Rockets rally after scare

The Portland Rockets gave up a five-run lead in the top of the ninth before scoring a trio of runs in the final inning to secure a 16-15 victory over the Grand Lake Mariners.

The Rockets looked to have the game in hand in the final inning, holding a 13-8 lead as the visitors stepped to the plate with one last chance. Five walks and seven runs later, the five-run lead turned into a two-run deficit.

A grounder to the pitcher and a fly out to center field put the Rockets quickly down to their final out. A single to center field from Jadon Henry got the Rockets on base for the first time in the inning, and Mariners pitcher Max Gray lent a hand from there.

Gray accounted for three of Grand Lake’s 16 walks and hit Cody Krumlauf with a pitch to tie the game, and Mitch Waters did the rest. Waters stepped to the plate and made solid contact with his bat but drove the ball right to the second baseman. What looked to be a throw that would force extra innings bounced off the glove of the first baseman, and the Rockets won.

“That was kind of a rollercoaster,” said Portland manager Randy Miller, whose team has won three in a row. “When you’re playing solid ball for eight innings and then you see the ship’s unraveling. ... We were kind of scrambling there in the end ... but we persevered.”

As close as the 16-15 final score made the game look, the Rockets (3-1) had the lead and most of the momentum for much of the game.

Waters got the start on the mound for Portland, and he came out dealing with four strikeouts in his first seven batters faced to get the hosts off to a fast start.

“It felt good those first few innings,” Waters said. “It’s been a while since I’d really pitched. Had an arm injury the last couple years, so I haven’t had a chance to pitch like I used to, so it was nice to get back out there.”

Grand Lake pitcher Tom Siemer was much the opposite. In the first inning he walked Dustin Lewis, the first batter he faced, gave up a double to right-center field courtesy of Zach Tanner and hit Waters and Tristen Becker with pitches on back-to-back at-bats. Justin Greene added to Siemer’s problems with a single to left field that drove in the game’s first two runs.

After a scoreless inning from the Mariners that featured a pair of strikeouts and a fly out to left field, Siemer walked the first two batters he faced in the second inning, and that led to a quick pitching change for the visitors.

Josh Riggs took over duties on the bump but was unable to stop Portland’s two baserunners from scoring. Waters continued his strong start to the game with a single to center field that dropped to score Henry and Levi Long, doubling the Rockets’ lead to 4-0 in just the second inning.

“I think early we were pretty passive offensively,” Grand Lake manager Jacob Burk said. “Taking a lot of good pitches in the middle of the plate, and I think as the game went on guys got a little bit more comfortable.”

The Mariners were able to halve the deficit in the fourth once their bats came alive. Chris Meyers sparked the run with a double to center field. Jake McCaw sent Meyers and himself across the plate with a two-run shot to right-center field for the game’s only home run. Waters managed to strikeout the next batter he faced before his day on the mound came to an end.

“As you could see, late I kind of stiffened up a bit, but overall, I was happy with (the performance)” Waters said.

The Rockets responded with a big fifth inning. Two walks and a single from Justin Greene through the infield gap between the first and second basemen got Portland started, but it wasn’t done.

Three more Rockets runs looked to have blown the game open, but the Mariners made sure to go down swinging.

Grand Lake chipped away with a pair of runs in the sixth inning, and one in the seventh. Meyers started a solid eighth inning from the Mariners with his third double of the night to score a pair of runs. One more Grand Lake run got through before Portland escaped the inning with a 9-8 lead.

Portland responded with a four-run frame, which Waters capped off with an RBI double to send the Rockets into the ninth with a 13-8 lead, and that’s when the game almost slipped away before they were able to rebound and secure the win.

“That just shows a lot of heart, character, resolve and maybe a little good fortune, and good things happen when you put the ball in play,” Miller said.

The Rockets and Mariners will meet for a rematch at 7:05 p.m. Thursday in Celina, Ohio.