YAKIMA, Wash. -- The Yakima Bears beat the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 4-2 Friday night at Yakima County Stadium in a game that was eerily similar to Saturday's loss, except in the ninth inning. The Bears improved to 4-4 with the victory and the team is now atop the standings in the Northwest League's East Division.
The Bears fell behind the Volcanoes early, just like Thursday night. Salem-Keizer scored one run in the first and added another run in the second before Henry Zabala blasted a solo home run to put the Bears within one.
The Bears would make a big push offensively in the fifth to take the lead, just like Thursday night. Steve Rodriguez reached on a one-out single and scored on a Josh Parr double. Parr also crossed the plate in the fifth inning, thanks to a Jacob House single.
The Bears held the 3-2 lead until the eight when they added an insurance run, just like Thursday night. Shaun Cooper led off with a single, advanced on another House single, and then scored thanks to a single from pinch hitter Jimmy Comerota.
The big difference from Thursday was the ninth inning, when Victor Capellan earned his first save by retiring the batters 1-2-3 to seal the win. The win went to starter Alex Carerras, who spread out seven hits and three walks to allow just one earned run. Carerras improved to 2-0 after two Northwest League starts. In between the starter and the closer, Blake Forslund threw two shutout innings.
House was the only player with a multi-hit game, as six other batters got aboard with a hit. Cooper and Parr extended their early season hitting streaks with base knocks. Comerota pushed his team lead in RBIs to six with his clutch, pinch-hit effort.
The Bears lead the five-game series 2-1 against the Volcanoes. Game four of the series is Saturday at 7:05. The Bears will send lefty Cody Wheeler to the hill against right-handed pitcher Kendry Flores.
