by Kevin Wyart
Humboldt Crabs
Friday, June 10, 2016
ARCATA, CA —After going relatively quiet the last three games, the Crabs offense roared back to life Friday night behind another magnificent start by Jason Alexander to beat the California Expos 9-2 at the Arcata Ballpark.
Alexander carried a perfect game into the sixth inning, before two Expos baserunners reached base, first, Tyler Turney reached on an error, than Tristen Alvarez hit a fly ball single to right field. Otherwise, he allowed nothing while striking out ten before coming out for relief pitcher Kevin Calderhead to begin the seventh.
Calderhead allowed two runs to score (one earned) in his two innings of work, with two hits, a strikeout and no walks. Riley Sweeney closed things out with a perfect ninth inning, picking up two strikeouts.
“It’s great being able to have a pitcher like [Alexander] go out and dominate.” Crabs First baseman Jayson Newman said. “It allows you to focus on what you need to do as a hitter.”
The Crabs (4-2) would score their first run with two out in the third inning on a James Outman RBI single that drove in Austin White. The Crabs would then score six of their nine runs in the fourth inning when they sent 11 men to the plate and stringed together five hits, with two walks and a hit batter.
Jayson Newman led off the inning with a walk, followed by another walk to Jacob Thurber after a Michael Perri groundout. Logan Busch hit a ball to deep left center field for a triple that sent in both Newman and Thurber to make the score 3-0 at that point. Brian Pozos proceeded to single in Busch, before an Austin White triple knocked him in.
With the score 5-0, the Crabs weren’t done, as James Outman roped a single to score White and was brought in himself on a Jayson Newman RBI single to put the game away at 7-0. Humboldt added two more in the fifth on a two RBI single by Austin White for a 9-0 lead.
“We were able to see what the pitcher was doing early on,” Newman said. “We were able to quickly figure out what to hit and made solid contact.”
Overall, the Crabs were able to touch up Expos starter Hilario Tovar and the rest of their pitching staff for nine runs on twelve hits. They also benefitted from six walks. The Expos scored their only two runs in the seventh inning when Matty Nunez led off as a pinch-hitter and reached on an error.
Alan Crowley followed with a single then Grant Ferris, was hit by a pitch. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Angel Flores hit into a double play to score the first run. The second run was scored on an RBI single by DeAndre Smith to make the score 7-2.
The Crabs would not allow another as they were able to win their second straight game and fourth in a row vs the California Expos dating back to last season.
These teams will be back in action on Saturday at the Arcata Ball Park for game two of the three game series. It’s MLB jersey night at the ballpark and fans are encouraged to wear apparel in support of their favorite MLB club. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. with the gates opening at 6 p.m.
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