Walk off helps Rockets go 1-2

An untimely error was costly in the first game Saturday.

Strikeouts did the Rockets in during game two.

They walked it off a day later.

The Portland Rockets dropped a doubleheader to the Mishawaka Brewers on Saturday before starting Sunday’s twin bill with a walk-off victory against the Fort Wayne Panthers as they went 1-2 on their first double weekend of the season.

Mishawaka scored seven straight runs over the fourth and fifth innings to win game one, 17-4, then hung on for a 6-5 victory in game two. Portland got a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth inning to start Sunday against the Panthers, and trailed 7-0 in the second inning of game two before it was halted because of rain.

Portland moved to 2-2 ahead of a Wednesday clash with the Muncie Chiefs, who the Rockets beat 13-6 in the season opener last week.

The Rockets’ only victory over the weekend came in dramatic fashion Sunday.

After battling back from a 4-1 deficit to force extra innings, Portland got a leadoff single from none other than Jay County High School graduate Chandler Jacks, who got the start on the mound and had to bat for himself as the Rockets were shorthanded with just 11 players.

Caleb Mealy followed with a single, and a throwing error by the pitcher allowed Jacks to lumber over to third as the potential game-tying run. Rocket manager Randy Miller put in Adam Ott — he showed up moments earlier — as a pinch runner for Jacks. Kasey Henderson struck out on a full-count pitch, and Portland’s No. 3 hitter Corbin Maddox also reached a full count.

With the outfield playing shallow in an attempt for a play at the plate, Maddox ripped a pitch high in the zone well over the right fielder’s head to plate Ott and stop any potential Rocket losing streak.

Fort Wayne built its lead in the third inning as it led off the frame with three straight hits, including back-to-back bunts.

A hit by pitch and walk with bases loaded gave Fort Wayne the 2-1 advantage ahead of an RBI sacrifice fly and an RBI single.

Mills got the Rockets within one with a two-run double in the fifth, and an error on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the seventh scored Henderson from third as the game-tying run.

In the first game on Saturday, the Rockets were ahead 2-0 thanks to a ground-rule RBI double from Zach Tanner in the first inning and an RBI single from Ian Schilling in the second.

The Brewers (6-0), who had answered with a run in the top of the third, took the lead for good on a fourth-inning error that scored two runs. Mishawaka went on to score five in the fifth for a 8-2 advantage, and Portland cut the deficit to 8-4 on a two-run double from Patrick Mills.

Mills, a Kokomo resident who hit a three-run home run in game two against Mishawaka, recorded six hits, including two doubles, and eight RBIs over the weekend’s three games. He has eight RBIs on the season.

The Brewers racked up runs on nine hits over the last two innings for the lopsided victory.

Mills’ second home run of the season came in the third inning of game two. It capped a four run frame which gave Portland a 5-4 advantage. The Brewers took a 6-5 lead in the fifth, and Portland wasn’t able to plate the tying run as it struck out five times in the last two innings.

Mealy finished with four hits on the weekend, and Tanner totaled three hits and a pair of RBIs on Saturday. Henderson and Schilling each had a pair of hits for Portland.