Jake Howeth hit his first home run of the season in the bottom of the 12th inning Tuesday night, catapulting the POWER to an 8-6 walk-off victory over the East Los Angeles Dodgers.
Howeth came to the plate with two outs and T.J. Bennett on third base, and clobbered an Andrew Morales pitch over the left field wall to give the POWER their fifth win this season in their final at-bat. Howeth finished the night 4-for-5 and a triple shy of the cycle.
Early on the game did not appear destined for extra innings. The POWER (35-4) sent all nine men to the plate in the fourth inning, scoring six times to grab a 6-2 lead. After Howeth singled and Jonathan Serven walked to begin the inning, Austin Barrett laid a bunt down the third base line. Dodger pitcher Javier Alvarez fielded the ball and threw to third, but Howeth slid in safely. With the bases loaded, Michael Massi came to the plate and doubled to left-centerfield, scoring Howeth and Serven to tie the game 2-2. A Dodger error and a Reagan Fowler double would open the gates for another four runs.
The Dodgers would not go quietly though, scoring three runs on four singles in the sixth inning to draw within 6-5.
East LA would draw even in the seventh inning with a two out rally. After Mark Guzman and Javier Alvarez grounded out to begin the inning, a pair of singles sandwiched around a walk loaded the bases. Jimmy Gosano then walked to force in a run and tie the game 6-6.
The two sides remained deadlocked until Howeth’s dramatic homer in the 12th.
Mark Lukowski (5-0) picked up the win with two scoreless innings of relief. The Creighton Blue Jay lowered his ERA to 0.69 on the season. Andrew Morales (0-1) took the loss, allowing two runs in 2 2/3 innings.
The POWER return to the field Wednesday to take on the San Diego Waves at 7:05pm. Every Wednesday is Dollar Admission Wednesday, with general admission tickets just $1. Fans that can’t make it to the game can listen online at pspbb.com.
