For nearly six innings, fans attending Tuesday's Salt Lake Stingers game got exactly what they paid for — nothing.
That eventually changed, however.
In the first of eight consecutive games featuring free tickets at Franklin Covey Field, a crowd of 8,253 watched the home team battle back from a nine-run deficit to make things interesting right down to the end.
Portland's 9-8 victory didn't shortchange anyone.
"I was proud of our guys. After falling down 9-0 we could have thrown in the towel," said Stingers manager Dino Ebel. "I've said from Day 1, this club does not give up. They believe they can come back at any time."
Salt Lake stranded five baserunners over the final four innings and had the winning run at the plate when the game ended with a strikeout.
"I'm happy with what we did tonight," said Ebel. "Even though it's a loss, I love the way we came back and never gave up."
J.J. Furmaniak homered twice and drove in four runs in the first four innings as Portland began to pull away. Jesse Garcia, Michel Hernandez and Tagg Bozied added run-scoring hits as the Beavers built a 7-0 advantage.
It swelled in the sixth when Ben Johnson contributed a two-run homer.
Trailing 9-0, Salt Lake began to cut into the deficit in the bottom of the inning when Jeff Mathis drove in two runs with a double to the left-field corner. He then scored on a single by Luke Allen.
A sacrifice fly by Adam Pavkovich later made it 9-4.
The Stingers continued to close the gap in the seventh when Mathis and Allen hit back-to-back RBI singles with two outs. In the eighth, Nick Gorneault's two-run single—a looping shot that dropped in shallow left centerfield — capped all scoring.
The outcome reduced the Stingers' lead in the Pacific Northern Division to just 1 1/2 games over the Beavers. Salt Lake is playing the pivotal series without slugger Casey Kotchman, who was called up by the parent Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Infielder Brian Specht is filling the roster spot in Salt Lake after a stint at extended spring training following a series of shoulder injuries.
The second of five scheduled meetings between the teams is slated for tonight at 6:30. Salt Lake LHP Corey Lee (4-1, 2.42 ERA) and Portland RHP Chris Oxspring (2-2, 6.00 ERA) are expected to be the starting pitchers.
E-mail: dirk@desnews.com