May 24—The on-field fireworks from Saturday’s 10-7 game — when the teams combined for five home runs — continued in Sunday’s day game. While there weren’t quite as many long balls, there was still plenty of scoring.

And just like Saturday’s win, the home team came out on top. All of which has manager Tom Sutaris looking up.

Jacob Hinderleider tied the game in the sixth inning with an RBI single, then scored the eventual winning run from first base on a ball that barely got out of the infield, and the Spokane Indians edged the Vancouver Canadians 7-6 in the finale of a six-game High-A Northwest League series at Avista Stadium.

The Indians (19-26) took four of six from Vancouver (18-27) this week, moving one game ahead of the Canadians and Hillsboro, which are now tied for last in the league.

“Anytime you get a chance to win a series on a Sunday, that’s what you want to do,” Sutaris said. “It’s important to win the Sunday games. I think that comes down to that, that want-to. You dig down a little bit deeper on that Sunday, and it’s real important for these guys.”

Even though the record still doesn’t say it, Sutaris thinks his team is starting to come around.

“I’m really excited with where we’re headed overall. I think some guys are really starting to swing the bat, and our bullpen is doing a great job. And starting pitching has been steady all year, so I think we’re going to be moving in a good direction.”

The Indians led 5-1 after one inning, but the C’s kept chipping away and eventually overtook the home team in the fifth, going up 6-5.

Alan Espinal led off the bottom of the sixth with a single, stole second and with two down scored on a single by Hinderleider. Max Belyeu followed with single that deflected off the pitching mound and then off shortstop Maddox Latta’s glove and into short center field.

Hinderleider was running on the play, and though the ball beat him home, it skipped away in the collision and he scored from first to make it 7-6.

“Just get there,” Hinderleider was thinking when he saw Sutaris waving him home. “First to home is a long way for most baseball players — especially me — but just wanted to make sure I got a good turn and gave myself a good chance to score.”

“It was Jacob running hard that whole way, and he gives you a chance to put himself in position to do that,” Sutaris said. “He was moving on the pitch and ran hard, and Max had a great swing, so the players did a great job on that one. … If he’s not running, he’s not scoring on that play.”

Three pitches into the game the Indians trailed 1-0, after C’s leadoff hitter Latta reached on an infield single and scored on a double into the left -field corner by Alexis Hernandez, who finished the series 12-for-25 with three homers and 10 RBIs.

The Indians answered immediately, when Tommy Hopfe hit Vancouver starter Johnny King’s first pitch of the game into the net above the tall left field wall for his fourth home run of the season. They proceeded to load the bases with no outs and Jack O’Dowd ripped a single, plating two more and putting runners at the corners.

Robert Calaz followed with an RBI double, making it 4-0 before the Indians had made an out.

King hit Belyeu with one out to load the bases again, then walked No. 9 hitter Kelvin Hidalgo to force in a run, and Canadians manager Jose Mayorga came out with the hook. Reliever Carson Pierce coaxed a 4-6-3 double play from Hopfe to end the inning.

Vancouver scored single runs in each of the second, third and fourth innings, including No. 9 hitter Hayden Gilliland’s third homer of the season, which came on an 0-2 pitch with one down in the fourth.

The C’s took the lead in the fifth. Dub Gleed led off with a single, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on a bloop double by Manny Beltre that barely stayed fair down the left -field line. Beltre eventually came in on a throwing error by third baseman Hinderleider attempting a force at second.

Indians pitching finally put up a zero in the sixth, then the hitters tied it in the bottom half. Relievers Nathan Blasick, Justin Loer and Fisher Jameson combined to throw five innings and allowed one run on three hits and a walk with five strikeouts.

Indians starter Jackson Cox had one of his rougher starts of the season. He went four innings and allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk with three strikeouts. He threw 77 pitches, 51 for strikes.

The Indians start a six-game road trip at Tri-City on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.