Late Rally Falls Short in First-Half Finale
July 26, 2015 - Northwest League (NWL1)
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes News Release
Christian Lichtenthaler of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
(Salem-Keizer Volcanoes)
The Volcanoes rallied late but it wasn't enough as Salem-Keizer fell 4-3 to Hillsboro Sunday afternoon at Ron Tonkin Field.
Hillsboro starter Jared Miller (7-1, 1.65 ERA) dominated to begin the contest, tossing four perfect frames before allowing a single to Miguel Gomez to lead off the fifth. The hit extended Gomez's hitting streak to a team record 21 consecutive games, but Miller retired the next three batters he faced to negate the threat.
Hops starter Jared Miller had retired the first 12 Volcanoes until Gomez extended his team-record hitting streak.
Volcanoes starter Logan Webb (3-2, 4.00 ERA) matched Miller's four scoreless frames but ran into trouble in the fifth. Alexis Olmeda laced a single into center to begin the half inning before Gerard Hernandez belted a home run over the right field fence, pushing Hillsboro out in front, 2-0.
Nate Santiago relieved Webb to begin the sixth but quickly found himself in a jam of his own. Stephen Dezzi singled with one out in the inning and advanced to third when Gerard Hernandez doubled two batters later. Nate Irving then shot a two-out single right back up the middle, extending the Hops advantage to 4-0.
Miller looked to be on cruise control as he entered the eighth, allowing only two baserunners up until that point, but Salem-Keizer refused to go away lightly. Miller walked Junior Amion to begin the frame before hitting both Julio Pena and Brad Moss, loading the bases without recording an out. John Riley then grounded out sharply to first, scoring Amion. Christian Lichtenthaler followed with a groundball up the middle that second baseman Fernery Ozuna mishandled, scoring Pena. Steven Duggar then punched a single into left - the first hit of the inning - scoring Moss and bringing the Volcanoes within one.
Reliever Ariel Hernandez then came on with the tying run at second, but he retired the next two batters with the lead intact. He proceeded to toss a scoreless ninth for his second save of the season.
Player of the Game: Miguel Gomez went 1-for-4 on the afternoon, extending his hitting streak to a franchise-record 21 games. He also played impressive defense at third base, making several difficult plays look easy.
Up Next: The Volcanoes continue their series with Hillsboro Monday night. Nolan Riggs (2-1, 2.25 ERA) will make the start for Salem-Keizer. The broadcast will be available on volcanoesbaseball.com or through the TuneIn Radio app. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.
Images from this story
 Christian Lichtenthaler of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes |
Northwest League Stories from July 26, 2015
- Hawks Steal One in Eugene - Boise Hawks
- Late Rally Falls Short in First-Half Finale - Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
- AquaSox Strand 13 in Loss to Canadians - Everett AquaSox
- Hops Escape Volcanoes and Rain - Hillsboro Hops
- Flag in Hand, Hops Suffer "Day-After" Loss in Boise - Hillsboro Hops
- Frogs Fall to Spokane Behind Beanballs - Everett AquaSox
- Salem-Keizer Tops Ems in Rubber Match - Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
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