20 Years of Family Fun, Well Done
June 20, 2016 - Northwest League (NWL1)
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes News Release
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes Co-Owners Lisa (left) and Jerry (right) Walker
(Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, Credit: Gordie Clary)
Opening weekend arrives every year for the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, but this year's Opening Night was particularly special as it celebrated the organization's 20 years of family fun, well done. Dating back to 1997, Volcanoes baseball has been a constant in Salem-Keizer, weathering Major League Baseball threats and general instability in Minor League sports. Twenty years later, Jerry Walker, alongside his wife Lisa, put on an Opening Day identical to the one from two decades ago, including a special helicopter arrival of the former mayor of Keizer, Dennis Koho. Special speeches were given by Keizer city council members and Koho threw out the ceremonial first pitch, just like he did in 1997.
The Volcanoes offense came to play early in the game, scoring the first run of the series after getting a lead-off double by shortstop Manuel Geraldo, who then got moved over on a ground out, and scored on a wild pitch by Hillsboro starter Anfernee Benitez.
However, the Volcanoes could not hold the lead as second baseman Jeff Smith hit a three-run home run in the top of the second to put the Hops up 3-1. Catcher Luke Lowery then hit a two-run homerun in the top of the sixth to make the score 5-1.
Center fielder Gustavo Cabrera got a rally going in the bottom of the seventh for the Volcanoes, hitting a solo home run to left. The Volcanoes scored two more runs on two hits, a ground out and a wild pitch. In the bottom of the ninth, down two, Salem-Keizer tacked on a run and put the tying run on base, but was unable to move the runner over after three straight outs ended the ball game.
The second night, Rally the Mascot made a special appearance en route to a Volcanoes win. After a soggy morning, the sun broke through the clouds in the Pacific Northwest and dried up the diamond, allowing the game to proceed after about an hour and a half long weather delay.
Luckily, the weather didn't dampen the Volcanoes' bats, plating 14 runs on 14 hits in the contest. The Volcanoes broke open the game in the bottom of the fifth inning by scoring seven runs on two hits, two walks, two hit batters and two Hops errors, sending 11 batters to the plate in the inning.
The Volcanoes scored four runs in the third inning, and would have won the game with just that inning but two more runs in the fourth and a huge fifth inning put the nail in the coffin, tying the series and giving the Volcanoes a chance to win over the Hops on Father's Day.
With blue skies and a 76 degree first pitch temperature, Father's Day at the ballpark was a memorable one. The Volcanoes brought the prior night's energy back to the ballpark as they scored a run in both the third and the fourth before scoring six more in the bottom of the fifth on five hits. Salem-Keizer then tacked on an additional three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on four hits, amassed a total of 12 hits on the evening.
Over the three-day weekend series, the Volcanoes erupted with 30 runs on 38 hits to take the series over the two-time Northwest League champions. The Volcanoes also did well defensively, only committing three errors across the series compared to Hillsboro's seven.
Geraldo and second baseman Kevin Rivera paced the Volcanoes with six hits each, while scoring eight total runs between the two middle infielders. Over the course of the weekend, Rivera hit .500 and tallied multi-hit nights throughout the series, while Geraldo hit .375 to open the season in Salem-Keizer. Geraldo has more than doubled his production while with Augusta earlier this spring and is showing signs these capabilities from 2015 in Rookie ball. Rivera, a member of the Volcanoes for a short stint in 2015, played in four games and hit .188, making the .500 batting clip even more of a positive sign.
After allowing six runs in the series opener, the Volcanoes' pitching staff allowed just five runs the next two games, while posting a staff ERA of 3.67. The Volcanoes pitching staff will look to bring their best stuff to Idaho in their next outing when they take on the Boise Hawks in a three game series starting Monday, June 20.
A beautiful weekend of baseball welcomed the return of professional baseball to the state of Oregon as the Volcanoes won the first series of the season after dropping the first game to the Hillsboro Hops. The Volcanoes board their bus to play the Hawks Monday evening at 6:15 PST.
Images from this story
 Salem-Keizer Volcanoes Co-Owners Lisa (left) and Jerry (right) Walker (Gordie Clary) |
Northwest League Stories from June 20, 2016
- Mariners' Top Pick Highlights AquaSox 2016 Roster - Everett AquaSox
- 20 Years of Family Fun, Well Done - Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
- Tri-City Wins Rubber Match against Everett - Tri-City Dust Devils
- Volcanoes Blow out Hillsboro for Second Straight Night - Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
- Volcanoes Deal Dirty Dozens - Hillsboro Hops
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