Nickeas makes his debut one to remember

Mike Nickeas’ professional baseball debut would be hard to top.

Nickeas, in his first game with Spokane, hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning Wednesday night to rally the Indians to a 7-6 win over Salem-Keizer at Avista Stadium.

“Fantastic,” said the catcher from Georgia Tech. “This is a great place to play. I felt the adrenaline the whole game.”

Nickeas, batting cleanup, hit a 3-2 fastball from Aaron Sobieraj (1-1) into the new right-field area known as the Grotto. Scoring ahead of Nickeas was Tug Hulett, who finished the night 3 for 4 with two runs and three runs batted in.

“Obviously (the Grotto) helped me out tonight,” Nickeas said of the shortened fence. “It’s good to have it out there.”

Spokane (4-1) has won the first two game of the five-game set. The Indians have taken 10 consecutive games from the Volcanoes (2-3), including a three-game sweep in last year’s Northwest League championship series.

S-K took a 6-5 lead in the eighth after Indians right fielder Kevin Mahar committed an error on Jeff Palumbo’s single. Jose Yens, who had reached on a two-out, infield single, scored on the play.

But Nickeas settled the score with a one-out blast when Sobieraj left a high pitch over the plate.

Nickeas is the highest draftee (fifth round) on Spokane’s roster to date. His Georgia Tech teammate, fourth-round selection Brandon Boggs, may join the Indians later this summer.

Nickeas signed with the Texas Rangers on June 14 and reported to Spokane on Sunday. His Yellow Jackets were eliminated at the Super Regionals by Georgia.

“I’m just going to go out there, play my best every day, and see what happens,” Nickeas said.

Spokane strung together three consecutive two-out hits to take a 1-0 lead in the first. Travis Metcalf doubled to left and scored on a single by Nickeas.

Indians starter Mark Roberts allowed three hits in three innings. He gave up Kevin Frandsen’s two-out, RBI single to center in the third, a hit that tied the game at 1.

S-K starter Jesus Reina was pulled in the third, after the Indians seized a 2-1 lead and loaded the bases with one out. Reliever Adam Gardner got out of the bases-load jam with a strikeout and flyout.

But Gardner ran into trouble in the fourth, allowing the first four batters to reach base. Hulett’s two-run single to right, Spokane’s 10th hit of the night, gave the Indians a 4-1 lead.

The Volcanoes cut into the lead with RBI grounders by Clay Timpner and Frandsen in the fifth. In the bottom on the inning, Hulett boosted Spokane’s edge to 5-3 with an RBI single that bounded past third baseman Simon Klink.

The Volcanoes chased reliever John Bannister and tied the game at 5 in the seventh. Timpner lashed an RBI triple to right-center and scored on a fielder’s choice by Frandsen.

Marcos Herrera (1-0) pitched two innings to earn the win and Jarrad Burcie pitched a hitless ninth for his first save.

Tonight’s game will match a pair of right-handers, S-K’s Darren Sack (0-0, 2.25) and Clayton Jerome (1-0, 1.80) of Spokane.

Sack was drafted in the 11th round earlier this month, out of Sonoma (Calif.) State University. Jerome, a winner on Opening Night, was a 41st-round choice this month from Texas Christian University.