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Fresno Grizzlies

Tacoma Wins Hard-Fought Series Finale; Jersey Auction Raises More Than $20,000

April 19, 2008 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Fresno Grizzlies News Release


FRESNO, CA - The Tacoma Rainiers took a close, hard-fought series finale from the Grizzlies on Friday night, by a score of 3-2. Though the Grizzlies fell to the visitors, the special Autism Awareness theme jerseys worn on the field raised over $20,000 for autism research when auctioned off after the game.

Both starters were in control early as Fresno's Nick Pereira and Tacoma's Ryan Feierabend matched zeroes on the scoreboard through three innings. In the fourth, Tacoma struck first when a two-out walk to Jeff Clement was followed by an RBI triple by Wladimir Balentien to put the Rainiers on top 1-0.

Fresno answered in the bottom half the inning to take their first lead of the ballgame. A one-out single by Ivan Ochoa and a walk by Justin Leone put two men on for Scott McClain. With the cleanup hitter at the plate Leone was picked off of first base, so when McClain launched a Feierabend fastball into the left-field seats it was only a two-run blast, and that missing run would come back to haunt the Grizzlies.

Tacoma tied things up in the 5th on an RBI double by Jeremy Reed, and took the lead for good in the 6th on Clement's fourth home run of the season.

For the second time this season, Fresno could not solve Ryan Feierabend on the mound. The southpaw worked 8.0 innings and allowed just two runs to earn his third win of the season, and second at the expense of the Grizzlies.

Following the game and Friday Night Fireworks, the special Autism Awareness jerseys worn by the Grizzlies were auctioned off on top of the first-base dugout. The live auction raised $20,325 for autism research, and an additional $2,700 was raised in pre-sold tickets to the game. The money will go to benefit Athletes Against Autism and the Central California Autism Center at Fresno State University.

After wrapping up a 5-3 homestand, the Grizzlies take to the road to begin a four-game series with the Tucson Sidewinders on Saturday in Arizona. Right-hander Matt Palmer gets the start for Fresno, while Billy Buckner takes the hill for the Sidewinders at Tuscon Electric Park.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from April 19, 2008


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