Keizertimes., July 26, 2019, Page PAGE A14, Image 14

PAGE A14, KEIZERTIMES, JULY 26, 2019
KEIZERTIMES.COM
Volcanoes clinch fi rst half division title
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
For the fi rst time since
2015, the Salem-Keizer Vol-
canoes will be in the North-
west League playoffs.
Yorlis Rodriguez hit an
RBI-double in the top of
the 12th, then came into
score on a base hit by Simon
Whiteman, helping give the
Volcanoes the 4-3 victory
over the Boise Hawks on
Sunday, July 21. The win
allowed Salem-Keizer to
clinch the fi rst half crown
in the NWL South division
and earn a spot in the post-
season.
“It feels good to give
this back to the communi-
ty, because they have wait-
ed a long time for this,” said
Mitche Graf, the Volcanoes
President of Businesses Op-
erations. “Now we have to
fi nish the job.”
The Volcanoes fi nish the
fi rst half with a 26-12 record,
two games better than the
second place Hillsboro Hops.
“It’s a great feeling. I’m
really proud of everyone on
this staff and the hard work
that we have put in so far,”
Volcanoes manager Mark
Hallberg said. “We have a
talented group of guys that
we’re developing.”
Salem-Keizer
grabbed
the early advantage in the
top of the fi rst to go up 1-0.
Whiteman led off the con-
test with a double. But after a
free pass was issued to Hunt-
er Bishop, Franklin Labour
lined into a double play. Lo-
gan Wyatt, however, was able
to drive in Whiteman with
an RBI-single to left fi eld.
The Volcanoes struck
again in the top of the sec-
ond thanks to a solo bomb
from Armani Smith to put
his team up 2-0. It was
Smith’s second home run of
the season.
On the mound, Volcanoes
starter Kervin Castro was
phenomenal in his fi rst four
innings of work as the young
right-hander from Venezuela
gave up just one hit to the
Hawks. But in the bottom
of the fi fth, Boise got on the
board with an RBI-double
by Daniel Cope to cut the
lead to one.
Castro left the game after
fi ve innings, giving up just
three hits and one run. He
gave up no walks and struck
out four.
Boise came back to tie
the game in the bottom of
the eighth thanks to another
RBI-double, this time cour-
tesy of Aaron Schunk, which
forced the game to go into
extra innings.
A new rule implement-
ed in the minor leagues last
season is that when a game
goes into extra innings, the
player that was the last out of
the previous inning starts the
frame at second base — this
rule was enacted to speed
up the pace of play when a
game goes past the ninth in-
ning.
Neither team was able to
take advantage of the runner
in scoring position in the
10th or 11th innings, but the
Volcanoes fi nally capitalized
in the top of the 12th.
Rodriguez’s double to left
fi eld scored Alexander Ca-
nario to give the Volcanoes
the 3-2 lead. Two batters lat-
er, Whiteman came through
with an key RBI-single that
allowed Salem-Keizer to get
KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings
Volcanoes right-hander Jesus Ozoria threw fi ve innings and gave up just one run against Boise on Thursday July 18. Ozoria is tied
for second in the Northwest League lead in wins (3).
a much-needed insurance
run.
In the bottom of the
frame, Hallberg brought in
reliever Deiyerbert Bol ivar
to try and get his fi rst save of
the season.
A pair of wild pitches al-
lowed a run to score from
second, but Bolivar struck
out the side to seal the deal.
Even though the Volca-
noes have already clinched a
playoff spot, they still plan to
attack the second half of the
regular season with the same
ferocity that they did in the
fi rst half.
“We’re just going to keep
putting time, energy and ef-
fort into the things that got
us here,” Hallberg said.
Graf added: “We’re very
happy with what we accom-
plished, but the work has just
begun. We have another half
of a season in front of us, and
from a business standpoint,
this is when the work really
begins. This is when we roll
up our sleeves. We have a lot
of great promotions left and
some phenomenal games left
against some very competi-
tive teams.”
Celts can’t extend
summer season
KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings
Franklin Labour was a key reason for the Volcanoes success in the fi rst half of the season,
leading the Northwest Leage in home runs, RBIs and runs scored.
