Volcanoes Treat Sellout Crowd to 4th of July Win

In front of the second-largest crowd in franchise history, Jose Reyes limits Hops to one run in seven innings of work.

Jose Reyes pitched seven innings of two-hit ball and the Volcanoes jumped ahead with a three-run first inning, as Salem-Keizer defeated the Hillsboro Hops 5-1 in Friday night. Photo Courtesy: Salem-Keizer Volcanoes

(KEIZER, Ore. ) - After dropping four of their last five games in an eight-game, multi-national road trip, the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes were in desperate need of a pick-me-up.

In front of a sellout crowd of 5,613 at Volcanoes Stadium, the Volcanoes received that spark.

Jose Reyes pitched seven innings of two-hit ball and the Volcanoes jumped ahead with a three-run first inning, as Salem-Keizer defeated the Hillsboro Hops 5-1 in Friday night.

Entering the game having been outscored by opponents 28-9 in first innings this season, the Volcanoes reversed their fortunes.

Johnseshwy Fargas got drilled by the second pitch he saw, and Tyler Hollick followed up with a single to right field. Christian Arroyo reached on a fielding error by shortstop Justin Gonzalez, loading the bases with nobody out.

Will Callaway, a newcomer to the cleanup spot after a pair of doubles last night in Vancouver, walked to bring in the game's first run.

A sacrifice fly by T Relaford and an RBI double by Fernando Pujadas followed Callaway's walk, giving the Volcanoes the 3-0 advantage.

The Hops chipped away at their three-run deficit in the second inning without recording a hit. Grant Heyman reached second base to start the inning after a throwing error by Arroyo. He moved to third on a ground out and scored on a safety squeeze bunt by Gonzales.

Despite allowing a second-inning run, Jose Reyes was sharp all night. He retired 11 consecutive hitters from the second inning to the sixth, inducing 11 ground ball outs in his seven innings of work.

Reyes faced a bit of trouble in the sixth, after surrendering a walk and allowing his first hit of the night.

A wild pitch moved runners to second and third with just one out, but Reyes recorded a strikeout and earned one final groundout to escape the threat.

Feeding off the momentum, the Volcanoes added an extra run of insurance in the bottom of the sixth. Relaford laced a double to right-center field to get into scoring position. He then advanced to third on a ground out, and scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-1.

The Volcanoes added one last run in the eighth, and Dusten Knight tossed two scoreless innings of relief to preserve the 5-1 win.

Callaway put forth another multi-hit effort. He went 2-for-3 and connected on his third double in two nights.

Up Next: The Volcanoes continue their Patriotic Tribute series with game two versus the Hillsboro Hops. Salem-Keizer will send righty Nick Gonzalez (0-2, 3.94) to the mound to face Hops right-hander (1-0, 0.60). Tickets are still available for Saturday's contest with the gates opening at 5:00 p.m. in advance of a 6:35 p.m. scheduled start.

Source: Salem-Keizer Volcanoes