RedHawks Win Seesaw Battle in Series Opener

Oklahoma City and Las Vegas traded blows, but OKC struck last.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:54 am

By: News On 6

RedHawks Win Seesaw Battle in Series Opener

Originally Published: Aug 13, 2010 10:53 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City RedHawks and Las Vegas 51s went back and forth in their series opener at Bricktown Ballpark Friday, but the RedHawks came out on top with a 10-8 victory.

The RedHawks (62-56) got the scoring started quickly, with Chris Davis driving in a run with a single in the bottom of the first. Craig Gentry added an RBI double in the second inning to give OKC a 2-0 lead, but one big inning erased that.

The 51s (57-63) put up four runs in the third to jump from down by two to up by two. Jason Lane drove home Vegas’ first run with an RBI single, and Danny Perales capped the inning with a three-run home run with two outs to give the 51s their first lead.

Oklahoma City answered with a long ball of its own in the fourth, when Kevin Richardson launched a two-run homer to tie the game. After another Vegas homer –this time a solo shot by Mike Jacobs – in the fifth took back the lead, the RedHawks responded with their biggest inning of the night.

Vegas starter Sean Henn retired the first two batters of the frame, but fell apart after that. After Brandon Boggs singled, Henn walked three consecutive batters to load the bases and allow an easy run.

Josh Roenicke replaced Henn with the bases still loaded and two outs, and gave up RBI singles to the first two batters he faced. Guilder Rodriguez drove two runs home, and Hernan Iribarren followed by driving in one, giving the RedHawks four runs in the inning and retaking the lead 8-5.

But to continue the theme of the night, the 51s again fought back to tie the game. Jarrett Hoffpauir connected on a two-run double in sixth, and Peralas drove home his fourth runner of the game with a single in the seventh to bring the game back to 8-8.

The game did not remain tied for long, as Oklahoma City took the lead for the final time in the bottom of the seventh. With runners on first and second, Las Vegas pitcher Merkin Valdez committed a balk that allowed both runners to advance. Esteban German took advantage by driving both of them home with a single to give OKC a 10-8 lead.

The RedHawks’ pitchers took over from there, allowing just one hit in the final two innings. Tanner Scheppers pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn his third save of the season and secure the win for reliever Willie Eyre (4-4)

Eyre entered in the seventh inning and originally gave up the lead before his teammates got it back in the bottom half of the frame. He gave up one run on two hits and two walks in 1.1 innings. Valdez (3-4) was credited with the loss after giving up the game’s final two runs.

The victory ended a terrible stretch for the RedHawks, who had lost their previous three games by one run each, two on walk-off hits and the third on an error. They will continue their four-game series with the 51s at 7:05 p.m. Saturday.