Sox win before year's biggest crowd

The Gold Sox' sponsor, Lakeview Petroleum, was largely responsible for the team's largest crowd of the year in Marysville Thursday night.

It was maybe only fitting that pitching staffs for Yuba-Sutter and the Folsom Pioneers were chucking gallons of gasoline around home plate.

The two teams combined for 23 hits, but it was Yuba-Sutter that struck the bigger blow as the Gold Sox won the nonleague game 13-6.

Second baseman Ryan Angel's fifth-inning grand slam punctuated a seven-run outburst, and the Gold Sox (28-8) were not threatened again.

Angel deposited reliever David Martin's 1-1 pitch just above the Raley's-Bel Air handle in left field. Angel said it was the first grand slam he had hit since Little League. As a 12- or 13-year-old, he had actually cracked two in one inning.

Angel is excited about playing the Santa Barbara Foresters for first place beginning today. The Foresters lead the second-place Gold Sox by a full game in the California Collegiate League standings.

“It's a big series,” he said. “We actually don't know that much about them, but we know they have a good reputation.”

A paid crowd of 2,938 saw the Gold Sox lead 4-0 after two innings. However, the Pioneers batted around and scored six times in the fourth inning against Yuba-Sutter starter Eric Thompson (6-1) in his wobbliest start of the season.

“It really came down to one bad inning,” Gold Sox manager Brad Peek said. “Thompson just got the ball up and they were able to slap them out there. He can't be that type of pitcher.”

Thompson hit two batters in the inning and allowed six hits, five of those singles. Armando Sanchez's two-run double gave Folsom (12-13) the lead at 6-4.

But the Gold Sox got one back in the fourth inning before tying and taking the lead for good in the fifth.

Mark Steinbeck's broken-bat single scored A.J. Valentine to tie the game 6-6, and R.C. Dickerson walked with the bases loaded, forcing in Ricky Bambino with the go-ahead run.

Folsom manager Greg Wakefield replaced starter Randy Waite with Martin, who walked Frank Jeney to make it 8-6. That set the stage for Angel, who turned on a fastball for his second homer of the year.

Waite was tagged for 10 runs (nine earned) in 41/3 innings.

Angel finished with three hits and six RBIs. Brennan Garr and Dickerson also had three hits.

“I was pretty sure it was going out,” Peek said. “He didn't miss (the handle) by much.”

Tony Biale pitched the final three innings and earned his first save of the year. Biale also extended his scoreless streak to 261/3 innings.

Notes: Angel extended his hitting streak to eight games ... His grand slam was the first in two years and first since in Marysville since Tony Cosentino's slam for the professional-label Gold Sox on Aug. 4, 2002 ... Cameron Shick's sacrifice fly in the first inning was his team-leading sixth of the year. Yuba-Sutter has 18 on the year ... Peek said Dickerson has been dropped to ninth in the order due to a bad right shoulder ... Jason Searle was given the night off to rest his quadriceps but will likely start at designated hitter today against the Foresters.