By Darrell Moody
dmoody@nevadaappeal.com
RENO - The largest crowd of the season - 9,192 - came to see an Aces win and some post-game fireworks Saturday night.
Unfortunately, more of the in-game fireworks were supplied by the division-leading Sacramento River Cats. Aces fans had to settle for a nice post-game show.
Cliff Pennington's fourth-inning grand slam helped wipe out an early Reno lead and the River Cats went on to a 14-12 win despite a ninth-inning rally by the Aces.
Reno, 42-41, dropped 10.5 games behind the Rivercats, a perennial powerhouse in the Pacific Coast League.
"The pitching wasn't there tonight," Reno manager Brett Butler said. "The offense is always there. We got picked off first again, but that was minimal. To beat these guys, we have to have pitching.
"When you have 14 hits and score 12 runs most of the time you win the ballgame."
Starter Cesar Valdez started and went the first five, allowing nine runs, all earned, and eight hits. Jose Marte allowed two runs and two hits in two innings and Jason Urquidez was tagged for three runs and five hits in his only inning of work. Doug Slaten retired all three of the hitters he faced.
Valdez was no mystery to Sacramento from the outset.
Eric Patterson led off the game with a triple that one-hopped the fence in right-center field. Patterson entertained thoughts of trying for an inside-the-park homer, but was held up because of a strong relay throw by Rusty Ryal.
Patterson didn't stay at third long, though, scoring moments later on Clifton Pennington's roller to second. After Tommy Everidge grounded to short, Daric Barton slammed a 2-2 fastball over the fence in right to make it 2-0.
Reno took the lead in the third, scoring three times off former San Francisco Giants No. 1 draft pick Jerome Williams.
Abraham Nunez singled and Orlando Mercado walked. Both runners moved up on Brandon Watson's sacrifice bunt. Trent Oeltjen, who had extended his hitting streak to nine games with a first-inning single, slammed a homer to make it 3-2.
"He's really locked in," Butler said of Oeltjen.
Sacramento regained the lead in the fourth, scoring six runs to take an 8-3 lead.
Valdez had trouble finding the plate, walking Aaron Cunningham and Jack Hanahan with one out. Both runners moved up on an infield hit and scored on Matt Carson's roller up the middle on an 0-2 pitch to make it 4-3.
"That was the turning point," Butler said. "He's hitting .237 or .238. If he bounces one up there ... when Cesar is down he's tough. When he gets the ball up, he's not.
"He was upset that he didn't get calls from the umpire. Part of that is immaturity. He has to make the adjustment to the umpire. You can't have that kind of body language out there."
After Matt Carson's hit, Gregorio Petit singled and Patterson walked to load the bases. Valdez got behind Pennington 2-1, and the River Cats' shortstop cleared the bases with his second homer of the season and first grand slam.
Valdez was nicked for another run in the fifth when Hannahan doubled and scored on Eric Munson's single. Munson was thrown out trying to go to second on the throw home.
Valdez walked three in five innings and all three runners scored.
Williams, who had settled down after Oeltjen's homer, surrendered a leadoff homer to center to Josh Whitesell in the sixth. The ball hit the top of the fence and went over. It was Whitesell's sixth homer of the season. Reno tacked on another when John Hester followed with a ground-rule double and came around to score two batters later on a groundball to make it 9-5.
The Rivercats made it 11-5 in the seventh on a sacrifice fly and a double by Hanahan.
As is their trademark, the Aces' offense kept swinging, scoring twice on four hits to make it 11-7. One of the run-scoring hits came from Oeltjen, who finished 3-for-6 with four RBIs.
Urquidez came on in the ninth and allowed three runs, as the Rivercats extended the lead to 14-7.
That set the stage for a wild bottom of the ninth.
An error and three walks scored a run. Up stepped Watson, who was four for his last 31. Watson delivered a grand slam off Chris Schroeder to make it 14-12, but Jay Marshall came on to get the last out.
Watson was going to get the day off today, but now Butler said he'll be in the lineup after the 4-for-4 performance.
"That's the trademark of our team," Butler said. "The offense never quits."
NOTES: Members of the Carson Valley Hot Shots girls' fast-pitch softball team were introduced prior to the game and then accompanied the Aces' starters to their respective positions ... The series continues tonight at 5:05 p.m., as Tony Barnette (6-6, 5.71) opposes Chad Reineke (2-3, 4.06) ... A spectator was hit in the face by an eighth-inning line drive off the bat of Petit, and was bleeding by the time help could arrive ... Ryal's hit streak was stopped at 12 games after an 0-for-5 game, which included three strikeouts.