If Drew Heid had managed to hammer his leadoff ninth-inning drive a few more inches, it would've been all over.
What he came up with was almost as good. But he had to wait a bit longer.
The 25-year-old's hit sailed past Juan Perez's glove, bounced off the metal on the highest part of the fence and back into a wide-open patch of right field.
"It kicks into another gear to get to third," Heid said. "Once you see it bounce off the fence that hard, especially that metal fence, you get going."
Heid legged out a triple, then waited through two strikeouts. Finally, Kole Calhoun sent him home with a shallow single to right center, and Heid's run broke a deadlock, giving the Bees (59-46) a 4-3 win over Fresno (47-58) to keep them in first place in the Pacific Coast League's Northern division.
The Bees brought back Heid only a few days ago from Double-A Arkansas, and the outfielder paid them back with a clutch hit and run.
"I was glad he barrelled it up because I thought Perez had a bead on it, but it kept going," manager Keith Johnson said. "Coming through in that situation was huge for him and the team."
The Bees had been down for most of the game until the seventh, when Andrew Romine's single scored Luke Carlin. The Bees' penchant for comebacks has served them well in July, during which they are 14-7.
"It's awesome, that's what this team has been striving for," Cole said. "We want to compete every day, we want to play to win, and that's what we're doing now. Like I've said before, this is a fun clubhouse to be in."
Bees starter Matt Shoemaker took some time to sharpen up his pitches. Three of the first four Fresno batters he faced dinged him for three hits and a pair of runs.
Shoemaker recovered and ended up with a seven-inning outing. He was taken yard in the fourth by Hector Sanchez, but was spared further damage thanks to his infield. Twice, the defense managed to tag runners out at home on grounders one each from Romine and Chris Nelson.
The Bees continued a power surge from Tuesday with a pair of early solo shots. Matt Long put the team on the board with a homer in the third, and Nelson had an encore right-center drive in the fourth to cut the deficit to a run.
Pioneer League
Owlz 3, Raptors 2 • Jose Rondon hit a home run and had two RBIs to lift Orem over Ogden in minor league baseball.
Arjenis Fernandez allowed four hits and two runs while striking out four in six innings to earn the win for the Owlz, who continue their homes series against the Raptors on Thursday night.
Highlights
O Kole Calhoun bats in Drew Heid for the Bees' winning run.
• Matt Long and Chris Nelson have a pair of solo homers.