Falcons prevail in extra innings to advance to Super Regionals

The Folsom Lake baseball team survived a 5-hour marathon on Saturday and , thanks to Jared Breedwell's game-winning home run in the 12th inning, didn't have to play a third game in their best-of-three series by beating West Valley, 7-6.  After Friday's offensive explosion, the Vikings proved to be a worthy opponent on Saturday as they mostly kept the Falcons' potent lineup in check.  The Falcons struck first and led 3-0 with runs in the fourth and fifth innings, and with Gavin Ochoa pitching a one-hitter, the lead was starting to look safe.   But the Vikings tied the game in the sixth with three consecutive singles, a wild pitch and two groundouts, and suddenly it was a ballgame.  The Vikings then took their first lead of the game with a two-out rally in the eighth to put the pressure on the Falcons.  The Falcons responded by capitalizing on two Viking errors in the ninth, and with runners on first and third,  pulled off a delayed double steal that saw Logan Sutter score the tying run and send it to extra innings.  With the Falcons designated as visiting team for the second game, they batted in the top of the 10th and combined two hits and an error to score two runs for a 6-4 lead.  In the bottom of the 10th, the Vikings kept clawing their way back and tied the game again on a wild pitch and a passed ball.  Neither team scored in the 11th, but in the 12th outfielder Jared Breedwell smashed a one-out homer to left for a 7-6 Falcon lead.  Cole Tremain, despite his struggles in the tenth inning, closed out the win with his third inning of pitching in relief.

The #2 seeded Falcons (34-6-1) will now focus their attention on #10 seeded Butte (28-14), who will play at FLC in the best-of-three Super Regional series starting Friday at 4:00 pm.