Strong Hitting Boosts Redhawks Over Isotopes

News9.com

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico – The Oklahoma City Redhawks put together a strong second half of play, scoring nine unanswered runs to cruise to a 9-4 win over the Albuquerque Isotopes Tuesday.

The Isotopes started early and scored often with three first inning runs against RedHawks starter Andy Van Hekken. Russ Mitchell drove in Ivan DeJesus, Jr. and Jerry Sands with a double for a 2-0 score. Trayvon Robinson next singled in Mitchell from second base for a 3-0 Albuquerque advantage.

In the fourth, Robinson struck again for the Isotopes in the fourth inning, belting a two-run home run, his fourth consecutive game and 25th of the season, to give Albuquerque a 5-0 lead.

After four innings, OKC trailed 5-0, but the Redhawks got a spark started in the bottom of the fifth and didn't look back. J.B. Shuck started off the bottom of the inning with a triple then scored on a Robinson Cancel groundout to make it 5-1.

The sixth saw OKC add two more runs in the sixth, and then three more in the seventh to take the lead. In the seventh, Cancel led off with a bunt single and scored on a Collin Delome double for a 5-4 score. Later with no outs and the bases loaded, Koby Clemens plated a run off a fielder's choice for the tying run. Then Albuquerque's Dee Gordon committed a throwing error from short stop that gave OKC the 6-5 go-ahead run.

Jason Bourgeois led off the eighth inning with a double and scored on a strike-three wild pitch of Robinson Cancel for a 7-5 score.

Koby Clemens capped off the win in the ninth inning with a two-run home run to left field, a team-high 13th, for a 9-5 final.

The Redhawks totaled 15 hits in the game to the Isotopes 8 and two errors.

Oklahoma City improves to 42-55 on the season and is now 9-5 against Albuquerque (50-47) in the overall season series.

RedHawks reliever Casey Fien (2-2 ) picked up the win thanks to a hitless inning and three strikeouts while Isotopes starter Tim Sexton (3-4) went six innings and was charged with six runs, five earned on 12 hits.

The two teams meet again Wednesday for game three of the series at 8:05 p.m. CT.