickeas led the attack with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate, including a pair of RBI doubles. Hulett collected three hits in five trips to the dish from the leadoff spot, scoring a run and driving in another.
The Indians and Emeralds will meet four more times in a five-game series that runs through Saturday. Tomorrow night is B-I-N-G-O Night as Coeur d'Alene Casino and Oldies 101.1 FM gives all fans the opportunity to win great prizes. For tickets, call the Indians Ticket Office at (509) 535-2922 to reserve your seats today.
Northwest League Stories from July 14, 2004
- Don Larsen tonight, Hal Morris Thursday, SPIDER-MAN Friday, ZOOperstars Saturday - Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
- Cardiac Kids Win Another Thriller - Spokane Indians
- Olivo can't keep Bears from topping AquaSox - Everett AquaSox
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