PCL baseball: Bees get out of tight 9th, earn series win over Las Vegas

It could have been — really, should have been —easy. With a seven-run lead in pocket, the Bees could cruise to a series win.

And yet Daniel Stange came in with an out to go in the top of the ninth, trying desperately to keep Salt Lake's shrinking lead intact after Josh Judy had allowed four runs. Then a single. Then a hit batter.

The winning run was at the plate with bases loaded before a flyout landed harmlessly into Matt Long's glove. And what would've been a shutout win turned into a 7-4 squeaker over Las Vegas (47-44) that allowed the Bees (51-43) to exhale

"That's a team that just sits there right on the cusp," manager Keith Johnson said. "If you don't put them away, then they do something like that."

But the bats of Tommy Field, Andrew Romine and Roberto Lopez carried Salt Lake to victory, as each fired off three hits and a pair of RBIs. Embattled starter Barry Enright fought for his fourth win of the season with six shutout innings.

Even if the game didn't end cleanly, there were positives in the Bees' first series win over the 51s.

"We ended up with the W, and you can't be angry about that," Johnson said.

The top of the Bees' order was hot early, as Field and Romine went hit-for-hit. Field started with a single, and Romine knocked one through the same gap right after. Field hit a two-run double, and Romine scored his teammate with a double of his own.

The duo had back-to-back hits three times in all, a sign that both are getting into a hitting groove. Romine particularly struggled in his first month back from the majors, but has made strides back to a .259 average.

"It really wasn't that hard to do better than I did the first month," he said. "I'm just getting back to what I normally do: getting hits here and there, stealing a couple bases and not trying to do too much."

Lopez also started three-for-three, scoring in the three-run second inning and plating two runs with a double during the Bees' four-run rally in the fifth.

It was all gravy for Enright, who had arguably the best start of the season. He struck out five and walked only two on his way to a scoreless start for the Bees.

"He came out from pitch one and was aggressive — in the zone, going right after them and forcing them to swing the bats," Johnson said.

The hiccup came at the end, when Judy gave up a two-run homer to Matt den Dekker to lose his 0.0 ERA in his stint with the team. He then gave up RBI singles to Wilmer Flores and Zach Lutz.

kgoon@sltrib.com

Twitter: @kylegoon

Chukars 7, Owlz 4 • Orem fell at home thanks to two errors.

Osprey 6, Raptors 1 • Ogden lost on the road, getting outhit 10-6. —

Storylines Bees 7, 51s 4

O Andrew Romine, Tommy Field and Roberto Lopez each notch three hits.