Seals Comeback Halted In Utah
Published on August 4, 2009 under Golden Baseball League (GBL)
Victoria Seals News Release
St. George, UT - Making their debut at Bruce Hurst Field in southern Utah, the Victoria Seals opened the second leg of their road trip against the St. George RoadRunners on Monday night. With the home side sending David Seccombe (6-2) to the mound in the series opener, the Seals turned to their ace, Isaac Hess (9-0) for the start.
Striking for a run in the top of the first inning, Victoria jumped on the board when back-to-back singles from Wilver Perez and Sergio Pedroza translated into a 1-0 lead thanks to an infield error. With Hess settling in on the mound, the Seals carried their slim advantage through two quick frames and into the fourth.
That's when the RoadRunners would jump into the driver's seat, using a one-out walk to Jose Rodriguez to cue a rally. Three straight singles from Ryan Stevenson, Henry Calderon and Chase Leavitt, along with a throwing error against the Victoria starter, helped St. George to a 4-1 lead through four innings of play.
The home side then continued where they left off in the fifth frame, notching singles from Yosvany Almario and A.J. Valentine before Jose Rodriguez cleared the bases with a triple for a 6-1 advantage. Then, after another base hit and a walk chased Hess from the contest, reliever Graham Campbell surrendered a two-run triple from Gary Harris, and St. George's first home run in the last seven games courtesy of Almario's second at-bat in the inning for a commanding 12-1 RoadRunners lead.
Victoria bounced back with a strong inning in the sixth, however, when Brett Flowers led-off the frame with a hit, Gabriel Riley reached on an error, and Matt Kavanaugh loaded the bases with a walk. Then, after a base hit from Billy Krause brought the Seals within 10, another single from Perez and a bases-clearing double off the bat of Pedroza gave the Victoria a five-run frame, down 12-6 through six innings.
Pulling within striking distance in the top of the eighth, the visitors received another error to put Perez on base for the fourth time, cutting the deficit to five on an RBI double from Josh Arhart. Two batters later Brian Rios picked up a base hit to set up a two-run double from Flowers to bring the score to 12-9.
But the RoadRunners would slam the door shut on a Seals' comeback in the bottom half of the inning, when a lead-off triple from Valentine set off a string of four consecutive singles against Victoria reliever Ethan Katz to leave the Seals down 15-9 headed to the ninth. With closer Eude Brito on to retire the side in order, the Seals drop a third straight decision and their first game in St. George, a 15-9 final in game one.
Starter David Seccombe picks up his seventh win on the season, while Isaac Hess is handed just his first loss in 2009 after surrendering 5 earned runs through 4 1/3 innings. Left-fielder Chase Leavitt had a career night for the RoadRunners, finishing 4-for-4 with 3 RBI's while Jose Rodriguez also posted 3 RBI's in the winning effort. Sergio Pedroza stayed hot for the Seals despite the loss, collecting 3 RBI's of his own while finishing 2-for-4.
Full boxscore: http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscore.html?gameid=1997
Victoria will hope to snap a three-game losing skid in their second meeting against the RoadRunners tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. (PT) start time. As always, the game will be broadcast live from Bruce Hurst Field at www.victoriaseals.ca.
Golden Baseball League Stories from August 4, 2009
- Chico Defeats the Caps 7-2 - Chico Outlaws
- Vipers Postponed - Calgary Vipers
- Final Fireworks Display August 29th at Nettleton Stadium - Chico Outlaws
- Outlaws Plan World's Largest Toga Party - Chico Outlaws
- Seals Comeback Halted In Utah - Victoria Seals
- RoadRunners End Skid by Defeating Hess - St. George RoadRunners
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