Recap 06/18: Sea Dogs Walk Off with 8-7 Win in 10th Inning
PORTLAND,
ME – Portland’s Ray Chang was the hero Friday night, as he smacked a walk-off single
in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the host Sea Dogs an 8-7
victory over the Akron Aeros. A crowd of 5,616 fans at Hadlock Field in
Portland witnessed a back-and-forth offensive battle decided in extra innings
on the two-out base hit by Chang against Akron reliever Omar Aguilar. The loss
was the fourth in five games for the Aeros (33-34) and the Sea Dogs improved to
35-31 with the victory.
A
matchup of two highly regarded starting pitching prospects turned into an early
shootout as Akron pounced for two runs in the first inning against Portland’s
Casey Kelly. Right fielder John Drennen began his big night by plating Jason
Kipnis with an RBI single and Jerad Head similarly scored Lonnie Chisenhall to
give the visitors a quick 2-0 advantage. The Sea Dogs responded viciously to
take a 4-2 lead in the third against Aeros lefty Nick Hagadone thanks to a run-scoring
wild pitch, two singles, two walks and a double.
Facing
adversity, the Akron offense knocked Kelly out of the game in a monster top of
the fourth inning. Left fielder Tim Fedroff smashed a double to left and scored
two batters later on a single by Jordan Henry. Second baseman Jason Kipnis then
sent a 1-0 pitch from Kelly into the right field bleachers, scoring Henry as
well and making the score 5-4.
The
Sea Dogs then tagged on single runs in each of the next three innings to
re-take a two-run edge. Luis Exposito recorded a sacrifice fly against new
pitcher Paolo Espino in the fourth and Nate Spears had an RBI single in the next
frame. Anthony Rizzo then plated Expisotie in the sixth against Espino again to
take the intimidating lead.
Another
Tim Fedroff double then highlighted a monster eighth inning where the Aeros
tied the score at 7-7. Fedroff’s double to left field and a throwing error by Chih-Hsien
Chiang helped score Head, while a groundout and wild pitch plated Fedroff
shortly thereafter.
Both
bullpens averted major damage in the ensuing frames as the game headed off to
extra innings. In the bottom of the tenth, Aguilar forced both Matt Sheely and
Spears to fly out to begin the frame, but then walked Che-Hsuan Lin. With the
extra opportunity, Chang delivered the game-winning base hit to right to give Portland
the dramatic victory.
Aguilar (1-2) took
the loss by allowing the final run in 1.2 innings of relief with two walks and
two hits. Portland’s Bryce Cox (1-4) held on for the victory after blowing the
lead by allowing the two runs in the eighth inning. It was a second straight
rough start for the lefty Hagadone as he permitted five runs on six hits and
four walks in 3.1 innings pitched.
The Aeros offense
out-hit their opponents in a loss yet again Friday night, as the team finished
with 13 hits. Chisenhall and Drennen each collected three singles while the
home run by Kipnis was his second in three games. Fedroff also continued his
hot hitting with his two doubles and two runs scored in the unfortunate defeat.
These two interdivision
rivals continue their three-game series Saturday night at Hadlock Field with
first pitch scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at Hadlock Field. Akron right-hander Alex
White (2-2, 1.47 ERA) will look to continue his Double-A dominance in another
excellent pitching matchup against Portland’s Stephen Fife (3-1, 3.70 ERA). Join
Ken Carman for tomorrow night’s game broadcast, beginning at 5:45 p.m. on Fox
Sports 1350 AM and at www.akronaeros.com.
For more information, please call the Aeros at (330) 253-5151.
—AEROS—
Aerodynamics 