CarL1 Salem RidgeYaks

Salem Scores 2-1 Walkoff Win Over Kinston

Published on May 2, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem RidgeYaks News Release


Salem, VA (May 2, 2010) - Kinston's Alex White stymied the Red Sox through the first seven and Matt Langwell closed the door with a perfect eighth, but closer Steve Smith could not find the strike zone in the ninth as Salem scored their only two runs of the day in the bottom of the last to take a 2-1 win from the Indians on Sunday afternoon at Lewis-Gale Field. Smith tossed nine straight pitches out of the zone to begin the ninth, walking both Mitch Dening and Peter Hissey before finally issuing a 1-0 strike to Oscar Tejeda. On a 2-2 pitch, Tejeda nearly ended the game, lacing an RBI double off the top of the left-field wall to score Dening and send Hissey to third. Smith intentionally walked Anthony Rizzo to load the bases, bringing both the infield and outfield in. Ryan Lavarnway then belted a sharp line drive to center field that was caught on the fly, but Donnie Webb's throw soared errantly up the third base line as the speedy Hissey crossed the plate to give Salem its first walkoff win of the season.

With the victory, the Red Sox improve to 16-7, nine games above .500 for the first time this year, and keep pace with Winston-Salem who won to remain one game ahead of Salem in the Carolina League Southern Division standings. Salem earned its sixth series win out of seven to begin the season, taking four out of six on the homestand from Wilmington and Kinston.

Both teams managed just three hits on Sunday afternoon as pitchers dazzled for both sides until the last of the ninth. Salem starter Fabian Williamson permitted just one unearned run over five superb innings, yielding two hits and three walks while striking out four. In the sixth inning, Mitch Herold took over and once again dominated, retiring nine of the ten batters he faced over three shutout frames. The third Red Sox hurler, lefty Kyle Fernandes, picked up the victory to improve to 2-0 with a scoreless ninth.

But perhaps the best pitcher of the day was Kinston's White, the 15th overall pick in the 2009 draft out of North Carolina, who spun seven scintillating innings, yielding just two singles and one walk. White did not allow any hits until the fifth and faced the minimum 15 batters through five innings thanks to a pair of double plays, yet the righthander did not factor in the decision.

Kinston's lone run came in the top of the fourth. Williamson hit Jason Kipnis with a pitch to begin the inning, and Doug Pickens reached on Ryan Dent's fielding error at shortstop to put two aboard with nobody out. Williamson induced a 4-6-3 double play from Abner Abreau that moved Kipnis to third, but Kyle Bellows rolled a fortuitous two-out swinging bunt single softly down the third base line to give the Indians a 1-0 edge.

Bellows' soft RBI remained the game's only scoring until Smith airballed his save opportunity, walking three in just one third of an inning, with the lone out coming on Lavarnway's sacrifice fly that also ended the game. Smith suffered his second blown save and fell to 0-2.

Salem now hits the road for a seven-game trip, beginning Monday evening at Frawley Stadium in Wilmington. The Red Sox and Blue Rocks will kick off a four-game set at 6:35 PM on Monday, with Caleb Clay set to pitch for the Sox against Eric Dwyer for the Rocks.

Keep tabs on all the action while the club's on the road by listening to the broadcasts every night at www.salemsox.com and on NewsTalk 960 WFIR in the Valley. Fans can also follow the team on twitter by going to www.twitter.com/salemredsox.

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Carolina League Stories from May 2, 2010


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