Seals Sting The Scorpions
August 1, 2009 - Golden Baseball League (GBL)
Victoria Seals News Release
Yuma, AZ - Returning to Arizona for the second weekend in a row, the Victoria Seals made their debut at Desert Sun Stadium to take on the Yuma Scorpions Friday night. With Reynaldo Correal (0-3) making his sixth start of the season for the Scorpions, the Seals turned to James Garcia (1-1) in the series opener.
Claiming a lead in the top of the first inning, the Seals got a home run from Jamar Hill, his team-leading 14th of the season, to go up by a 1-0 score. The Scorpions would answer back in the bottom of the inning, though, when Carlos Arroyo knotted the score with a home run of his own, before back-to-back singles from Reynaldo Rodriguez and Ismael Castro cashed Carlos Villalobos for a 2-1 advantage.
With a scoreless second frame in the books, Victoria would take control once again when a walk followed by a pass ball put Bret LeVier in scoring position, and Wilver Perez drove the runner home with an RBI double to tie the contest 2-2. A hard hit ball from the next batter, Sergio Pedroza, then forced an error to Yuma second basemen Castro, handing the Seals a 3-2 lead through three innings.
Victoria would extend their advantage in the top of the fourth, using a lead-off single from Brett Flowers and a triple from Gabriel Riley to grab a two-run lead. Then, after a fielder's choice put LeVier on first, Sergio Pedroza launched his fifth home run in the last seven games over the left field fence to lift the Seals to a 7-2 lead.
Staging a response in the bottom of the fourth, Yuma received a pair of singles from Diover Avila and Jonathon Lozada to start the inning, before base hits from Adolfo Gomez and Arroyo pulled the home side within three at 7-4.
As the bullpen took over for the Scorpions, with reliever Yesid Salazar retiring 11 Victoria batters in a row, two consecutive runners caught stealing by Seals' catcher Josh Arhart in the bottom of the sixth helped the visitors preserve their lead into the ninth. That's when Arhart would factor into the scoring, scoring both Perez and Pedroza on a double to the wall for a 9-4 Seals' lead through eight and a half frames.
Handing the ball to Dane De La Rosa again in the bottom of the ninth, the Victoria closer allowed just one base hit before forcing Villalobos into a fly-out, capping off a 9-4 Seals win in game one.
James Garcia picks up his second win on the season, while Reynaldo Correal falls to 0-4 with the loss. Both Jamar Hill and Sergio Pedroza finished with a home run in the contest, and now sit first and second, respectively, in the Golden Baseball League home run race.
Full boxscore: http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscore.html?gameid=1985
The Seals return to Desert Sun Stadium tomorrow night for the second meeting of this three-game set against the Yuma Scorpions. Once again, game time is 7:00 p.m. (PT) and will be broadcast live on www.victoriaseals.ca.
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Golden Baseball League Stories from August 1, 2009
- Armada wins fourth straight - Long Beach Armada
- 2,000 Lindsay Olives to be Given Away Tonight - Chico Outlaws
- Seals Sting The Scorpions - Victoria Seals
- Flyers Roll Over Division Rival - St. George RoadRunners
- Armada Trade Jose Lima to Edmonton for Former 1st Rounder Kris Honel - GBL
- Jacome Throws A Gem For Toros - Tucson Toros
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