Season Sweep Eludes 'Dads with 6-1 Loss
July 25, 2014 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hickory Crawdads News Release
Hickory, NC - The Hickory Crawdads entered Friday night's game with a perfect 9-0 record against the West Virginia Power in 2014, but in the 10th and final matchup of the year the 'Dads lost out on the season sweep as they fell to the Power 6-1 in front of 3,703 fans at L.P. Frans Stadium.
The Crawdads were only out-hit 7-6 despite losing by five, with Michael De Leon (2-3, BB), Nomar Mazara (2-4, HR), Jairo Beras (0-2, BB, HBP) and Janluis Castro (1-2, 2 BB) all reaching base safely at least twice. The difference in the game came down to men left on base, as the 'Dads stranded seven total base runners (four in scoring position) while the Power ended the night with only two runners left stranded.
For the third time in the series it was West Virginia who jumped out to the initial lead, as the Power parlayed a pair of two out walks, a balk, and a 2-RBI single off of Hickory starting pitcher Frank Lopez into a 2-0 lead in the 1st. The Crawdads turned to Akeem Bostick out of the bullpen in the 3rd but the normal starting pitcher was touched up by the Power as well, with West Virginia scoring a run on a RBI sacrifice fly in the 3rd and another tally on a solo home run by Edwin Espinal in the 4th to take a 4-0 advantage.
West Virginia stretched their lead to its largest margin at 6-0 with two more runs against Bostick in the top of the 6th, before the Crawdads picked up their only run of the night in the bottom of the frame on a solo homer to right-center field by Nomar Mazara for the final 6-1 score. The long ball was the 17th of the season for the 19-year-old, moving him into second place in the South Atlantic League behind only teammate Travis Demeritte (19).
Power starting pitcher Devydas Neverauskas (5-9) earned the win with one of his best outings of the season, as the Lithuanian right-hander held the 'Dads to one run on four hits, four walks, and five strikeouts over seven innings pitched. Lopez (3-3) took the loss for Hickory after allowing two runs on one hit, two walks, and three strikeouts in his first game pitched for the 'Dads since May 16th.
Despite the loss, the Crawdads (19-16) still won the series over the Power (16-19) 2-1. The 'Dads will now host the Delmarva Shorebirds for a four-game series at L.P. Frans Stadium, with first pitch Saturday night scheduled for 7:00 pm.
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South Atlantic League Stories from July 25, 2014
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