Fitzer's Walk-Off Tops 66ers on Wednesday Night
CalL Fresno Grizzlies

Fitzer's Walk-Off Tops 66ers on Wednesday Night

Published on August 28, 2025 under California League (CalL)
Fresno Grizzlies News Release


Kevin Fitzer delivered yet again, notching his fourth walk-off of the season as the Fresno Grizzlies (64-58, 35-21) edged the Inland Empire 66ers (51-71, 33-23) 4-3 in 10 innings on Wednesday night at Chukchansi Park in Downtown Fresno.

For the second straight night, the Grizzlies battled with command an issue on both sides.

Fresno wasted no time grabbing the lead, pushing across a run in the bottom of the first to set the tone. Ethan Holliday's one single was eventually forced around the bases, scoring on a bases loaded walk to Kelvin Hidalgo.

The Grizzlies scratched out another tally in the fourth, building a 2-0 cushion behind a patient approach at the plate and timely execution.

On the mound, Brody Brecht was dominant, holding the 66ers to just one hit over 4.2 innings while racking up eight strikeouts.

The game settled into a pitcher's duel through the middle innings. Both bullpens kept the bats quiet, with Fresno's relievers matching zeros against Inland Empire's arms.

The Grizzlies' defense was airtight, and neither side committed an error all night.

It wasn't until the eighth that the 66ers broke through, stringing together a pair of hits to tie the game at 2-2.

Suddenly, the pressure was on, but Fresno's bullpen escaped further damage, stranding the potential go-ahead run and keeping the score deadlocked into the late frames.

Neither team could break the tie in the ninth, sending the contest to extras. The 66ers managed to plate a run in the top of the tenth, taking a 3-2 lead and putting Fresno's backs against the wall. But the Grizzlies, as they've done so often in the second half, refused to fold.

The bottom of the tenth saw Fresno's bats come alive. Three walks-including a clutch plate appearance by Hidalgo, who reached three times on free passes-loaded the bases with one out.

Hidalgo finished the night 1-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored, setting the table for the heart of the order.

Still, trailing by a run in the bottom of the tenth, Fitzer smoked a line drive into right center allowing Jacob Humphrey to score in his first action with the Grizzlies. Hidalgo scored right behind him without much of a contested throw to send the home crowd home happy.

Fresno finished with six hits and drew eight walks, showing patience and grit throughout the night. The offense was spread out, with no player collecting more than one hit, but the Grizzlies made the most of their opportunities, stranding 13 runners but capitalizing when it counted.

Seth Clausen picked up his first win of the year as only the automatic runner scored in the tenth, while Leonard Garcia was tagged with the loss for Inland Empire.

Brody Brecht's electric start set the tone, and the bullpen held firm through the late innings.

Fitzer's four walk-off at-bats have now come nearly a month apart, with the previous three all coming on the 29th of the prior three months. Still, the Grizzlies will take the early timing of the heroics as they marched their magic number down to two with just 10 games remaining in the regular season.

The series continues at Chukchansi Park on Thursday night as Ubaldo Soto will take the hill for the 66ers. Fresno will send lefty Zack Morris to the mound for the 6:50pm start.

All broadcasts will be available streamed through Bally Sports Live, the MiLB App, and the Grizzlies broadcast with Tim Slack can be accessed on fresnogrizzlies.com/listen.

Tomorrow night's game will also be broadcast on 790 ESPN Fresno with the Chukchansi Gold Pregame Show beginning at 6:35pm.

Check out the Fresno Grizzlies Statistics

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California League Stories from August 28, 2025


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