Vigilantes Get Moving in the Right Direction

Phil Kernan hit his sixth home run of the season and drove in five runs as the Vigilantes beat Bend, 6-4, in a Western Baseball League game Friday at Saddleback College in front of an announced crowd of 2,117.

The victory ended a three-game home losing streak for the Vigilantes (15-17).

“We talked about it,” Vigilante Manager Buck Rodgers said. “We got a little complacent the last few days. We didn’t play the last three innings, and didn’t play defense.”

In the seventh inning, the Bandits (16-16) got a two-run homer from Kyle Billingsly to close within 4-3.

The Vigilantes called on reliever Josh Belovsky, who gave up a sacrifice fly to Billy Dunn, scoring Brian Conley with the tying run.

Instead of sulking, the Vigilantes came back in the eighth.

With pinch-runner Dwain Bostic on second and Brian Grebeck on first, Kernan drove them home with a double to give the Vigilantes a 6-4 lead.

“I’ve been seeing the ball real well lately,” Kernan said. “And with Alan Burke behind me in the order tonight, I’ve been getting good pitches.”

Kernan had started the scoring in the first inning with a three-run home run.

In the ninth, the Vigilantes brought in their new closer, Brett Grebe, who was acquired from the Tri-City Posse Thursday for pitcher Kurt Kishita.

After retiring the first two batters, Grebe, who played baseball at Westminster High School, gave up a single to Mike Nadeau and walked Dunn.

Gordon Powell came up as the potential winning run, but he hit a foul popup to third baseman Manny Gagliano to end the game. It was Grebe’s first save for the Vigilantes.

“We were a little disappointed [in dropping the last series] because we played so well on the road,” Kernan said. “But hopefully we are back on track and we can carry this momentum into our next few games.”