Victoria Seals Fall Short in Series Finale
June 14, 2009 - Golden Baseball League (GBL)
Victoria Seals News Release
Victoria, BC - Looking to avenge a 14-6 loss at the hands of the visiting Calgary Vipers, the Victoria Seals squared off in the rubber match of a three-game series on Sunday afternoon. Looking for their third series victory of the season, Victoria sent Travis Wade (0-3) to the mound, while Calgary countered with Edmonton native Reggie Rivard (2-1).
The Vipers again opened the scoring in the top of the first inning, using an early error from Victoria's Carlos Duncan and a single from Jorge Mejia to take a 1-0 lead. Colin Moro would extend the visitors lead three batters later, picking up and RBI single to score Mejia and give Calgary a 2-0 advantage after one. The Vipers would extend their lead to three in the top of the second when Drew Miller hit the first pitch of the inning over the right field fence for a solo home run.
Again it would be the Seals striking back, though, when a lead-off walk to Carlos Duncan cashed on a sacrifice fly from Brett Flowers to make the score 3-1. With one swing of the bat Jamar Hill knotted the game at three, hitting a line-drive home run to left field to collect second long ball of the season.
With the game still deadlocked into the sixth frame, a line drive from Mark Okano off of the forearm of Seals' starter would force Wade to leave the ball game, making way for Mike Reeves. After a pair of singles, an intentional walk, and a hit batter scored one for Calgary, consecutive singles from Rick Guarno and Fehlandt Lentini gave the Vipers an 6-3 lead. With the bases still loaded, Nelson Castro was hit by a pitch and Mejia picked up his second RBI with a sacrifice fly for an 8-3 Vipers lead.
The Seals would gain some ground again in the bottom of the inning, when three straight walks from Vipers reliever Frank James loaded the bases, and Hill singled home Victoria's fourth run of the game. After an RBI walk to Matt Kavanaugh, the game went to the seventh inning with Calgary ahead 8-5.
A lead-off double from Wilver Perez in the bottom of the seventh was knocked in by Chris Van Rossum's lone hit on the afternoon to bring Victoria within two of the Vipers. But with former Seattle Mariner Mac Suzuki returning to the mound, the Seals could not muster the final two runs. With two men on and just one out in the bottom of the ninth, Flowers grounded into a game-ending double play to seal the deal, and give Calgary an 8-6 victory.
Travis Wade falls to 0-4 on the season after surrendering the go-ahead base runner to start the sixth, while Reggie Rivard improves to 3-1 with the win. Jorge Mejia led the way for Calgary with 2 RBI's and a 2-for-3 effort at the plate, while Jamar Hill finished at 2-for-2 with 3 RBI's in the losing effort.
Full boxscore: http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscore.html?gameid=1827
Both the Seals and Vipers now make the 12-hour trek to Calgary ahead of Monday night's opener to a three game set from Foothills Stadium. Game time is 6:00 p.m. (PT), followed by the final two games scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. As always, fans can tune into the Seals' live broadcast with Mike Walker, online at www.victoriaseals.ca.
• Discuss this story on the Golden Baseball League message board...
Golden Baseball League Stories from June 14, 2009
- Capitals Wheel and Deal On Current Road Trip - Edmonton Capitals
- Victoria Seals Fall Short in Series Finale - Victoria Seals
- Five Run Sixth Gives Snakes Series - Calgary Vipers
- Seals Cannot Contain Vipers - Victoria Seals
- Rain Delay Doesn't Hamper Charging Toros - St. George RoadRunners
- Castro Knocks in Seven - Calgary Vipers
- Toros Defeat Roadrunners - Tucson Toros
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
