River Cats grand slam Bees

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — One horrible inning ultimately doomed the Salt Lake Bees to a 7-4 defeat by Sacramento in PCL action Sunday evening.

Salt Lake, which led 2-1 at the time, couldn't ultimately recover from a fourth-inning collapse. And the Bees had nobody to blame but themselves.

After walking two-straight batters to begin the fourth, pitcher Jeff Heaverlo complicated matters by committing a fielding error on a sacrifice bunt, which loaded the bases. Heaverlo then walked in a runner, loading the bases again.

Following a one-run single by Doug Clark, Salt Lake manager Brian Harper responded by replacing Heaverlo with Jonathon Rouwenhorst. The first batter Rouwenhorst faced was Sacramento shortstop Mike Rouse, who cleared the bases with a grand slam over the right-field fence. The River Cats led 7-2 after that surge.

Rouse went 3-for-4 on Sunday. Meanwhile, Heaverlo's final line was quite forgettable: 3 IP, 5 hits, 5 ER and 4 BB.

The Bees, who lead the Pacific North division, did pull two runs back in the fifth, thanks to a one-run triple by Casey Smith and a one-run double by Corey Myers. It wasn't enough, though.

Myers pounded out three hits, which led the Bees' offense.

Salt Lake concludes its four-game series with Sacramento at 7:30 tonight. The Bees then return for a six-game homestand, which begins with Colorado Springs on July 4th. A fireworks display will be held after that game.