Mavs' Monster Eighth Sinks Stockton 14-8
July 26, 2016 - California League (CalL1)
Stockton Ports News Release
ADELANTO, Calif. - The Stockton Ports were six outs away from victory with a two-run lead on Monday night at Mavericks Stadium, and then the bottom of the eighth happened. High Desert scored eight runs on seven hits in the frame to come from behind and hand the Ports a 14-8 loss in the opener of a three-game series.
High Desert jumped in front in the bottom of the first on a two-run homer hit by Travis Demeritte. Stockton tied it the ensuing half-inning as they opened the frame with three straight hits. Seth Brown doubled, Mikey White lined an RBI single to left and Jose Brizuela singled to put runners at the corners. Richie Martin then hit into a fielder's choice force play to score a second run and tie the game at 2-2.
The Mavericks took the lead back using the long ball in the bottom of the inning. Jose Cardona opened the frame with a double, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout by Tripp Martin. Michael De Leon and Scott Heineman followed with back-to-back homers that gave High Desert a 5-2 advantage.
Ports starter Matt Sergey went two innings and allowed five runs on five hits while striking out three.
The Ports uded the long ball in the fifth inning to take their first lead of the night, and the home run happened to be the first of its kind for any Ports hitter on the season. With the bases loaded and two outs, Jose Brizuela hit a grand slam to right to vault the Ports in front 6-5.
High Desert starter Reed Garrett went five innings and allowed six runs on eight hits while walking four and striking out three.
Casey Meisner, who took over after Victor Veliz pitched a perfect third inning, gave up the tying run in the bottom of the fifth. Heineman led off with a single and scored on a two-out RBI single by Luke Tendler to make it a 6-6 contest.
Stockton grabbed the lead back in the top of the sixth facing Mavericks reliever Felix Carvallo. After Carvallo retired the first two batters, he allowed three straight hits. Melvin Mercedes singled to right and Nogowski followed with a single to right. Tendler, the right fielder, made a diving attempt to catch the ball but came up short, allowing Mercedes to hustle all the way from first to score. Joe Bennie followed with an RBI double to right-center to give the Ports an 8-6 cushion.
Carvallo allowed two runs on three hits in his two innings of work.
Meisner preserved the lead until the bottom of the eighth inning. Juremi Profar led off with a single to left and Cardona followed with a two-run homer to left that tied the score at 8-8 and chased Meisner from the game, depriving him of his first win of the season. Cody Stull (2-2) took over and gave up a double to David Lyon followed by a walk to Martin. De Leon came up next and laid down a sacrifice bunt to third. Mercedes fielded the ball but threw in the dirt to first as it skipped away from Nogowski, an error that loaded the bases. After Heineman hit into a fielder's choice force play at home plate, Morgan hit a two-run single to left that gave the Mavericks a 10-8 lead. After Stull struck out Demeritte, Tendler hit a two-run single to left to make it 12-8. Profar followed with a two-run homer to left to run the Mavericks lead to 14-8.
Meisner would receive a no-decision, going four-plus innings and allowing three runs on six hits while striking out five. Stull suffered the loss, allowing six runs (one earned) on five hits in two-thirds of an inning.
Matt Milroy (1-0), who pitched a scoreless eighth for High Desert, picked up the win. Shane McCain struck out the side in order to close out the game in the ninth.
The Ports and Mavericks play the middle game of their three-game series on Tuesday night in Adelanto. Mike Murray (1-0, 0.00 ERA) makes the start for Stockton, opposed by High Desert right-hander Tyler Davis (3-4, 4.65 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. PDT.
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