Four-Run Eighth Signals Defeat for Kitties

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Sacramento River Cats entered the final third of their series finale with Oklahoma City holding a four-run lead, but a four-run eighth inning for Oklahoma City helped them defeat Sacramento by a 6-4 final on Sunday.

With their first at-bats the River Cats (26-19) plated a pair, as a Trenton Brooks double to right field scored Casey Schmitt after the latter reached on a single into center. Later in the frame, Hunter Bishop found his way across the plate on an RBI groundout from Donny Sands, who was making his Sacramento debut.

After Oklahoma City (25-20) stole a run back in the top of the fifth thanks to an RBI double from Andre Lipcius, the River Cats added two more in the bottom half of the sixth. Consecutive inning-opening doubles resulted in a run, the first of which came from Brady Whalen while the second came from Brett Auerbach that scored Whalen.

Later in the inning it was Bishop driving in a run, using a sacrifice fly to score Auerbach though the play ended with a pair of outs after Munguia was caught trying to advance to third.

However, those were the final runs for Sacramento, as Oklahoma City scored five unanswered to steal the lead and eventually the ballgame. It started with back-to-back walks to open the seventh, the first of which came around to score on a sacrifice fly from Drew Avans.

Meanwhile, the game-deciding eighth inning consisted of six straight hits for Oklahoma City, which are the most hits allowed in a single inning this year by the River Cats. Only one of the hits went for extra bases, a double from Kody Hoese, while all other five hits were just singles.

Despite trying to rally with their final two sets of at-bats, which included a ground rule double from Bishop in the eighth and a one-out single in the ninth from Donovan Walton, both runners were left stranded resulting in a 6-4 Oklahoma City victory.

Despite the loss, Sacramento ended with an 8-4 season series victory over Oklahoma City, the most Sacramento victories in a single season against the Oklahoma City franchise. The previous record was four which had been done four times, most recently in 2021 when they were 4-2 on the season.

Carson Seymour drew the start but ultimately left with a no decision, striking out three while allowing one run on four hits in 5.0 innings. In four starts against Oklahoma City, Seymour went 1-1 with a 3.57 ERA. Charged with the loss was right-hander Clay Helvey (2-2), who was tagged for four runs on four hits with a pair of punchouts.

Bishop has logged a hit in each of his six career Triple-A games, four of which have been multi-hit efforts as he closed today 2-for-2 with a run scored, a double and an RBI. Meanwhile, Whalen claimed his first Triple-A hit in his third game, going a perfect 3-for-3 with a run scored, a double and a walk.

Also notching a pair of hits was Auerbach, going 2-for-3 with a run scored, a pair of doubles and an RBI, making him the sixth River Cat this season with a pair of two-baggers in the same game. Three of Auerbach’s past four hits are doubles, while four of his eight hits have gone for extra bases.

The Sacramento River Cats will now turn the page to the next series, as they travel out to El Paso tomorrow in preparation for a six-game set against the El Paso Chihuahuas beginning with game one at 5:05 p.m. (PT) on Tuesday.