Johnson Grins & Wears It as Indians Walk-Off 6-5
August 15, 2012 - Northwest League (NWL1)
Spokane Indians News Release
Spokane, WA -It's not the most common way to grab a win, but the Spokane Indians aren't about to complain. With the game tied and the bases loaded, leftfielder Saquan Johnson was hit by a pitch from AquaSox reliever Marcos Reyna (0-3), forcing in the winning run as Spokane trumped Everett 6-5 in front of 5,983 fans at Avista Stadium for Dollars in Your Dog Night presented by Mirabeau Park Hotel, HOT 96.9, and The Current.
Trailing by a run heading into the eighth inning, the Indians knotted up the game at six on an RBI single from Christopher Garia. After Josh McElwee (1-1) struck out two Everett batters in a scoreless top of the ninth, Spokane concocted an unusual but effective rally.
Royce Bolinger, who finished the game 3-5, flied out to centerfield for the first out of the inning. Bolinger's fly ball would not only prove to be the last out recorded by Reyna, but also the last ball put in play by Spokane. Third baseman Ryan Rua followed with a four pitch walk, and moved to second after Everett elected to intentionally walk Preston Beck.
As is often the case following a gutsy but dubious decision, the Aquasox ended up being hoisted by their own petard. The hard-throwing Reyna never regained his command after the walk to Beck, plunking Joe Maloney to load the bases and set up his fateful at-bat with unlikely hero Saquan Johnson.
Beck finished the game 3-4, Rua scored three times, and Bolinger's single in his first at-bat extended his hitting streak to 15 games. Cody Kendall and Joe Burns each allowed one run in two frames in relief of starter Connor Sadzeck who gave up one earned run in four innings.
Tomorrow is the series finale against the AquaSox and is Grand Slam F-150 Sweepstakes presented by Gus Johnson Ford, Hits 96.1, and 1280 KPTQ. If a Spokane Indians player hits a grand slam home run during the game, one lucky fan will drive away with a new Ford F-150 Super Duty Truck courtesy of Gus Johnson Ford! Kids are encouraged to stick around after tomorrow night's game for the Supercuts Post-Game Circle the Bases promotion. Tickets for all Spokane Indians home games are available for purchase at the Indians Ticket Office or at spokaneindians.com. Reserve your seats today by calling (509) 343-OTTO (6886) or TicketsWest at 1-800-325-SEAT.
Northwest League Stories from August 15, 2012
- C's Can't Close Out Bears; Fall 3-2 In Series Finale - Vancouver Canadians
- Late Runs Lead to 3-2 Bears Win in Vancouver - Yakima Bears
- Bears suffer third walk-off loss in 2012 - Yakima Bears
- Johnson Grins & Wears It as Indians Walk-Off 6-5 - Spokane Indians
- Vancouver tops Yakima 2-1 to take series from Bears and maintain lead in West - Vancouver Canadians
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