Spokane Indians build 10-run lead, outlast Vancouver 15-11 in series opener | NWL baseball
The Spokane Indians had perhaps their best week of the season with the bats last week, taking four of six from first-place Eugene and scoring 43 runs in the series (7.16 per game) with 14 home runs.
In Tuesday's opener against Vancouver, the hits just kept on coming. And coming. And coming.
Unfortunately, for both sides.
When the dust settled, the home team prevailed - but not without some anxious moments.
Roynier Hernandez hit two home runs, and the Indians built a 10-run lead but had to scramble to hold off the Vancouver Canadians 15-11 in a High-A Northwest League game at Avista Stadium.
The teams combined for 26 runs, 29 hits, five home runs and 10 extra-base hits.
Six Indians hitters had multi-hit games, including three-hit games from Max Belyeu and Alan Espinal.
After a 1-2-3 top of the first - one of just three perfect half-innings in the game - the Indians took a 1-0 lead after three batters in the bottom half. Belyeu led off with a double into the right field corner and scored on a one-out single by Ethan Hedges.
The Indians opened things up in the third. With one down, Belyeu walked and went to second on a groundout, then Hedges followed with a single to center to plate Belyeu.
After a mound visit, O'Dowd launched a long fly to left that got up into the right-to-left breeze and carried over the left field wall for his sixth homer of the season and a 4-0 lead.
Espinal doubled, then Kevin Fitzer knocked him in with a single to cap the four-run rally.
The hits kept coming in the fourth. With two down, Belyeu ripped a double to the gap in right center, then Roynier Hernandez hit one through the wind off the caboose for his fifth homer and a 7-0 lead.
Vancouver scored twice in the fifth in starter Bryson Hammer's last inning of work, and the C's got another run in the sixth against reliever Tyler Hampu.
Hernandez wiped those runs out with one swing in the bottom half, clubbing his second home run in as many at-bats with Juan Castillo and Belyeu aboard, and the lead grew to 10-3.
The Indians loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh. Juan Castillo delivered a run-scoring single and runs came in on a fielding error and a sacrifice fly to make it 13-3.
It was a good thing the lead was so big, as the C's got to reliever Brayan Perez for eight runs in the eighth, including three-run homers by Sam Shaw and pinch-hitter Matt Scannell, who entered play with a .161 batting average.
Perez was charged with eight runs on six hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning.
Espinal provided some cushion in the bottom half, hitting a line drive over the tall wall in left for his sixth homer of the season, a two-run shot to make it 15-11.
Francis Rivera got the final four outs for his fourth save of the season.
The series continues Wednesday at 6:35 p.m.
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