Schoenfeld’s Go-Ahead Grand Slam Powers Rawhide past Ports

Visalia, CA – Paul Schoenfeld hit a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning as the Visalia Rawhide (54-74, 26-36) defeated the Stockton Ports (58-70, 31-31) 10-8 in a back and forth thriller Wednesday evening at Valley Strong Ballpark.

Schoenfeld came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the eight as the Rawhide trailed 7-6. He launched a ball off the top of the right field scoreboard for Visalia’s first grand slam of the season reminiscent of a go-ahead home run for West Virginia he hit in the NCAA Tournament this past spring.

The 2026 8th round draft pick by the D-backs completed a five hit and five RBI night both tying Rawhide single-game highs. Schoenfeld has 18 hits and 14 RBI in his first 14 professional games.

Visalia and Stockton traded punches all night with the Rawhide erasing three deficits. The teams each plated a run in the first inning with Schoenfeld delivering a game tying RBI single in the bottom of the first.

Stockton added a tally in the third and two more runs in the fourth before Visalia started another comeback bid in the fifth. Carson Kerce worked a 10 pitch walk and Ryder Helfrick later followed with a two run blast to left field to cut the deficit to one.

Visalia took the lead in the sixth. Adriel Radney singled and Jake Duer delivered the game tying RBI double to the left center gap. Brayden Dowd then poked the go-ahead RBI single into center to score Duer.

Schoenfeld led off the seventh with a single and scored on Victor Santana’s RBI double to pad the lead. The Ports then rallied back for three runs in the top of the eighth to retake the lead.

In the bottom of the eighth Carson Kerce led off with a double. Dowd and Helfrick followed with walks to pave the way for Schoenfeld’s heroics.

Connor Foley started for Visalia tossing 2.1 innings with two hits and two runs allowed while totaling four strikeouts. Raul Garayzar worked 3.2 innings in relief allowing two runs with six strikeouts.

Julien Hernandez earned the win pitching the final 1.1 innings with three strikeouts. He stranded the tie run on base in the top of the ninth.

Helfrick finished with two hits including his fifth home run of the season in 20 games. Kerce added two hits and three runs- he has five walks through the first two games of the series.

The Rawhide take a two games to none series lead and have won seven of the last eight games at Valley Strong Ballpark.

The series between the Rawhide and Ports continues on Thursday with a 6:35 PM first pitch. Valley Strong Ballpark hosts Going Going Gone Night with concession discounts on all non-hot food items at Valley Strong Ballpark including ice cream, popcorn, chips and sunflower seeds.

In addition, the first 250 fans 21 and older will receive a Rawhide BBQ spatula thanks to Coors Light. Fans can secure a free ticket to the 4Creeks Pasture for Thursday’s game by stopping by the Rawhide Ticket Office wearing Rawhide colors as the week’s Party Works Dress-up Theme.

The ballgame is also a Thirsty Thursday thanks to Coors Light and Pacifico. Fans 21 and older can purchase $8 canned beers and $6 signature shooters.

Gates open for season ticket holders at 5:15 PM and the general public at 5:30 PM.

All Rawhide tickets are available through the team’s website and at the stadium box office starting at 10 AM on weekday gamedays.

--

The Visalia Rawhide are the Single-A Affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks playing professional baseball in the Central Valley since 1946. The Rawhide's 2026 theme is "Savor the Season" as the team transforms into the Central Valley Sir Loins on Saturday gamedays.   

Stay up to date with the Rawhide on the team’s website and by following the Rawhide on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and X. The Rawhide play all home games at Valley Strong Ballpark located at 300 N Giddings Street Visalia, CA 93291.

Fans can purchase season ticket packages, group ticket plans, single game tickets and team merchandise through the Rawhide website and at the stadium ticket office sponsored by Kaweah Health. All Rawhide games can be watched on MLB.TV and the Bally Sports Live App with a free radio broadcast also available online. Select home games will be aired on KNXT MyTV53. For more information, visit milb.com/visalia, email info@rawhidebaseball.com or call (559) 732-4433.