Grizzlies Bats Light Up Beavers on Opening Night
April 6, 2007 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Fresno Grizzlies News Release
Fresno, CA- The Grizzlies tenth season began with a bang Thursday night, as they defeated the Portland Beavers 9-4 in front of 11,955 fans. Fans were treated to a myriad of fireworks, provided by the heart of the Grizzlies order and the dazzling new Chukchansi Park scoreboard sign.
The Grizzlies first run of the season came in the bottom of the first inning when Fred Lewis scored on Chad Santos' fielder's choice to put the Grizzlies. Later in the first, the Grizzlies made it 2-0 when Jack Cassel's wild pitch scooted to the backstop allowing Ivan Ochoa to score.
The very next inning, the Beavers made it 2-1 when Pete Laforest, who went homer-less last season, hit his first of the season off Grizzlies starter Matt Palmer. Portland tied the game 2-2 when Palmer surrendered an RBI double to Vince Sinisi.
In the bottom of the third, Chad Santos and Justin Leone hit back to back solo home runs to tie the game and give the Grizzlies a 4-3 lead. The Beavers tied the game in the fourth when former Grizzlies outfielder Adam Shabala scored on Craig Stansberry's RBI double that reached the right-center field gap.
The Grizzlies regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth on a Nate Shierholtz RBI double that scored Tomas De La Rosa. The Grizzlies took the lead for good in the seventh after Portland's right-hander Scott Strickland gave up four earned runs. The first three came off the bat of Shierholtz, whose three-run blast bounced into a swarm of fans in the right field seats.
"I'm pleased with what I saw tonight," said Grizzlies Manager Dan Rohn. "The club has been swinging the bats well all spring and despite the four runs given up by Matt Palmer, I thought he competed very well."
The Grizzlies return to Chukchansi Park tomorrow night to take on the Beavers at 7:05p.m. in the second game of their four game series with Portland. Tomorrow's contest will mark the first in a series of Friday Night Fireworks shows. Tickets are on sale now at the Chukchansi Park ticket office, by calling (559) 320-TIXS or visiting www.fresnogrizzlies.com.
Pacific Coast League Stories from April 6, 2007
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