Mettle Hold Off Pacifics 8-5

July 10 2014 The Pittsburg Mettle defeated the San Rafael Pacifics 8-5 after building an early lead and adding insurance runs late. Pittsburg scored four times in the first inning, while San Rafael answered with two runs in the opening frame and two more in the second to tie the game at 4-4.

The Mettle regained the lead with two runs in the fifth and added two more in the seventh. Pittsburg collected 15 hits, led by Nash Hutter’s three hits and one RBI. Gregori Gonzalez, T. Battle, M. Taylor and Chris DeBiasi each had two hits, while Danny Rico went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Brad Shannon scored twice and added an RBI.

San Rafael finished with six hits, including Evan Boyd’s home run and two RBI. Chase Fontaine had a double and one RBI, while the Pacifics also received one RBI from Fontaine and two from Boyd. James Trebus earned the win after allowing five runs on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts in 5.2 innings. Ricky Claudio recorded the save with 3.1 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out one. Jesse Smith took the loss for San Rafael after surrendering seven earned runs on 12 hits in six innings.