Victoria Seals Blitz The Vipers In Round Two

August 23, 2009 - Golden Baseball League (GBL)
Victoria Seals News Release


Victoria, BC - Looking to rebound after a loss in the series opener, the Victoria Seals took on the Calgary Vipers in the second game of a three game series. With the Vipers handing the ball to Erik Dessau (8-3), the Seals answered with Eduardo Baeza (4-9) on Fan Appreciation Night at Royal Athletic Park.

As the near-capacity crowd filed in, the Vipers grabbed a lead in the top of the first inning when back-to-back doubles from Fehlandt Lentini and Nelson Castro put the visitors up 1-0. Calgary then extended their lead when former Seal Sergio Pedroza lifted his 15th home run of the season over the left centrefield fence for a 3-0 advantage.

Answering back in a big way, Victoria posted a record breaking bottom half of the frame. The Seals got on the board when four straight walks to open the game from Dessau put a run on the board. The home side then pulled within one when a bases-loaded sacrifice fly from Brian Rios made the score 3-2. The next batter, Gabriel Riley then brought the fans to their feet with his second home run of the year to propel the Seals to a 5-3 lead.

After a double from Brett Flowers and a walk to Bret LeVier chased the Calgary starter, Andrew Demott took over and committed an error to allow Billy Krause to reach and load the bases for the Seals. Then, after Wilver Perez collected his second walk of the inning, Matt Kavanaugh launched a two-run single into right field to lift Victoria to an 8-3 score. Capping off the biggest single inning in club history, Jamar Hill then powered his league-leading 19th home run of the season off the scoreboard for an 11-3 lead through just one inning.

Formulating a response in the next half inning, a lead-off home run from Caonabo Cosme in the top of the second before an RBI single courtesy of Pedroza pulled the Vipers back within six. Calgary then made things interesting when Cosme picked up his second long ball of the night on the first half of back-to-back bombs in the fourth inning, as Jorge Mejia's sixth home run of the year made the score 11-7.

As the game picked up momentum, the two teams remained deadlocked into the bottom of the seventh with the help of some stellar defense from the home side. In the seventh inning, a lead-off walk to Riley scored with the help of LeVier's second double on the night to stretch the Victoria lead to five runs. The Seals then capped off their offense in the bottom of the eighth, receiving a lead-off error to put Kavanaugh on base, before a pair of walks loaded the bases again and the Victoria designated hitter cashed on a pass ball to make it a 13-7 ball game.

Despite an RBI base hit from Kit Pellow in the top of the ninth inning, Travis Wade stepped in to pitch the final two frames for Victoria and finish off the North Division leaders. Getting a ground ball from Colin Moro to end the game, the Seals take game two by a 13-8 final on Saturday night.

Eduardo Baeza got some help from his hitters en route to the right hander's fourth win on the season, while Erik Dessau takes the loss after lasting just one third of an inning. Victoria was bolstered by a 3 RBI night from both Jamar Hill and Gabriel Riley, while the Vipers were paced by a 3-for-4 outing from Caonabo Cosme in a losing effort.

Full boxscore: http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscore.html?gameid=2064

The Seals wrap up their inaugural season at Royal Athletic Park with their final home game of the year, a 1:35 p.m. (PT) start tomorrow afternoon. There are still seats available, but they're going quick! Buy your tickets online now at www.selectyourtickets.com or over the phone via (250) 220-7777.



Golden Baseball League Stories from August 23, 2009


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