Caballos Trample Grizzlies 15-5 in Game One

STOCKTON, Calif. — Los Caballos de Stockton went off on the Fresno Grizzlies Tuesday night with a stampede of runs, racking up a season-high 18 hits and the most runs they’ve ever scored against Fresno in a 15-5 victory to start the six-game series.

The Grizzlies actually struck first on a Copa Diversion Tuesday at Banner Island Ballpark, but their lead would be short lived as Stockton poured on an eight-run first inning to go ahead for good. Los Caballos chased Fresno starter Isaiah Coupet in the first inning, as the lefty only recorded two outs after going five innings in each of his three starts against Stockton earlier this season.

Stockton was down 2-0, but had two runners on in the first when T.J. Schofield-Sam chopped a base hit over the head of the Grizzlies first baseman to get the Caballos on the board. Bjay Cooke singled up the middle to plate two more runs that give Stockton a 3-2 lead, and they would never trail again. Nick Schwartz had an RBI single and Clark Elliott got his second hit of the inning on a bases-clearing double to make it 7-2 Caballos. Nate Nankil wrapped up the eight-running with an RBI single to the left side for an 8-2 advantage.

Fresno began to chip away at the six-run lead with a run in the third and two more in the fourth to cut it to 8-5 before the Ports reclaimed control of the game. Darlyn Montero singled to left to score Elliott in the fifth, before newcomer Joseph Rodriguez belted a two-run homer (1) to the right of the batters’ eye in center in his first game with Stockton to put the Caballos ahead 11-5 after six innings.

They would cap their big night on Nate Nankil’s first grand slam and ninth home run of the year in the bottom of the eighth to finish the game up at 15-5. Mark Adamiak collected the win to move to 4-2 on the season after striking out all four batters he faced.

Every player in the Stockton lineup had a hit in the game, with Elliott, Nankil, Montero, and Cooke each recording three-hit games. Nankil’s grand slam was the third the Ports have hit this season, joining Luke Mann and Cole Conn who each did it before moving up to high-A Lansing.

Dereck Salom extended his hit streak to seven games and his on-base streak to 10. Elliott’s on-base streak now sits at 15 games and his run-scoring streak moves up to eight straight. Nankil had a 71-game streak without an error come to an end when he couldn’t squeeze a ball into the gap in right center after a long run. It was his first error since the first week of the season, and that came while playing in left field.

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Game two is also scheduled for 7:05 PM with Fresno RHP Jace Kaminska (5-4, 2.89) going up against 18-year-old RHP Steven Echavarria (0-3, 5.67) who has only allowed one earned run in his last four starts.

It will be a Wine Wednesday featuring $6 Chardonnay, Zinfandel and Merlot, presented By Consumnes River Farms. Single game tickets, mini plans, and group outings are all on sale for the 2024 season. For more information, call the Ports front office at 209-644-1900 or email at [email protected].