Singles night: Scorpions come back with eighth-inning base hit barrage

While Chico built its lead with the long ball, Yuma mounted its comeback with lots of singles.

The Scorpions hit six straight singles in the eighth to erase a two-run deficit in an 11-8 win Friday at Desert Sun Stadium in a battle of last-place teams.

Yuma (16-18 second half, 26-45 overall) trailed 8-6 heading into the bottom of the eighth when singles by Ismael Castro, Carlos Balcazar and pinch hitter Deivis Rivadeneira singled to start the frame. Jhonatan Lozada drove home two, tying the game and brining in reliever Andrew Alvarado.

Diover Avila hit a bloop single to center to bring home the go-ahead run, and Adolfo Gomez and Carlos Villalobos added RBI singles off Alvarado (0-4) to end the five-run inning.

A pair of former Scorpions hit homers early in the game as Chico (11-19, 30-38) built a 8-4 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth. Rich Janeway hit a two-run shot in the third to give the Outlaws a 3-0 lead, and recently signed catcher Pete Farina hit a two-run blast in the sixth for the four-run cushion.

But the Scorpions scored two in the bottom of the sixth on RBI singles by Balcazar and Lozada - who drove in four and entered the game with 10 RBI.

Starter Reynaldo Correal and reliever Dorian Castro gave up eight runs in the first six innings, but Cristian Mendoza (2-4) pitched two scoreless, then Emiliano Fruto pitched the ninth for his league-leading 18th save.

After the Outlaws took their lead in the third, Villalobos tied the game in the bottom of the inning with a three-run home run, scoring Gomez and Carlos Arroyo - who went 2-for-5 but hit into two double plays, beating out a third by a footstep in the eighth.

Yuma took its first lead in the fourth when William Hernandez hit a two-out triple and Lozada - whose first two RBI were with two outs - singled him home.

Chico scored three in fifth to reclaim the lead, highlighted by a two-run single off the bat of Shane Cronin.

Had the Scorpions lost what would have been their third straight, they could have blamed it on lost chances early. Avila and Gomez reached to start the first, but Arroyo hit into a double play and Villalobos grounded out to end the threat.

In the second, Reynado Rodriguez and Ismael Castro singled to start the inning, but Balcazar hit into a double play and Hernandez struck out. Arroyo also hit into a double play in the seventh but also had two hits.

The Scorpions banged out 19 hits, with everyone who played collecting at least one. Avila, Gomez, Arroyo and Balcazar had two hit games with Villialobos and Lozada adding three-hit, four-RBI games.

Yuma leads the season series 4-3. The teams play the second game of the three game set at 7:05 p.m. today.