Blaze Awake for Last Call as Furious Rally Dumps Rawhide
July 10, 2016 - California League (CalL1)
Bakersfield Blaze News Release
Prior to their 75-minute commute to Visalia, the Bakersfield Blaze knew what was in front of them.
1-11 and April 16th .
That was the Blaze record going into Game 2 on Saturday night with the date of their last win against the Rawhide earlier this season.
Trailng 7-2 in the ninth inning and down to their final three outs, Bakersfield had a slight pulse...
That's when Daniel Torres breathed new life into his teammates.
Torres hit his first professional home run earlier in the game then led the final frame off with a double down the right field line to began a furious rally as the Blaze sent 13 batters to the plate, scoring seven unanswered runs to shock the Visalia Rawhide 9-7.
It wasn't the largest deficit Bakersfield has recovered from, but it's certainly the most memorable.
Torres' double was quickly followed by a Justin Seager double into the right-center field gap. Seager's run scoring double closed the gap to 7-3 and that's when the momentum clearly shifted to the Blaze. Drew Jackson popped up to shallow right field and that's where right fielder Stryker Trahan and second baseman Henry Castillo met to catch a routine fly.
With Trahan underneath the ball and ready to make the catch, Castillo bailed out of attempting to make the play at the very last second causing a distraction for his teammate. Trahan dropped the ball, Jackson ran to second base, Seager moved over to third. A couple of hits, an error, and then all of a sudden Bakersfield was hungry for more.
After Braden Bishop's sac fly to right scored Seager, Rawhide Manager J.R. House turned back to his closer Bud Jeter.
Jeter picked up his 14th save on Friday night against the Blaze, but on Saturday evening he failed miserably in his attempt.
Gianfranco Wawoe came up next and walked on four pitches before Chantz Mack singled home Drew Jackson. With runners at the corners and one out, Tyler Marlette smacked a fastball up the middle for a base hit to bring Bakersfield within a run.
Blaze Manager Eddie Menchaca went to his bench by sending in Aaron Barbosa to pinch-run for Marlette and having Jordan Cowan pinch-hit for Austin Wilson.
Both moves paid off as Cowan walked, loading the bases for Joe DeCarlo.
Down in the count to Jeter 1-2, DeCarlo found a way to fight off several pitches before eventually running the count full. With the bases loaded and no margin for error, Jeter missed on a fastball to walk home Mack.
A 7-2 to lead was no more for Visalia and now they were on the ropes.
Now facing Jency Solis, Torres came up again and hit a slow groundball to Domingo Leyba at shortstop. Leyba's throw to Castillo was quick enough, but Castillo's throw to first base was not. Torres somehow beat out the throw as Aaron Barbosa scored on the play to give Bakersfield an 8-7 lead.
Justin Seager's infield single helped provide some insurance as Cowan came in to score making it a 7-run ninth inning for Bakersfield.
Jake Zokan was flawless in the bottom half of the inning as he picked up his third save in three attempts.
Darin Gillies (2-0) was credited with the win and Jeter (7-1) suffered the loss as House tried using seven pitchers from his staff to get the win.
Game 3 between these two teams is Sunday evening at 6:00pm. David Gascon will provide all the action on TuneIn Radio and BakersfieldBlaze.com.
California League Stories from July 10, 2016
- Three-Run Ninth Inning Lifts Giants to Walk-Off Win - San Jose Giants
- Ports Lose 5-4 on Balk in Ninth - Stockton Ports
- Efficient Offense Leads to 6-2 Win - Modesto Nuts
- High-Five In First Leads 'hawks To Shutout Rout - Lancaster JetHawks
- Blaze Awake for Last Call as Furious Rally Dumps Rawhide - Bakersfield Blaze
- Visalia Allows Seven Runs in Ninth Inning to Fall 9-7 - Visalia Rawhide
- 66ers Break Scoring Seal, Down JetHawks 6-2 - Inland Empire 66ers
- Ninth-Inning Thunder Not Enough against Storm - Modesto Nuts
- Jethawks Succomb To Late 66ers Rally - Lancaster JetHawks
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