Edgar Vela starts to round third to score on Andres Green’s two-run triple in the second inning against the Volcanoes on Saturday, Aug. 13. (JOSHUA MANES/Keizertimes) 
Senators manager Dave Wong congratulates Garrett Keuber as Keuber rounds third following his home run in the fourth inning on Saturday, Aug. 13, against the Volcanoes. (JOSHUA MANES/Keizertimes)
The Senators continued their late-season offensive explosion, sweeping four games from the Volcanoes — the scheduled three-game series plus a makeup game.
The wins extend the Senators (22-19) win streak to eight games and they now sit in first place with two weeks to play in the regular season.
During the streak, the Senators have averaged 12 runs per game while outscoring their opponents 97-32. By far the highest scoring team in the league with 357 runs, the Senators are the only team to break the 300-run threshold.
In last week’s series with the Campesinos, the Senators scored at least 14 runs in each of the three games, without a single homerun in the series. In the first game of this series against the Volcanoes, the Senators extended that streak as well with 15 runs and no long balls.
The Volcanoes (18-22), however, are heading in the opposite direction. Losers of four straight and 10 of their last 12, they now sit at the bottom of the standings, 3.5 games back of the Senators, and 1.5 behind the third place Campesinos.
After spending all but one day of the season with a positive run differential, after this series the Volcanoes now join the Campesinos and Mavericks in surrendering more runs than they’ve scored this season.
Thursday, Aug. 11
Coming off a series where they totaled 43 runs in a three-game sweep of the Campesinos, the Senators didn’t waste much time in getting the scoring started in week 14 against the Volcanoes.
A six-run second inning broke the game open and was more than enough for the Senators to open the series with a 15-3 victory.
A critical error from Volcanoes shortstop Quintin Alexander with the bases loaded and one out allowed not only first run to score, but enabled Dylan Moser to come up next and hit a sac fly for the second run. In the game, seven of the Senators 15 runs were unearned.
Garrett Keuber knocked in two more with a single, and T.J. Wheeler doubled in two more to cap off the inning.
Wheeler went 4-for-5 on the day with six RBIs. Keuber also had four hits and four RBIs in the game.
On the mound, Nathan Gilman went seven strong innings for the Senators in picking up the win. He struck out seven, allowing seven hits and two runs, none earned.
Saturday, Aug. 13
For the second game in a row the Volcanoes got on the board first. And for the second game in row, the Senators essentially put the game away in the second inning.
It was a five run output Saturday that did it for the Senators in the eventual 13-3 win, and for the first time in five games they finally used the long ball.
Garrett Keuber went deep in the fourth inning, his first of the season. The three-run blast put the Senators up 8-1.
In the seventh, Dylan Moser hit a two-run shot, his second of the year.
Sam Wells went the full nine innings on the mound for the Senators, allowing just one earned run despite 13 hits from the Volcanoes.
The Volcanoes had no issues getting guys on base, but 10 men left on, including seven from the two, three and four hitters, left them unable to do any damage to Wells.
Sunday, Aug. 14
The Senators and Volcanoes played two seven-inning games on Sunday. The first was a makeup from the early weeks of the season, but the Senators bats were just as hot as they’ve been down the stretch.
The Senators led the whole way, scoring three in the first inning — two on bases loaded walks — en route to a 12-4 win.
T.J. Wheeler homered in the seventh, his second of the series. His two-run shot was part of a six-run inning to seal the game.
Wheeler was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Andres Green was 5-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored for the Senators in the early game.
After about a 45-minute break, they were back out on the field, and the Senators bats still hadn’t cooled.
They scored five runs in the first inning as they cruised to a 7-2 win, the first time in seven games the Senators haven’t scored in double-figures.
It was their own issues to blame for the Volcanoes though. A three-run error in the first inning from Shoma Yoshida at third base for the Volcanoes broke things open for the Senators.
Only three of the Senators’ seven runs were earned in the game.
