ARCATA (June 7, 2009) — Any way you slice it, the opening weekend of the Humboldt Crabs' 65th season was a smashing success! The team is off to a perfect 3-0 start, completing the sweep of traditional opening weekend rivals the Fairfield Indians with a thrilling, extra innings, come-from-behind victory in Sunday's series finale.
The sweep was not secure until Beck Wheeler's pinch-hit, bases-loaded single plated Kevin Silvett in the bottom of the 10th inning capped a 7-6 victory. The Crabs had trailed 6-3 after six innings, but they clawed their way back, scoring single runs in each of the last four innings while Travis McCracken came out of the pen to slam the door on the Indians, throwing four shutout innings to earn the win.
In Saturday's opener, Nick Melino cracked the first home run of 2009 in the third inning, sparking a three-run rally that would be enough support for Tyler Graham in a 4-2 win.
Melino also made the crowd gasp in awe in the fourth inning of the nightcap — a 13-1 mercy-rule win in which six different Crabs had two or more hits — when he roped a ball onto the roof of City Hall a few feet foul.
Up next for the Crabs is a Wednesday night game against their hometown rivals, the Humboldt Steelheads, followed by a weekend series against Fontanetti's Athletics. That series will follow the standard schedule: a single game Friday at 7 p.m., a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 5:30 p.m. and a Sunday matinee at 12:30 p.m.
