Bombers can’t hold on to the lead, Victoria takes the win

The teams have been playing mostly for honor this week, as both teams’ seedings for next week’s TCL playoffs have already been determined. The Bombers, coming off two straight home losses to the Generals, were in position to gain some postseason momentum with a 4-1 lead after eight innings. The Bombers took the lead with a two-run fifth and added two more runs in the eighth.

But the first four Victoria batters reached in the ninth inning. Anthony Avalos had a single and Bombers reliever Daniel Dial threw three straight batters. An error and two wild pitches helped score a run. Dial bounced back to retire Jacob Sanchez and Diego Diaz reached on a fielder’s choice, giving the Bombers a runner at the plate

But Victoria’s Mark Henning tied the score with a two-run single. Hal Perez walked to reload the bases. Mario Mendoza, the ninth player to bat in the inning, hit a walk-off single.

Dial (4-1), the Bombers’ third pitcher, suffered the loss. Starters Cole Rodriguez and John Anders combined for eight innings, allowing just one run on five hits. They struck out eight and walked four.

Zach Ryan, the last of six Victoria pitchers, earned the win, working a perfect ninth.

The Bombers had seven hits, with Tristan Russell and Harrison Griffith each having two. Griffith hit a solo home run in the first inning. It was his first of the season. Cole LeClair followed with a single, and Russell later added an RBI single. Harrison added a two-out, two-run single in the eighth inning, scoring both Jaxon Daigre who walked and Cameron Saleh who doubled. The Generals had eight hits. Cameron Nickens and Henning each had two.

The Generals (34-12), who won both the first and second halves in the Texas Division, won their sixth in a row. The Bombers (23-20, 13-8) had won 10 of 12 before losing three in a row to the Generals. The season series was tied at four heading into the four-game series that concludes with Sunday night’s regular-season finale.

The teams’ TCL best-of-3 playoff series gets underway Tuesday at Edible Field, with Game 2 Wednesday at Riverside Stadium. Game 3, if necessary, is back Thursday at Riverside Stadium.