Scorpions rally, beat Silver Sox

Playoffs may be out of the picture for the 2008 Yuma Scorpions, but that didn't mean the team was just going to go away quietly.

The Scorpions came into Saturday night's game against the Reno Silver Sox with a record of 21-21, still giving them a shot at a winning record in the second half.

After squandering an early lead, Yuma found itself down 3-2 until an eighth-inning power surge, including a three-run home run by Yosvany Almario and a grand slam by Jose Rodriquez, capped off an eight-run inning and a 10-3 win.

"This game reminded me of earlier in the year and the successes we've had," said Yuma manager Mike Marshall. "Good pitching, better defense and our pitching came through. It shows how close we are to being one of the best teams in the league."

The game started off with Scorpions starter Mike Esposito giving up a quick first-inning run when a Carlos Madrid single was followed by a John Hattig double.

Yuma would answer right back by scratching out an unearned run in the bottom half of the inning as Henry Calderon, who reached on an error by the Reno shortstop Andre Alvarado, scored from third off a A.J. Valentine fielder's choice.   Proving yet again that it doesn't always have to be pretty to score a run.

The Scorpions grabbed the lead in the fourth when Valentine drove a 1-2 pitch deep over the right field fence for a solo shot.

That lead would not hold for long as the Silver Sox answered right back in the top of the fifth when Ross McCoy hit a towering homer to left center.

Reno then took a 3-2 lead off a Gary Harris RBI single.  However, Esposito did a good job of keeping the game close as he managed to leave the bases loaded.

That score would hold until the bottom of the eighth inning, when things began to spiral downwards for Reno in a hurry.

Rodriguez would lead off by reaching on another error by Alvarado. Then Valentine reached on a walk.  It was at this point that Almario came up and gave the Scorpions the lead with his three-run blast.

After tacking on one more run, Yuma put the game out of reach as Jose Rodriguez hit a grand slam to finish off the eight run inning.

Playing out of position, catcher Hamsel Diaz came on in the ninth to pitch as he shut down Reno and secured the win for Yuma.

"It was nice for the fans, the biggest crowd of the year, to finish up with a well-played game and three big home runs," said Marshall, as postgame fireworks lit up the sky.

The Scorpions finish up the season tonight against Reno. First pitch is at 6 p.m.