Cats nip Stingers

Extra innings are usually right where the Salt Lake Stingers want an opponent.

Coming into Monday night's game against the Sacramento River Cats at Franklin Covey Field, the Stingers had been nearly unbeatable in extra innings this season.

But the River Cats struck first and held on for a 10-9 victory in 10 innings, dropping the Stingers to two games behind Tacoma in the PCL Northern Division race.

Monday's game was a classic PCL affair, with spotty pitching, lots of runs and no such thing as a safe lead. It also featured nine walks by Stingers pitchers, and while only two of those scored, both occurred in a seven-run fifth inning that was the key to the contest.

Sacramento took the early advantage in the game, with a run in the third on a leadoff double by Jermaine Clark, a sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly by Brant Colamarino.

Salt Lake moved out in front an inning later. Josh Paul got things started with a walk, and three singles later Adam Pavkovich lashed a triple past diving Sacramento centerfielder Charles Thomas for a two-run triple and 4-1 lead.

Stingers' starter Joe Saunders hit the wall in a hurry in the sixth inning, however. With one out he gave up a single, walk and single, the latter hit scoring a run. He then got Colamarino to fly out. But he couldn't nail down that final out. He allowed another run-scoring single and walk to load the bases, at which point Ebel got somebody up in the bullpen.

Before he could get Saunders out of there, though, he surrendered a two-run single — and the lead — to Shawn Garrett, then another single, to Thomas, making it a 6-4 Sacramento lead.

Jon Rouwenhorst then came on to pitch for Salt Lake, facing former Stingers catcher Tom Gregorio. Gregorio lashed a double for two more runs, and the Stingers were down 8-4.

Salt Lake got two of the runs back in the bottom of the fifth, on a single by Alberto Callaspo, double by Paul off the base of the wall in centerfield, and a roller by Luke Allen that squeezed between the charging first- and second-basemen.

Gregorio came back to haunt his former team again in the seventh, singling to knock in Jack Cust, who had singled and stolen second. That made the score 9-6.