Great Eight: Blaze Complete Sweep, Extend Streak, 11-5

August 14, 2015 - California League (CalL1)
Bakersfield Blaze News Release


For the first time in the series, the Blaze didn't score in the 1st inning, but one inning later, the team got on the board on Chantz Mack's second homer of the season, a solo shot for a 1-0 lead.

Briefly, the Blaze did trail. With Dan Altavilla struggling mightily early on, a pair of walks and a single loaded the bases and the Storm capitalized with a three-run triple to take a 3-1 lead.

In the 3rd, the Blaze grabbed the lead back, and kept pushing from there. A key error began the frame, and after Aaron Barbosa walked to put two aboard, a sacrifice bunt moved the runners into scoring position. Tim Lopes' sacrifice fly brought Bako within a run, and Tyler O'Neill and Austin Wilson followed with back-to-back doubles to score two more and give the Blaze a 4-3 lead.

In the 5th, the Blaze snatched one more with two outs. Lopes doubled, and O'Neill singled him home. The 6th, though, was the pivotal frame.

Wilson drew a leadoff walk and Kyle Petty was hit by a pitch. With one out, Rayder Ascanio, who had struck out twice, roped a triple into the rightfield corner to plate two and end the evening for Storm starter Kyle Lloyd. Reliever Brian Verbitsky was greeted rudely, too, as Aaron Barbosa singled home Ascanio for an 8-3 Blaze edge.

Altavilla ended his evening going five innings, doing a fine job of fighting back after the first two frames took nearly 60 pitches to complete.

Aaron Brooks came on in relief and scuffled a tad, allowing a run in the 6th and 7th innings, but the Blaze responded with two in the 8th. Two walks, a wild pitch, a single and a fielder's choice pushed the lead back to five, 10-5. Five was not enough. One more in the 9th on a Mack sacrifice fly brought the Blaze to 11 runs for the second time in three days.

Meanwhile, Kyle Schepel, who finished the 7th, worked the 8th and 9th, getting all seven Storm batters he faced to lock up the win, and the sweep.

The victory is the eighth in a row for the surging Blaze, and the sweep is the second straight for a team that has now taken 11 of 12 contests, overall.

The Blaze short time in Lake Elsinore for the year may have ended, but the road trip continues as the club rolls through Bakersfield in the wee hours and continues north to Modesto for a three-game weekend series.

Tyler Pike gets the start in the Friday evening series-opener at John Thurman Field, with first pitch scheduled for 7:00pm.

Fans can, as always, tune in to the actionn live online at BakersfieldBlaze.com or via the TuneIn Radio app. Dan Besbris has the call.



California League Stories from August 14, 2015


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