Dash Snag 5-4 Heartbreaker from Sox in 10
May 14, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem Red Sox News Release
Salem, VA (May 14, 2011) - Winston-Salem catcher Luis Sierra began extra innings with a bang, launching his first homer of the season to lead off the tenth and give Winston-Salem a 5-4 lead that would not be relinquished. The towering shot was made possible thanks to Dash center-fielder Jared Mitchell's heroics in the ninth. First, Mitchell drilled a game-tying two-run homer in the top half of the ninth to even the score at four. Then, in the bottom half of the inning, Mitchell took extra bases away from Michael Almanzar with a superhuman diving catch in deep left-center field. Racing swiftly into the gap, the former college football wide receiver laid out horizontally and made the sensational full-extension grab to help send the game into extras, enabling Sierra to smack the game-winning round-tripper that propelled Winston (16-19) to its seventh win in its last eight games. It also handed Salem (21-12) its fifth loss in its last six.
The Red Sox led multiple times, but Winston and Salem took turns on the positive side of the teeter-totter, with the Dash emerging victorious. Salem's 1-0 lead in the first inning was quickly vanquished as the Dash plated one in the third and another in the fourth to go ahead 2-1. The lead stood until the seventh thanks to starter Cameron Bayne, who did not allow a hit after the first until Reynaldo Rodriguez hammered a double in the seventh. Two batters later, Matt Spring singled home Rodriguez to even the score at two.
Salem reliever Jeremiah Bayer retired all nine batters he faced out of the Sox bullpen from innings six through eight, setting the foundation for a Red Sox rally in the last of the eighth. With Bayne done after seven, Dash substitute Santos Rodriguez handed the Sox a couple gifts in his only inning on the mound.
The Red Sox plated a pair against Rodriguez to jump ahead 4-2, scoring twice without a hit. One error, three walks, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly from Kolbrin Vitek gave Salem its largest lead of the ballgame, and the Red Sox took a two-run lead to the ninth.
Salem had 20 wins in 20 tries when leading after eight thus far in 2011, but the quest for blackjack was denied when Mitchell's two-run bomb off Kendal Volz tied it up. In the top of the tenth, Sierra also took Volz deep to put the Dash back on top by a run.
In the last of the tenth, Zach Gentile drew a leadoff walk from Brandon Kloess, but his presence was erased by a 4-6-3 double play grounder from Jeremy Hazelbaker. With two outs and the bases empty, Peter Hissey singled up the middle to once again give the Sox hope, but Vitek took a borderline called third strike to end the game, as the Sox lost in extras for the first time this season.
In his return from the disabled list, Salem starter Chris Balcom-Miller took a no-decision from his solid five-inning outing. Balcom-Miller allowed two runs on three hits in five frames on the mound. Winston's Bayne also received a no-decision, surrendering two runs on four hits in seven innings. Kloess picked up the victory by throwing a scoreless ninth and tenth, while Volz suffered his second loss, serving up three runs on two long balls.
The Red Sox will aim to salvage the final tilt of the three-game series on Sunday afternoon, with the first pitch scheduled for 4:05. Pete Ruiz will make the start for Salem opposite Dash lefthander Joe Serafin.
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