Stodolka's Walk-Off Memorable

It's the moment every batter cherishes: Stepping up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning and belting a home run to end the game. However, no Omaha player had experienced that feeling this season until Monday night. With one out in the ninth, Mike Stodolka took the first pitch he saw from Round Rock reliever Fernando Nieve and drilled it over the right-center fence, giving the Royals a 1-0 victory. The last Omaha player to do such a feat was Richard Lewis on Aug. 26, when he hit a home run to lead off the bottom of the 13th and give the Royals a 2-1 victory over Round Rock. In fact, all five of Omaha's game-winning home runs last season came in extra innings. It was also the first 1-0 game that the Royals had played since losing a 1-0 decision to Iowa in June 2006. Stodolka's blast made a winner out of Jose Capellan,... [read full story]