Lazaro Armenteros blasted a 402 foot homer to put the Beloit Snappers (13-13) ahead, as they never looked back with a 3-2 victory over the Great Lakes Loons (9-20) Tuesday night at Pohlman Field before 418fans.
Lazaro Armenteros blasted a 402 foot homer to put the Beloit Snappers (13-13) ahead, as they never looked back with a 3-2 victory over the Great Lakes Loons (9-20) Tuesday night at Pohlman Field before 418fans.
Trailing 1-0, Nick Allen led of the Snappers third inning with a double down the right field line and was quickly advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Snappers right fielder Mickey McDonald. With Allen at third and Armenteros stepping to the plate, a balk on what would have been the first pitch to Armenteros by Loons starter Melvin Jimenez allowed Allen to score to tie the game at 1.
Armenteros then launched the 402 foot moon shot to straight away center field over the batters eye to give the Snappers a 2-1 edge.
After the homer, Austin Beck would walk and was then advanced to third on a double by Snappers outfielder Logan Farrar who extended his hitting streak to seven games. Back-to-back walks to Miguel Mercedes and Skyler Weber gave the Snappers a 3-1 lead, as Weber was credited with an RBI as Beck trotted home on the walk.
Snappers starter Xavier Altamirano pitched brilliantly while picking up his first win of the season. The right-hander tossed six strong innings, allowing just one unearned run in the top of the first inning on three hits while matching a career-high eight strikeouts for a second-consecutive outing.
Bryan Morales singled to lead off the Loons first and came around to score later in the inning, after Miguel Mercedes throwing error extended the frame.
Seth Martinez was summoned first out of the Snappers bullpen, as the right-hander tossed two scoreless frames issuing just one hit while striking out a batter to lower his ERA to 2.12.
With a 3-1 lead in hand, manager Webster Garrison turned to southpaw Josh Reagan who tossed the final inning. Reagan worked quickly striking out the first batter he saw in Carlos Rincon, before Brandon Montgomery flew out to right. Marcus Chui then hit a solo home run to trim the Snappers lead to 3-2, before Reagan induced a pop out by Starling Heredia to Snappers second baseman Jesus Lopez to end the game and give Reagan his fourth save in as many opportunities.
The series continues with game the series finale tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. against the Great Lakes Loons. Right-hander Bryce Conley (1-2, 5.32) will start for the Snappers, and the Loons will send right-hander Edwin Uceta (1-1, 2.74). Tomorrow is the first School Day of the season as we welcome schools from around the Stateline Area.
The Beloit Snappers are a member of the Midwest League and have been the Single-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics since 2013. For more ticket information, contact the Snappers office at (608) 362-2272 or on our website, www.snappersbaseball.com.
