Gabriel Gonzalez walks it off for victorious Saints
· Yahoo Sports
Pinch hitter Gabriel Gonzalez played the hero role for the Saints Thursday night as his walkoff two-run hit secured a come-from-behind 4-3 victory for the home side against Columbus at CHS Field.
Whereas the first two matchups of the six-game series were blowouts alternating between the teams, Thursday’s showdown was a tightly-contested affair that saw St. Paul and the Clippers tied at 2-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth.
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Columbus had carved out a 3-2 edge on a pair of two-out singles off reliever Grant Hartwig combined with a fielding error by outfielder Kala’i Rosario.
However, St. Paul quickly got to work in the bottom of the ninth on singles by outfielder Hendry Mendez and Rosario to put two runners on with nary an out.
Columbus got that first out on a grounder by second baseman Cody Morissette that moved both Mendez and Rosario into scoring position as Gonzalez strode to the plate to bat for catcher Noah Cardenas.
After working the count to 3-1, Gonzalez mashed the ball into the right-center field gap to drive home both pinch runner Kyler Fedko and Rosario to the delight of teammates and the home crowd as the Saints suddenly had won their second game in a row.
Hartwig, the fifth St. Paul pitcher to come on in relief of starter Ricky Castro, claimed the win to improve to 5-2 on the season. Rosario and designated hitter Matt Wallner each went 2 for 4. Cardenas and shortstop Tristan Gray claimed the Saints’ other two RBI on a pair of run scoring singles in the third inning.
St. Paul improved to 56-42 overall this season, 14-10 so far in the second half of the International League season. The Saints and Clippers go at it again Friday night with Ryan Gallagher (3-4, 6.95 ERA) takes the hill against L.T. Allen (4-3, 4.39 ERA) for Columbus. First pitch is scheduled for 7:07 p.m.