Volcanoes pitcher Jake Lialios pitched in all three games against the Senators last weekend and picked up a win and a pair of saves in Salem-Keizer’s three-game sweep (KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings).
Friday, Aug. 13: Volcanoes 7 Senators 5
With the score tied at 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth, Landen Barns hit a two-run double down the left field line to propel the Volcanoes to a 7-5 victory.
Barnes had two doubles and a run scored on the night while Kevin Jordan Jr. went 4-for-5 from the plate in the win.
An RBI-single by Jordan Jr. put the Volcanoes up 1-0 in the bottom of the second. The Senators responded in the following frame as Edgar Vela tied the game with a solo homer, but in the bottom of the third, Salem-Keizer struck for three runs to take a 4-1 lead.
After an RBI-groundout by Senators second baseman Matt Lokken in the top of the fourth made the score 4-2, a solo homer from CJ Epperson in the bottom of the fifth put the Volcanoes back on top by three runs.
In the top of the eighth, RBI-hits by Tanner Cantwell and Danny Alvarado allowed the Senators to come back and tie the game at 5-5.
But with a runner on first and two outs in the bottom of the eighth, a double by Jordan Jr. gave the Volcanoes runners on second and third, setting the table for Barns.
Instead of intentionally walking Barns with a base open, Senators pitcher Dustin Hamilton decided to challenge the Volcanoes first baseman and ended up paying the price as Barns came through with the go-ahead two-run double.
Saturday, Aug. 14: Campesinos 7 Mavericks 6
Nicholas Prater hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th to give the Campesinos the 7-6 victory over the Mavericks.
Eric Whitfield led the way for the Campesinos at the plate, hitting a pair of doubles and driving in three runs.
A two-run double from Rick Phillips in the bottom of the first put the Campesinos on top 2-0 early on. Back-to-back RBI doubles from Whitfield and Sergio Rey extended the Campesinos advantage to 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth.
Campesinos ace Colby Neely scattered seven hits over five innings without surrendering a run. But when he was taken out in the top of the sixth in favor of Jacob Asa, the Mavericks offense began to spark.
The Mavericks pushed their first run across in the top of the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Drake Zarate. The Campesinos responded with two more runs in the seventh on a two-run double by Whitfield to go up 6-1, but the Mavericks rallied for three runs in the top of the eighth to cut the lead to two.
A pair of Campesino errors in the top of the ninth allowed the Mavericks to score a pair of runs to tie the game at 6-6 and force extra innings.
But in the top of the 10th, with the extra inning rule that placed a runner at second, Campesinos closer Luke Laurita got out of the frame unscathed, striking out Rodny Rodriguez to end the inning.
Campesinos shortstop Trevor Morrison was put on second to begin the bottom of the 10th. After Whitfield singled to advance Morrison to third, Eric Kozak was intentionally walked to load the bases with nobody out.
After Drew Bayard popped into a infield fly for the first out, Prater ended the game with an RBI-single to left field.
Saturday, Aug. 14: Volcanoes 11 Senators 10
Trailing 10-3 after eight innings, the Volcanoes staged a miraculous comeback, scoring eight runs in the top of the ninth to defeat the Senators 11-10.
A solo homer by Kevin Jordan Jr. gave the Volcanoes the early advantage. After the Senators struck for two in the bottom of the third to take the lead, the Volcanoes answered back with a pair of runs in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly from Steven Jones and an RBI-single by Jordan Jr.
But after Salem-Keizer took the 3-2 lead, the Senators scored eight unanswered runs, highlighted by homers from Edgar Vela and Chuck Steele.
Trailing by seven runs and down to their final three outs, the Volcanoes refused to say die. A two-run single by Jones, followed by an RBI-hit by Jordan Jr. trimmed the deficit to 10-6. The Volcanoes also took advantage of a number of Senators miscues, continuing to chip away at the Senators lead.
Gabriel Cotto knocked in the tying run after reaching on an error, and David Kyriacou scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball.
After getting the win the night before in relief, Jake Lialios came on in the bottom of the ninth to pitch a 1-2-3 inning to pick up his third save of the season.
Sunday, Aug. 15: Volcanoes 4 Senators 2.
The Volcanoes completed the three-game sweep of the Senators by winning the series finale 4-2.
Both starting pitchers (Matt McDonald for the Volcanoes and Spencer Hereford for the Senators) had high-quality outings for their respective teams and nearly identical numbers, each pitching seven innings and giving up six hits and two earned runs.
After both teams posted goose eggs in the eighth inning, the Volcanoes broke the 2-2 tie in the top of the ninth.
Drew Schutt and Steven Jones each drew free passes to start the frame. After a single by Kevin Jordan Jr. loaded the bases, Schutt came into score the go-ahead run after Landen Barns was hit by a pitch. Moments later, an RBI-single by Nick Adgar gave the Volcanoes some insurance, and a 4-2 advantage.
Salem-Keizer reliever Jake Lialios earned his second straight save to seal the win for the Volcanoes.