Gold Sox gain win on road
After managing just five hits and no runs on Sunday against the visiting San Francisco Seals in Marysville, the Yuba-Sutter Gold Sox broke out the wood Tuesday in Pittsburg.
The Gold Sox had a season-high 18 hits and won a California Collegiate League game, 8-2, over the host Seals at Los Medanos College, moving back into first place.
The second game of the two-game series will begin today at 5 p.m. It was the Seals first time playing at Los Medanos this year and only their third home contest of the season.
It was the Gold Sox (19-5, 9-4) second road win of the season in five tries.
Frank Jeney extended his hitting streak to 11 games for the Gold Sox after hitting a leadoff single in the first inning while Cameron Shick picked up his 12th, 13th and 14th RBIs after driving in three runs.
Brennan Garr's 14-game hitting streak ended after he failed to get a hit in six plate appearances. He reached base on an error in the second inning.
A.J. Valentine hit his eighth double, which leads the team, after driving home a run with the two-bagger in the first.
Craig Ayers (3-1) picked up the win in a strong seven innings of work in his fifth start of the season.
Zack Blatteis took the loss for the Seals.
The Gold Sox broke the game open with three runs in the fourth inning for a 7-0 lead, running Blatteis off. Shick hit a two-RBI double to score Jeney and R.C. Dickerson. Ryan Angel then hit a sacrifice fly to score Shick.
The Gold Sox added two runs in the first and two in the second for an early 4-0 lead.
Shick drove home Jeney in the first after hitting a single into the outfield while Buddy Morales' sacrifice fly brought home Dickerson.
Kyle Maunus scored in the second on Jeney's groundout while Mark Steinbeck reached base with a single and later scored.
The Gold Sox added their final run in the sixth inning. Steinbeck drove home Angel, who reached on a fielder's choice with two outs.
Yuba-Sutter scratched just two more hits after the seventh.
The Seals scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth against Ayers on Stefan Gartrell's two-RBI double.
