Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009

Dust Devils outlast Canadians in 13 innings

HERALD STAFF

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- When the Tri-City Dust Devils finally managed to scratch out a lead in the 13th inning Friday against the Vancouver Canadians, they handed the ball to closer Charles Ruiz.

Ruiz nailed down his Northwest League-leading 14th save in Tri-City's 2-1 win, but it wasn't easy. Ruiz escaped a bases-loaded jam by striking out Michael Gilmartin to end the game.

The Dust Devils scored the go-ahead run thanks to Nathan Long's (1-2) wildness. The Canadians right-hander uncorked three wild pitches in the 13th, the last allowing Ben Paulsen to race home. Paulsen had led off the inning with a single to right.

Vancouver scored its only run on Anthony Aliotti's two-out single in the first inning, but Tri-City quickly answered in the second as Matthew Sanders doubled home Kevin Clark.

Craig Bennigson (7-3) earned the win, working 2 1/3 shutout innings.