Sox roll Yanks
Saturday, July 2, 2005 - It was fitting that on Hawaiian Night at All-Seasons RV Stadium Friday night, the game between the Yuba-Sutter Gold Sox and Maxim Yankees turned into one humdinger of a luau that even the late-Don McCullough would have been proud.
The Gold Sox turned the opener of the weekend holiday series with the visitors from San Jose into a laugher by the sixth inning as the Yankees committed eight errors on the night allowing the Gold Sox to coast to a 16-3 victory.
The win is important because not only was it a Horizon Air Summer Series game, but it keeps the Gold Sox in first place in the very competitive McCullough Division with a record of 14-5; staying at least a half-game in front of the Aloha Knights and one game ahead of the Solano Thunderbirds and Salinas Valley Packers.
With Gold Sox players wearing Hawaiian-style shirts as part of their uniforms, they turned an early 1-0 deficit into 16 unanswered runs and the biggest rout in team history. All nine starters got at least one hit and scored at least one run as a four-run fourth inning and a five-run sixth inning put the game out of reach in a hurry. The eight errors by the Yankees were the most ever against a Gold Sox team.
Kody Keroher got the start and pitched six solid innings. He allowed just three hits while striking out five.
”Kody threw exceptionally well,” Peek said. “This was his best effort all year. He showed confidence on the mound and was able to keep his pitches down in the zone.”
Steve Alverson and Gary Simmons also saw time on the hill in the late innings.
Gold Sox pitchers benefitted from some slick fielding by the infield. Jesse Rodgers, Jordan Prado, Keroher and A.J. Valentine made some tough grounders look routine. The foresome combined for 13 putouts.
“Our infield defense is very good,” said Peek. “We have four or five guys that can play, no matter where we put them. All have that natural talent that makes them so good.”
After tying the game at 1-1 in the third, back-to-back doubles to the outfield wall by Matt Suleski and Mike Wilkes got the offense going for the Gold Sox. Billy Krause followed with a double of his own scoring both runners. A pair of Yankee errors brought in two more runs for a 5-1 Gold Sox lead.
A two-run fifth inning was followed by the big five-run sixth. Jason Searle provided the key hit with an opposite field double to the wall in left field that drove in two runs. Prado added a single and RBI. More errors added up to two more runs and a 12-1 lead.
Searle had the only Gold Sox hit in the seventh, but it didn't stop the home team from piling on four more runs to wrap up the scoring.
Prado and Searle each had a double and single to lead the 11-hit Gold Sox attack. Wilkes had a double and three runs scored. Matt Vance, who played centerfield in place of Zach Weidenaar who left the team to return to school in Colorado, reached base six times on a double, three walks and two hit-by-pitches while scoring once.
Of the sixteen runs scored by the Gold Sox, only three were earned.
