BAKERSFIELD – Chris Fallon put the Oaks in front once and for all with his
16th home run of the season to lead off the eighth inning of a 5-4 win at
Bakersfield. Fallon's blast supplied the second Oaks lead of the night in a
game that saw three ties and three leads for Bakersfield.Doug Johnson earned his first win since August 3 by retiring the Blaze in order in the seventh. Chris Young also set down the side in the eighth, to set up Jentry Beckstead's eighth save of the season. Beckstead pitched a hitless ninth.
Back-to-back one out singles put Bakersfield on the board in the first inning. Jesus Feliciano singled, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch by Ben Crockett, then scored on an infield hit up the middle from Elijah Dukes for a 1-0 Blaze lead.
In the top of the third, K. J. Hendricks walked and reached third on a single by Brian Barre. With two out, Barre was caught in a pick-off play between first and second, but Hendricks scored during the rundown to tie the game, 1-1.
Bakersfield reclaimed the lead with a single by Sandy Aracena that allowed Feliciano to score for a second time to make it a 2-1 game in the bottom of the third.
The Oaks tied things up in the fourth. Bryan Peck reached on a two-out error by third baseman Justin Lincoln. Peck scored two batters later thanks to a single from Bernie Gonzalez, which evened the score at 2-2.
Visalia took the lead for the first time in the on a squeeze play executed by pinch hitter Duke Sardinha as Fallon scored from third for a 3-2 edge in the top of the sixth.
Bakersfield reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the inning. Kris Dufner delivered a two-run single with two out to make the score 4-3.
The Oaks tied the game for a third time in the seventh inning. Brian Barre singled to left, but left fielder, Carlos Ramos threw over first base and into the Blaze dugout, which put Barre at third. Ryan Spilborghs followed with a single to tie the game, 4-4 and set up Fallon's heroics in the eighth.
• Discuss this story on the California League message board...
• Digg this story
• Add to Del.icio.us
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.