Labour on pace to make
history for Salem-Keizer
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
On Sunday, July 21, the
Salem-Keizer
Volcanoes
clinched the Northwest
League First Half title and
automatically earned a play-
off spot — it is the fi rst time
since 2015 that the Volcanoes
have reached the postseason.
One of key reasons to the
Volcanoes success is their
incredible offensive produc-
tion. Salem-Keizer is leading
the NWL in every major
hitting category and has the
three of the top four home
run hitters in the league.
But the man at the top
of that list is Volcanoes out-
fi elder Franklin Labour, who
has taken the NWL by storm
ever since getting the call up
to short season A-ball by the
San Francisco Giants — the
Volcanoes Major League af-
fi liate.
As of Tuesday, July 23,
Labour leads the league in
homers (14) RBIs (33) and
runs scored (35). He also
leads the league in slugging
(.703) and in OPS (1.108).
With over a month left in
the regular season, Labour
appears that he will easi-
ly break the Volcanoes sin-
gle-season home run record
— which is held by Adam
Witter, who hit 16 bombs
back in 2006.
“I just try and be more re-
laxed and not try to do too
much, because the more re-
laxed that I am, the better I
perform,” Labour said.
Labour, who hails from
the Dominican Repub-
lic, signed a $70,000 minor
league contract with the Gi-
ants as a 17-year old back in
2015.
He spent his fi rst two
years as a professional in the
Dominican Summer League
playing rookie ball. Labour
played one more year of
rookie ball in Arizona in
2018 before moving up to
short season A-ball this sum-
mer.
One of things he most
likes about playing for the
Volcanoes is that there is a
lot more public interest once
you move on from playing in
the rookie leagues.
“The main difference is
the fans. When you’re play-
ing in front of fans, you feel
the energy that you just
don’t have in the lower lev-
els,” Labour said. “(Keizer) is
a beautiful city and the fans
have just been great.”
While Labour had decent
numbers in his fi rst three
seasons in the minors, what
really jumps out about this
summer is the power num-
bers that he’s putting up.
In his fi rst three seasons
in the minor leagues, Labour
only hit seven home runs.
But in just 35 games with the
KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings
Volcanoes, his 14 dingers are
almost twice as much as the Eric Olsen (middle) gets congratulated by teammates after hit-
ting a solo homer in the second inning. It was McNary’s only
next highest home run hitter run of the game as they fell to Silverton 7-1.
in the NWL (and more than
two teams have for the entire BY MATT RAWLINGS
no chance that ball was stay-
season).
Of the Keizertimes
ing in the yard,” Keeker said.
Since
increasing
the
With a trip to the state
Olsen had another chance
launch angle of his swing — tournament on the line, the to do some damage in the
which has become a trend McNary D1 summer league top of the third. After a two-
in all of professional baseball team couldn’t get the job out infi eld single by Zane
— Labour has taken him- done as they fell to Silver- Aicher, Eben Meyer and Ian
self from a line-drive hitter ton 7-1 on Wednesday, July Martin were both walked to
to one of the most power- 17, bringing their season to load the bases. But Silverton
ful-slugging prospects in the an end.
pitcher Gage Mack got Ol-
Giants organization.
“We had some traffi c on sen to groundout to the fi rst
“I’ve been driving the ball the bases and some guys in baseman, ending the inning.
more in the air this year,” La- scoring position, we just
Despite a solid perfor-
bour said. “All throughout couldn’t get them in,” Mc- mance on the bump, giving
my career, I’ve been making Nary assistant coach Jordan up just two hits and two
a lot of hard contact, but I Keeker said. “That’s kind earned runs, McNary starter
was a low line-drive hitter. of dictated the rest of the Logan Ready was issued the
I hit the ball with the same game.”
loss in this one.
pop, I just put it in the air
Ready retired the side in
Even though they only
and it goes out more.”
had four hits for the game, order in each of the fi rst two
While the change in ap- one of them was a monster innings, but he started to get
proach has had a lot to do solo home run by Eric Ol- in trouble in the bottom of
with Labour’s success, Vol- sen, who launched a fi rst- the third.
canoes skipper Mark Hall- pitch fastball into the trees
An infi eld hit from Cole
berg also believes that having over the left fi eld fence in Mucken was compounded
three professional seasons the top of the second.
by a McNary throwing error,
“That was a pretty cool
Please see LABOUR, Page A10 moment for Eric. There was
Please see CELTS, Page A10