Indians hold off Bears
Six-run lead almost disappears in wild 9th
YAKIMA – Things were looking good Friday for the Spokane Indians after scoring four runs in the seventh inning and three more in the ninth.
Things got a little dicey in the bottom of the ninth, however, when the Indians gave up four runs to the Yakima Bears. Still, Spokane (24-7) came away with a 7-5 victory in a Northwest League baseball game at County Stadium.
Yakima (12-19) trailed 7-1 entering its final at-bat but rallied on an assortment of miscues by the Indians. One batter was hit by a pitch, two drew walks and the Indians committed two errors on one play. All the excitement led to three Yakima runs before Indians pitcher Dustin Brader entered and got David Cooper to ground into a game-ending double play.
The game was scoreless through six innings, then Spokane scored four runs in the seventh. Matthew West had an RBI double, and Timothy Rodriguez and David Paisano both singled to drive in a run. Another run scored on a groundout.
In Spokane’s three-run ninth, Ed Koncel drove in the first run with a bases-loaded single and Paisano followed with a single that scored two runs.
Ryan Schlecht (3-1) was the winning pitcher and Brader earned his first save.