Grizzlies Claw Back After Ports Hot Start to Take Game Two

STOCKTON, Calif. — The Ports offense exploded for four runs in the first on Wednesday night, but Fresno slowly chipped away and took the lead in the seventh for a 7-5 win in game two of the six-game series.

The Grizzlies (19-13) got a couple of runs in the first, but the Ports (13-20) answered back emphatically in the bottom of the inning with four straight hits to start the frame. Ryan Lasko hit a ground-rule double into the corner to start the inning, before Cole Conn crushed a 408-foot, two-run homer (2) off the roof of the Back Porch in right to tie the contest.

A Luke Mann single to right was followed by a Nate Nankil double just inside the third-base bag, and it was 3-0 Ports before an out was even recorded in the bottom of the first. T.J. Schofield-Sam returned to the Ports on Tuesday, and made his presence known instantly by driving in Nankil with a single to left to make it 4-0 Stockton.

An Aidan Longwell double in the top of the second made it a 4-3 game, and it would stay that way until the fifth, when Longwell hit a solo home run off of Ryan Brown to tie the game at 4-4. An error at first led to a sac fly giving Fresno a 5-4 lead in the sixth, followed by a two-RBI single from Jake Snider in the seventh that would put the Grizzlies ahead 7-4.

Stockton would get a run back in the ninth when Conn drove in Casey Yamauchi to make it 7-5, as the Ports remain the only team to score an earned run against Fresno’s closer Brady Hill, accounting for the only two runs he’s allowed this year. But he would get Mann to pop up to end the game as Fresno held on for the victory.

Grizzlies starter Bryan Perez settled in after allowing the four runs in the first, allowing no further damage after that and striking out 12 batters over six innings.

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Game two will be a Thirsty Thursday featuring $1 cans of Busch Light, $2 popcorn, $3 hot dogs, and $8 field box tickets. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., with a prime pitching match up between Stockton’s Chen Zhuang (1-1, 1.74) against lefty Austin Emener (0-1, 3.86) for Fresno.

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].