Seals hold on to dump Orange County

In the first of a four-game set against the Orange County, the Seals handed the Flyers their first loss of the young season, holding on for a narrow 8-6 victory.

The Seals jumped out to an early 3-0 lead thanks to Terry McClain's third home run of the year and some aggressive base running that saw the Seals pull off their second double-steal of the year.

Orange County capitalized on 2 Seals errors in the 4th inning to tie the game at 4, and took the lead in the 7th with some old-fashioned small-ball, working a walk, a steal, a single, and a sacrifice into the go ahead run. It all came crashing down on the Flyers in the bottom of the 7th, as Perez, Arhart, and Pringle all reached on fielding errors, and the Seals scored 3 times.

The 9th inning saw some drama as well, with the Seals committing their fourth error of the game, and ex-Seal Sergio Pedroza driving in a run and putting the tying run on second base. Seals closer Brandon Vilafeurte shut the door from there, striking out leadoff hitter Steve Boggs, and getting Jimmy Rohan to bounce out to end the game.

Not a stellar day in the field with both teams giving up 4 errors each, leading to 5 unearned runs - 3 for OC, 2 for Victoria. OC Pitching was excellent as expected Thursday night, limiting the Seals to only 7 hits. Seals pitching held the red-hot Flyers to only 13 hits.

The game marked the first professional win by Seals interim coach Kip Gross, who took over earlier in the day from the resigning Bret Boone. No news on a potential replacement at this time, the Seals hope to have this question answered prior to their next home stand which starts June 8th.

The Seals continue play against Orange County with games Friday and Saturday night at 7:00, and Sunday afternoon at 1:30.