Volcanoes Even Series with 4-3 over Everett
August 25, 2015 - Northwest League (NWL1)
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes News Release
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes Pitcher Nolan Riggs
(Salem-Keizer Volcanoes)
The Volcanoes held on for a 4-3 victory on Monday night after racking off a four-run second inning against the AquaSox at Everett Memorial Stadium.
Salem-Keizer sent nine men to the plate in the second frame, giving them a 4-1 advantage at the time. Everett chipped away at the lead a couple of times in the third and fifth innings, but a combination of Nolan Riggs (4-2, 3.04), Nate Santiago and Ryan Halstead shut down Everett the rest of the way.
The AquaSox took an early edge after Drew Jackson led off the bottom of the first with a single. He wheeled around to third on a passed ball and stolen base, his league-leading 41st of the season, before coming home on a Luis Liberato sacrifice fly.
Kyle Haines' lineup was then used to full effect in the second inning, when the Volcanoes produced their only runs of the game. With one out and the bases already loaded, Everett starter Luiz Gohara (3-5, 5.79) walked Ashford Fulmer to tie the game at 1-1. Ronnie Jebavy followed up Gohara's mistake with a well-placed single up the middle to give the Volcanoes a 2-1 lead. Steven Duggar then launched a two-RBI double off of the right field fence to push Salem-Keizer's advantage to 4-1.
Taylor Zeutenhorst responded in the third inning for Everett with a leadoff double and then with one out scored on an Erick Mejia groundout, which cut the deficit to two.
Riggs was tested once again in the fifth inning after he found himself with the bases loaded and nobody out. Mejia picked up his second RBI of the game on another ground out, and after he stole second base, Everett had two men in scoring position with one out. Liberato then shot a broken bat line drive towards second base where Junior Amion dodged the bat, caught the ball and then preceded to beat out Mejia's scramble attempt back to the bag, to double up Everett.
Escaping that jam in the fifth would prove crucial as neither team scratched across a run the rest of the way. Riggs finished his evening registering a quality start after giving up three runs over the course of six innings, allowing six hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
The Volcanoes' bullpen was stout against one the league's best offenses, retiring the AquaSox in order through the final three frames between efforts from Santiago and Halstead.
The victory lifts Salem-Keizer (13-13) back to .500 in the second half standings and 1.5 games back of Eugene as they remain in the hunt for the Southern Division title. Everett drops to 15-11 in the second half, but remain 1.5 games ahead of Vancouver.
As the remainder of this series now turns into a best-out-of-three affair, the Volcanoes will send out right-hander Mike Connolly (4-1, 3.30) to start while the AquaSox turn to the southpaw Jacob Brentz (0-0, 1.80) in tomorrow night's game three matchup. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. with the Volcanoes Live Pre-game Show on the air at 6:35.
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 Salem-Keizer Volcanoes Pitcher Nolan Riggs |
Northwest League Stories from August 25, 2015
- Reed, Mitsui Lead the Way to Hops Win - Hillsboro Hops
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- Hillsboro Drops Fifth Game in Six Days - Hillsboro Hops
- AquaSox Fall 1 Run Short in Loss to Volcanoes - Everett AquaSox
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