MISSOULA, Mon. -- Eric Groff made the most of his last chance to set a team record.
The Northern Lebanon grad singled in the ninth inning Thursday night to extend his hit streak to 21-straight games -- a new record for the Missoula Osprey, the Arizona Diamondbacks' affiliate in the Pioneer League.
Groff was 0-3 with a walk when he came to the plate in the ninth inning against Billings (MT), a farm team of the Cincinnati Reds. He singled on a line drive to left fielder Juan Silva to preserve his streak and later scored to tie the game at four. Billings won in ten innings, 5-4.
He is now hitting .355 on the season.
Groff tied the club record of 20 consecutive games on Wednesday with a home run in the sixth inning. The Osprey's former record-holder was Will Crouch, who hit in 20 straight in 2005.
A 44th-round selection by the Diamondbacks in 2010 from Keystone College, Groff has a habit of making history for Missoula. He tied a league record on July 16, 2010, by slamming three home runs in a game in an 8-6 victory over the Orem Owlz.
Editor's note: this is an update of a story originally seen on CBS 21 News Live at 11.
Video used in this story is courtesy of KPAX-TV.
