Rockets rout Jackers

It was more of the same old song and dance for the Rockets.
Zach Tanner went deep again, his ninth home run of the season and fifth in seven days.
Dalton Tinsley also went yard for his seventh round-tripper this year, giving him and Tanner homers in back-to-back games.
The rest of the Portland Rockets got in on the offense too, as the home team tallied 15 hits in a 14-3 clubbing of the Fort Wayne Jackers in seven innings on Friday night at Portland Memorial Park’s Runkle-Miller Field.
“That is a good recipe I would say,” said Portland manager Randy Miller, whose team has won nine of its last 10 games and is now 17-5 this year. “Sounds like we had this discussion the other night. Tanner and Tinsley hit a home run. Multiple players got hits. (We’re) finding our stride.”
Tinsley (3-for-5) and Tanner (2-for-4) got the Portland offense started in the first inning as part of a three-run frame. Mitch Waters, a 2002 Jay County High School graduate, had one of his two hits in the opening inning also.
The trio of veteran Rockets, along with Bill Geeslin, each had hits in the four-run second inning. Chandler Ingle reached on an error, and Tinsley’s single gave the Rockets two on with no out. Ingle scored on a Geeslin single before Tanner blasted a 1-0 offering from former Rocket Kyle Zerfis to left field for a three-run homer.
“I’m seeing it well,” said Tanner, a Yorktown native who spent last season playing in the Frontier League. “It is a lot more relaxing playing here than playing in pro ball.
“Pro ball is a lot more high stress. This is a lot more laid back and it’s fun. It’s a lot easier to have fun when you’re hitting good.”
As Miller likes to say, “hitting is contagious,” and the rest of the Rockets took heed to Tinsley and Tanner smashing the ball.
TJ Lindstrand led the Rockets with three hits — a single in the third inning, an RBI single in the fourth and an RBI triple to the alley in left center field during the sixth. Geeslin also had two hits and a pair of RBIs.
“I think it’s a good thing we’re starting to click right before tournament time,” Tanner said. After hosting the World Baseball Congress tournament July 22 through 24, Portland travels to Kankakee, Illinois, for the National Amateur Baseball Federation regional.
“Hopefully we can stay clicking through the tournament,” Tanner added. He and his teammates scored two or more runs in each of the first four innings, had a 9-0 lead before the Jackers got on the board during the fourth and had a three-run fifth thanks to Tinsley’s two-run home run. With two outs and Linstrand standing on third, Tinsley demolished the first pitch from Fort Wayne reliever Adam House into the shrubs in left field. He knew it was gone from the moment he made contact, as was apparent by his emphatic bat flip before trotting around the bases.
“These guys, they are tough customers, said Miller, whose team had a seven-game winning streak earlier in the season. He credited his veteran players for the success this year. “A guy can sit on the bench and learn a lot just listening to the coach-speak of a Tanner, a Waters and a Geeslin. Those guys have been around the block. They are giving some instruction.”
Craig Martin earned the win on the bump, keeping the Jackers to four hits over six innings. He was effectively wild, walking six but striking out five. He gave up three runs, two of which were earned.
“He had a little control issues but I think he’s gaining some confidence too,” Miller said. The southpaw had two walks in the fourth inning and two in the sixth, but only two of his six free passes came around to score.
“He is hard to square up on. He is sneaky fast. He has good secondary pitches.”
Alex Delk pitched the seventh inning in relief, and he faced one over the minimum. He induced two groundouts, had a batter reach on an error and then got a liner to Tanner at short to end the game.
“We just have to keep riding the wave with the contagious hitting,” said Miller, whose team meets the Jackers again on Monday at Carrington Field in Fort Wayne.
Dan Bollenbacher, who is 3-1 on the season, is the projected starter.