STOCKTON PORTS

• By The Record

  Posted Sep. 12, 2015 at 12:01 AM

  The Ports’ season ended in gut-wrenching fashion Friday night.

  Stockton was two innings away from winning its three-game, California League North Division mini-series over the San Jose Giants and advancing to play Visalia today and Sunday.

  Instead, the Giants scored two runs in the eighth to tie it at 3, and another two in the top of the 15th to end the Ports’ 2015 campaign: 5-3 in front of 1,213 fans at Stockton Ballpark.

  “A heartbreaking loss. We had a 3-1 lead in the eighth,” Ports manager Rick Magnante told The Record. “It’s a miracle we made it to the 15th inning with just five hits. I felt we overachieved this season and we were able to experience the postseason.

  “I’m proud of them.”

  Aramis Garcia delivered the eventual game-winning RBI single in the 15th, and scored on a wild pitch from Ports reliever Lou Trivino. Trivino, picking up the season-ending loss, allowed two earned runs on three hits in one inning of work, with two strikeouts and no walks.

  For Stockton, Brett Vertigan went 2 for 5 with a home run, an RBI and a run, and J.P. Sportman and Yairo Munoz each added solo homers.

  Munoz’s long ball gave the Ports a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, and Vertigan and Sportman belted back-to-back solo shots in the third for a 3-0 edge.

  The Ports stranded six runners, but worse, went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position. That included in the bottom of the 10th, when Melvin Mercedes doubled and advanced to third on a wild pitch, but was stranded as Sportman struck out swinging.

  Giants reliever Tyler Rogers earned the win with two scoreless, hitless innings of work, striking out two and walking one.

  The Ports had ups-and-downs constantly this season. Stockton won 16 of 20 games in June, only to scuffle in July and lose six in-a-row at one point.

  The Ports were in search of their record 12th Cal League championship, but instead, will have to wait for next spring.