And it ended up being the only run of the game.

Jeremy Rhoades was summoned from the bullpen and shut the door, retiring the Rawhide in order with a pair of strikeouts to seal the victory for Inland Empire. Rhoades (SV, 1) converted his first save opportunity of the season to give the 66ers (4-6) back-to-back victories and a series victory for the first time this season.

Rhodes had taken over for right hander Tyler Warmoth (W, 1-0), who had delivered two scoreless innings of relief, allowing only one batter to reach when he walked Matt Jones in the eighth inning.

But until the 10th inning, the starting pitching had been the story of this game. Visalia starter Trevor Simms had to work through constant stress, stranding 7 runners on base in his five innings of work. But he didn’t allow a run and struck out eight, while walking two, hitting two batters, and giving up four hits. Jake Jewell, who had started for Inland Empire, dominated over his seven innings of work, giving up just two hits while ringing up eight strikeouts and hitting one batter. Jewell, who entered the season as the Angels’ 28th ranked prospect by MLB.com, and who was ranked as high as 5th last year, put out every indication of deserving his pedigree while moving his fastball around the zone and using it to set up his breaking pitches.

Matthew McPhearson started the first inning with a bang by driving a double into the right-center field gap. But McPhearson slipped while going around first base, turning what could have been a leadoff triple into the two-bagger he ended up with. Sergio Alcantara then chopped a grounder to short and, after a hesitation, McPhearson elected to try and take third, where he was thrown out by Connor Justus.

Such was the Rawhide’s luck tonight.

Visalia (6-4) only had one other hit, a Colin Bray single in the second inning. After stealing second, Bray advanced to third on a fly ball to center off the bat of Daniel Lockhart. But he was left there. That was the last time a Rawhide baserunner would advance past first base tonight.

The 66ers had a scoring chance in the sixth inning when Cameron Gann had runners on first and second with two outs. But Rawhide Manager Shelley Duncan brought in Kirby Bellow to get a left on left matchup against Brendon Sanger. Bellow Struck out Sanger, and a total of five batters over his two and a third innings of work.

Visalia pitchers struck out 16 batters tonight, tying the club’s season high and giving them 47 over the series, and 63 over their past four games. But for the first time this year, the Rawhide lost a series.

The Rawhide have a day off tomorrow and will begin a four-game series in San Jose next Tuesday before returning home for a seven-game homestand on April 21. Tickets and more information about promotions on the next Rawhide homestand are available on rawhidebaseball.com.

The post Extra Innings Pitcher Duel Goes to Inland Empire appeared first on Valley Voice.

Inland Empire (3-6) would tack on three more runs in the first inning, highlighted by a two-run homer from Michael Barash.

Pineyro (0-1) worked through traffic the rest of the night, stranding two runners on base in the second, third, and fourth innings while keeping Inland Empire from scoring any more runs. Pineyro struck out nine batters, the second consecutive night in which a Vislaia starter punched out nine, but he also walked four and departed after 4.2 innings. Lefty Miguel Aguilar pitched 2.1 perfect innings in relief and Keegan Long pitched two scoreless innings, despite walking the bases loaded in the eighth.

Visalia mustered their only run of the night in the fifth inning, when Galli Cribbs walked to start the inning and Matthew McPhearson singled to move Cribbs to third. McPhearson’s single chased 66ers starter Luis Pena, who gave way to Winston Lavendier. Lavendier (1-0) induced a groundout to first from Sergio Alcantara, which plated Cribbs, and managed to strand McPhearson at third.

Lavendier would retire all six men that he faced, and gave way to Adam Hofacket for the seventh inning. Hofacked pitched two perfect innings and Sam Holland (SV, 1) pitched a clean ninth to secure the win for Inland Empire. The 66ers bullpen arms faced the minimum 15 batters in their five innings of relief, and retired all of them.

The Rawhide play the rubber match of their three-game homestand tomorrow evening on their first All-American Saturday of the season. Active and former Military members will receive discounted tickets behind home plate and the Rawhide will be serving discounted beer to fans who use their All-Star Game Boot Mug. The first 400 fans through the gates will also receive a free Rawhide Magnet Schedule courtesy of Central Valley Business Forms. Tickets and more information are available on rawhidebaseball.com.

The post Early Deficit Sinks Rawhide appeared first on Valley Voice.

The California League celebrates its 76th season in 2017. For the first time since 1996, the mid-summer Advanced-A classic will be an intra-California League contest with All-Stars comprised of the North and South Divisions.

It’s the first time since 1989 and only the second time overall that the All-Star festivities will be hosted in Visalia.

“Baseball has been an integral part of the fabric of the city of Visalia for over 70 years, and we’re excited to see how the local community has already embraced the All-Star Game coming to Visalia,” said Rawhide General Manager Jennifer Pendergraft. “We are looking forward to the opportunity to host this prestigious game, and to showcase our community and the improvements that have been made to Recreation Ballpark to everyone in the California League.”

The festivities will begin with the All-Star Fan Fest on Monday, June 19th at 6pm. The Fan Fest will feature a Charity Beep Baseball Game to benefit the Blind Babies Foundation of Tulare County and a Hitting Challenge for local high school baseball & softball players, where the contestants will have the chance to win scholarship prizes. The Fan Fest will wrap up with the traditional Homerun Derby and Skills Competitions among the All Stars. There will be autograph and photo sessions throughout the event to give fans the chance to meet the future big-leaguers in person. Each attendee will receive a free All-Star cowbell courtesy of (insert sponsor here).

The North and South Division All-Stars will take to the field on Tuesday, June 20th for a 7pm game, which will be followed by a post-game fireworks show. While the game itself is the marquee event of the All-Star Festivities, the Rawhide will host a pre-game ceremony to induct the second class of California League Hall of Famers (still to be named), giving fans a chance to see some of the greatest stars in California League history from the closest seats to the field of play in professional baseball.

“I have been filtering calls for tickets ever since it was announced that Visalia would host the All-Star Game in July of last year!” said Rawhide Director of Ticketing, Heather Dominguez. “Fans from all over California have added themselves to our waiting list, and are planning on traveling to Visalia to attend the event. There is a lot of excitement built up around the All-Star Game already. We will definitely sell out early!”

Pendergraft also emphasized, “We are hosting all of the All-Star players, coaches, and league executives in Downtown Visalia hotels, and are pushing them to downtown restaurants. We want the economic impact of this event to the businesses in our local community to be undeniable. The Downtown, City, and other partners are all ready for the celebration to begin!”

2017 marks the 71st year of baseball in Visalia at Recreation Ballpark and the 11th season as the Class-A Advanced affiliate of the Arizona Diamondback in the California League. For more information or tickets call 559-732-4433 or visit Rawhidebaseball.com.

The post California League All Star Game and Fan Fest Tickets Now On Sale appeared first on Valley Voice.