Reid Frase went the distance in earning his first win of the season as the Salina Stockade dominated Houston Apollos on Thursday, 16-4. Keaven Diaz drove in four runs and Jordan Dicks scored three runs, had three hits, and drove in three in the Stockade victory. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Salina.

The Stockade jumped out in front thanks to a five run first inning. With one down, Aaron Takacs and Ernie Geraci delivered back-to-back singles. That brought Diaz to the plate, who doubled into right field, bringing home Takacs. A single by Alex Nielson brought home Geraci and Diaz to extend the lead to three. After Hudson Bilodeau walked to load the bases, Jared Gay struck out for the second out of the inning, but Drew Schutt delivered a clutch two out single, driving home a pair of runs.

Houston got two of those runs back in the bottom of the first. Aaron Stubblefield led off with a walk and scored when Yale Hughes followed with his fourth homerun of the year.

The Stockade did a little responding of their own, scoring two runs in the top of the second to restore their five-run lead. Singles by Dicks and Geraci put runners at the corners with one down. Diaz was then hit by a pitch. Nielson popped out for the second out of the inning and it looked like David Towler was going to get out of the inning without yielding a run, but an error allowed two runs to score, giving Salina a 7-2 lead.

In the top of the third, the Stockade extended their lead to eight. Schutt singled to start the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice. He scored when Dicks doubled down the line. Back-to-back walks to Takacs and Geraci loaded the bases for Diaz. He popped out for the second out of the inning, but the two-out run reared its ugly head again, as Nielson was hit by a pitch, driving in Dicks. The Stockade then went for the triple steal, with Takacs coming home on the play.

In the bottom of the sixth, Houston got one of those runs back, back-to-back singles by Christian Briscoe and Dylan Suffafrank put runners at the corners with one down. Trey Silmon then grounded back to the mound, but Frase misplayed the ball, allowing a run to score.

Each team scored a run in the seventh. Frase helped himself by leading off with a single and scored on a fielder’s choice by Geraci. Houston added a run in the bottom of the inning when Tevin Brown scored on a Briscoe single.

In the top of the eighth, the Stockade blew this game open, scoring five runs on just one hit. Two walks and hit by pitch loaded the bases with just one down. Dicks and Takacs then drew back-to-back walks, with each driving in a run. Diaz followed with a double, clearing the bases to give Salina a 16-4 lead. That was the final.

Frase went seven innings, allowing 10 hits and four walks. Three of the runs he allowed were earned. Nine of the 16 runs that the Stockade scored came with two outs. Diaz finished 2-4 with runs scored and four RBI for the Stockade. Schutt, Geraci, and Nielson each had a pair of RBI for Salina. Sunnafrank had three hits for Houston.

Boxscore

By Robert Pannier