Jets win thriller in double-header

Jonathan Salas crossed home plate in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Junior League Jets their eighth win of the season and second of the day over the Fielders in a marathon comeback affair at Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field Sunday.

With the game tied at 18 runs apiece, Salas sprinted from second in an effort to steal third base when an errant throw by the catcher brought fans out of their bleachers and players out of the dugout as Salas crossed the plate.

Nobody could have been happier than the Jets shortstop, as he was in a similar position two innings prior with the chance to play hero. With Salas on third base, Ben Guerrero hit a sacrifice fly to center in the bottom of the seventh, but after Salas crossed the plate the umpires ruled that he left third base before the catch was made.

Rather than win their second game of the day, the Jets were retired and watched as the Fielders took the lead in the eighth inning. They would eventually tie the game in their next at bat to set the scene for Salas’ redemption in the ninth.

Salas finished the roughly four-hour game hitting 2-for-3 with a single, a double, three runs scored, three walks, and a stolen base, while Guerrero went 3-for-5 with a pair of singles and a three-run triple to finish with four runs batted in and a Rickey Henderson-like four stolen bases.

The Jets also got a lot of production out of Joab Camacho, who went 3-for-4 with three base knocks, four stolen bases, three plate crossings, and a run batted in.

Lost in the action in the game’s final innings was the fact that the Jets moved into first place with a record of 8-3, and the mammoth comeback that allowed them to extend the night’s activities.

Down 17-9 in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Jets scored eight runs in the clutch to knot the game at 17, but they got a little help from the Fielders in the form of four walks—all of which found their way home.

The turquoise team scored their runs off of four hits and the walks, and scored their 19 runs off of 12 hits overall, but the Fielders ran out of options on the mound as they went through four pitchers in the contest.

JETS 12, FIELDERS 9

The everlasting battle between the Jets and Fielders was actually their second head-to-head contest, as the Jets took the first game by three runs in a regular seven-inning match by scoring a dozen off of 16 hits, 12-9.

After extending their lead to 9-0 in the top of the sixth, the Jets surrendered six runs to the Fielders in the bottom of the inning to allow them to get back into the game. Armed with a new rush of momentum in the top of the seventh, the Fielders grabbed their mitts and took to the Tan Ko diamond, but they allowed the Jets to score three runs to take a six-run advantage, 12-6.

A rally in the bottom of the inning fell three runs shy of extending the game, as the Fielders took one on the chin.

This time around, the pitcher had a little more to do with the outcome of the contest—in a positive light—as starter Joab Camacho went through five solid innings before fatigue settled in during the bottom of the sixth.

Camacho allowed six runs off of five hits and fanned two before getting the hook in favor of Ben Guerrero. The reliever closed out the final two innings surrendering three runs off of one hit, and fanned three to pick up the save.

Guerrero also handled himself well in the batter’s box hitting 3-for-5 with a pair of singles, a double, two scores, and an RBI, while Camacho went 2-for-3 with two base hits, a stolen base, and the game winning RBI when he singled in Guerrero in the top of the sixth.

Catcher Mario Salas chipped in with a pair of singles and three scores, but the Jets’ speedy squatter stole five bases and scored three times. Teammate Nathan Kintol finished the day 2-for-5 with a single, a triple, two runs batted in, and two runs scored.

FALCONS 11, HUSTLERS 8

Trailing 5-1, the Falcons capitalized on their opponent’s miscues in the bottom of the third inning score to nine runs off of only two hits to double up on the Hustlers and never looked back, ,as they finished off their foes.

The Hustlers suffered a defensive meltdown in the third by serving up two hits and offering up eight walks—six of which ended up crossing home plate. The Falcons only managed five hits overall, but they got enough out of pitcher Ike Aldan to get them the victory.

Aldan hit the ocho-ocho-ocho for the Falcons as he went the distance for the birds on the hill allowing eight runs off of eight hits and fanning eight. When he picked up the bat, Aldan went 1-for-3 with a single and a score, but he was able to count on Jerome Mesa for the offense, as the utility player went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles, a stolen base, and two runs scores. Catcher Juan Tenorio was a perfect 1-for-1 with a single, and could have done more were it not for a pair of walks and a bean ball.