JAMESTOWN — A three-run ninth inning propelled the Niagara Falls Americans to a 9-8 victory over the Jamestown Tarp Skunks on Thursday night at Russell E. Diethrick Jr. Park.
The Tarp Skunks started the scoring in the bottom of the first with an RBI single.
The Americans responded in the top of the second after the first three runners in the inning reached base safely. Miguel Salcedo then reached on an error that also brought in a run. Later in the inning, Jackson Bower ripped a two-run single, giving the Americans a 3-1 lead.
In the bottom of the frame, the Tarp Skunks scored four runs — two on back-to-back RBI walks, one on a sacrifice fly, and another on a single — to grab a 7-3 lead.
Angel Nova-Lopez made his fourth start of the season on the mound, finishing with three and a third innings pitched, allowing seven runs (six earned) on six hits, with six walks and two strikeouts.
After Christian Mikulski reached on a bases-loaded fielder’s choice, Bower blooped a two-out, two-run single into shallow right field to make it a 7-5 game. That marked Bower’s fourth RBI of the game, marking his fourth RBI of the night — tying Cooper Rowell for the most by an Americans player in a game this season. Rowell had four RBIs in the Americans’ 13-3 win over the Newark Pilots on June 12.
In the following inning, Matthew Ganschow singled to right field to score Justin Gladfelter, cutting the deficit to 7-6. Ganschow is now five for his last 10 at-bats with three extra-base hits and seven RBIs.
Dominick Zangardi led off the top of the ninth inning by getting hit by a pitch. After a walk by Ganschow, David Harris and Nick Paszt hit back-to-back singles, giving the Americans an 8-7 lead. Harris would later come around to score on a wild pitch, making it a 9-7 game.
The Tarp Skunks plated one in the bottom of the ninth on a two-out Grant Moore single, but that was all they could manage.
Making his third relief appearance of the season, Loagan Stickler earned his first career win, tossing five and two-thirds innings while allowing one earned run on two hits, with two walks and six strikeouts. Stickler faced only 21 batters in his outing, working extremely efficiently.
David Harris finished 3-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored, marking his fourth multi-hit game and second three-hit performance of the season. Jackson Bower went 3-for-4, and Adam Weiss went 2-for-4, extending his on-base streak to eight games.
With the victory, the Americans improved to 6-7, claiming their third win in a row, while the Tarp Skunks fell to 11-4, their second loss in a row.
The Americans faced the Batavia Muckdogs on Friday night and again today. The Americans will host the Muckdogs today for Bark in the Park Night. The game starts at 6:30 p.m.
For single-game or season tickets, call 716-215-6161 or visit www.niagarafallsamericans.com.