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Harris First Pitch Walk Off Wins It In Extra-inning Ninth

August 1, 2010 - Golden Baseball League (GBL)
Orange County Flyers News Release


FULLERTON, Calif. - Rookie David Harris drove the first pitch of the bottom of the ninth over the right field wall for his second walk off homerun of the season for a 2-1 win in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader at Goodwin Field. The Flyers won their ninth straight game, sweeping the Edmonton Capitals out of Fullerton, and pulling within the franchise record of 10-straight wins set in 2009.

Harris extended his hitting streak to 14-game with the blast, his second true walk-off of the season, leading off an inning with a homerun to win the game. He blasted a game-ending homerun against Calgary on June 26 to lead off an extra-inning eighth inning.

Flyers closer Andre Simpson (2-4) earned the win, pitching two scoreless innings of relief with two strike outs as the Capitals left go-ahead runs in scoring position in both innings. Yosandy Ibanez took the loss for Edmonton.

Edmonton broke a scoreless tie in the top of the seventh, the final inning of regulation in minor league doubleheaders. After six innings, OC pitcher Zach Cline started the seventh inning allowing a pair of singles and intentionally walked a batter before being lifted for reliever Bryan Harris. With the bases loaded and no outs, Steve Brown knocked a sacrifice fly to cash the runner from third, but Harris struck out the next two batters to limit the damage to a 1-0 Capitals lead.

Caps closer Chad Blackwell retired the first batter in the bottom of the eighth before Jim Goethals singled and was replaced by pinch-runner Zach Mandelblatt. Julian Benavidez added a pinch-hit single, and Mandelblatt was able to go first-to-third to put the tying run 90 feet from home. Steve Boggs struck out on a high fastball that got passed the catcher, and Mandelblatt crossed the plate on the passed ball to tie the game, 1-1.

The Flyers kept Edmonton scoreless despite a deep first-inning double by Enrique Cruz where Eric Scriven was trying to score from first base. Right fielder Sergio Pedroza hit cutoff man Keith Ginter who relayed to the plate where catcher Jim Goethals tagged out Scriven for an out.

The Capitals returned the favor in the third inning, when centerfielder Steve Brown threw out Steve Boggs at the plate trying to score on a Jimmy Rohan single.

Flyers pitcher Zac Cline traded scoreless innings with Evan White for five innings, with each hurler facing only three batters in different innings. White was lifted for a pinch hitter in to begin the top of the sixth, but Cline tossed a 1-2-3 frame to keep the game scoreless. White finished the night allowing no runs, five hits with two strike outs in five innings.

Former Anaheim Angel Lou Pote came on in relief of White and survived a fielding error by Caps third baseman Alex Prieto that left the Flyers with a runner on third before Pote struck out David Harris to end the inning.

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