Jerome Williams didn't see Freddy Sandoval's walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth. He was too busy arguing with Salt Lake pitching coach Erik Bennett about going out to pitch the 10th.

"[Bennett] said, 'We're going to win it,' " said Williams, who improved his record with the Bees to 7-2 following their 2-1 victory Sunday against Omaha (66-55) at Spring Mobile Ballpark. "I said, 'What if ...' "

There was no "what if" as Sandoval whistled a Zach Minor offering over the right field-fence. It was the first walk-off homer of the season for the Bees (57-65). Williams was there to catch Sandoval's batting helmet.

Certainly, Williams had enough left to pitch the 10th inning and maybe one more after that. It was the 29-year-old's strongest outing this season, one that was punctuated with his eighth strikeout and a rare fist pump as he walked off the mound to end the ninth frame.

"It was a fantastic outing," said Salt Lake manager Keith Williams. "For a guy who has traveled the road he has traveled … he's making a case for himself."

The numbers speak volumes. Williams is 4-1 in his past six starts against PCL competition, with a sparkling 2.51 earned run average. The right-hander has struck out 39 in 43 innings while walking only 12.

Not too bad for a guy who couldn't find a job at the beginning of the season. Last season Williams pitched for the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions in Taiwan.

"All I can do is control what I can do right now," said Williams, who made his big league debut for San Francisco in 2003 and won 10 games for the Giants in 2004. "It's a 180-degree difference for me right now from two years ago. I'm trying to fight to stay in baseball. I'm not going to quit. This is like a second coming."

Williams did regret — a little bit — his fist pump. The victim was childhood friend Kila Ka' aihue. "That was more for me," he said, smiling. "I'll apologize tomorrow."

martyr@sltrib.com

Twitter@tribmarty.com —

Bees 2,Storm Chasers 1

• Jerome Williams throws a 5-hit complete game.

• Freddy Sandoval wins the game with a homer in the ninth.

• Bees win for the fifth time in their past seven games.