Montano and Tovar lift Fresno past Visalia 7-1
Visalia, CA (Thursday, June 24) – The Fresno Grizzlies (28-17) thrashed the Visalia Rawhide (12-33) 7-1 Thursday night from Valley Strong Ballpark. Fresno improved to 14-1 against Visalia this season, outscoring their Highway 99 rivals 99-51. Every Grizzlies’ starter reached base at least once with four of them notching multi-hit
Visalia, CA (Thursday, June 24) – The Fresno Grizzlies (28-17) thrashed the Visalia Rawhide (12-33) 7-1 Thursday night from Valley Strong Ballpark. Fresno improved to 14-1 against Visalia this season, outscoring their Highway 99 rivals 99-51.
Every Grizzlies’ starter reached base at least once with four of them notching multi-hit contests. Ezequiel Tovar led the charge with a trio of hits (one double) and three RBI. Tovar’s average rose to .311 thanks to his performance. Daniel Montano extended his hit streak to eight games (current squad-high) after a triple and double. He scored twice as well. Mateo Gil laced a pair of singles, grabbing one RBI and run. Finally, Zac Veen poked two hits and stole his 22nd base of the year.
The offensive explosion was countered by some fantastic pitching. A quartet of Fresno arms combined on the one-run, four-hit effort. Starter Keegan James chucked a career-high four innings, fanning four. He gave the rock to Tony Locey, who punched out four over two perfect innings. Locey was rewarded the victory, his first of 2021. Anderson Bido and Tanner Propst wrapped up the final three frames without allowing a run.
The Rawhide were stymied offensively once again. They plated their lone run in the third from a Ramses Malave RBI double. Righty Junior Mieses (1-1) suffered the decision after four and one-third frames. He was tagged for four runs, but all were unearned. The clubs battle once again tomorrow from Visalia.
Top Performers: Fresno Grizzlies (Colorado Rockies)
• LF Daniel Montano (2-4, 3B, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB)
• SS Ezequiel Tovar (3-4, 2B, 3 RBI, BB, SB, CS)
• 2B Mateo Gil (2-5, RBI, R)
Top Performers: Visalia Rawhide (Arizona Diamondbacks)
• DH Ramses Malave (1-3, 2B, RBI)
• CF Jeferson Espinal (1-3, 2B, BB)
• RHP Alex Valdez (1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K)
On Deck:
Friday, June 25 @ Visalia Rawhide, Fresno LHP Breiling Eusebio (4-0, 2.66) vs. Visalia LHP Liam Norris (0-4, 8.14), 6:00 pm PT
ON THAT FRES-NOTE:
Former Mississippi State baseball teammates Keegan James (Fresno) and Jared Liebelt (Visalia) posed for a picture prior to tonight’s game at Valley Strong Ballpark. The pair are now foes in the Low-A West, but still have fun rooting for their alma mater as they continue playing in the College World Series.