Sea Dogs Walk Off with 8-7 Win in 10th Inning
June 18, 2010 - Eastern League (EL1)
Akron RubberDucks News Release
PORTLAND, ME - Portland's Ray Chang was the hero Friday night, as he smacked a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the host Sea Dogs an 8-7 victory over the Akron Aeros. A crowd of 5,616 fans at Hadlock Field in Portland witnessed a back-and-forth offensive battle decided in extra innings on the two-out base hit by Chang against Akron reliever Omar Aguilar. The loss was the third in four games for the Aeros (33-34) and the Sea Dogs improved to 35-31 with the victory.
A matchup of two highly regarded starting pitching prospects turned into an early shootout as Akron pounced for two runs in the first inning against Portland's Casey Kelly. Right fielder John Drennen began his big night by plating Jason Kipnis with an RBI single and Jerad Head similarly scored Lonnie Chisenhall to give the visitors a quick 2-0 advantage. The Sea Dogs responded viciously to take a 4-2 lead in the third against Aeros lefty Nick Hagadone thanks to a run-scoring wild pitch, two singles, two walks and a double.
Facing adversity, the Akron offense knocked Kelly out of the game in a monster top of the fourth inning. Left fielder Tim Fedroff smashed a double to left and scored two batters later on a single by Jordan Henry. Second baseman Jason Kipnis then sent a 1-0 pitch from Kelly into the right field bleachers, scoring Henry as well and making the score 5-4.
The Sea Dogs then tagged on single runs in each of the next three innings to re-take a two-run edge. Luis Exposito recorded a sacrifice fly against new pitcher Paolo Espino in the fourth and Nate Spears had an RBI single in the next frame. Anthony Rizzo then plated Expisotie in the sixth against Espino again to take the intimidating lead.
Another Tim Fedroff double then highlighted a monster eighth inning where the Aeros tied the score at 7-7. Fedroff's double to left field and a throwing error by Chih-Hsien Chiang helped score Head, while a groundout and wild pitch plated Fedroff shortly thereafter.
Both bullpens averted major damage in the ensuing frames as the game headed off to extra innings. In the bottom of the tenth, Aguilar forced both Matt Sheely and Spears to fly out to begin the frame, but then walked Che-Hsuan Lin. With the extra opportunity, Chang delivered the game-winning base hit to right to give Portland the dramatic victory.
Aguilar (1-2) took the loss by allowing the final run in 1.2 innings of relief with two walks and two hits. Portland's Bryce Cox (1-4) held on for the victory after blowing the lead by allowing the two runs in the eighth inning. It was a second straight rough start for the lefty Hagadone as he permitted five runs on six hits and four walks in 3.1 innings pitched.
The Aeros offense out-hit their opponents in a loss yet again Friday night, as the team finished with 13 hits. Chisenhall and Drennen each collected three singles while the home run by Kipnis was his second in as many games. Fedroff also continued his hot hitting with his two doubles and two runs scored in the unfortunate defeat.
These two interdivision rivals continue their three-game series Saturday night at Hadlock Field with first pitch scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at Hadlock Field. Akron right-hander Alex White (2-2, 1.47 ERA) will look to continue his Double-A dominance in another excellent pitching matchup against Portland's Stephen Fife (3-1, 3.70 ERA). Join Ken Carman for tomorrow night's game broadcast, beginning at 5:45 p.m. on Fox Sports 1350 AM and at www.akronaeros.com. For more information, please call the Aeros at (330) 253-5151.
Eastern League Stories from June 18, 2010
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