Crawdads Drop Season Opener 4-2
April 6, 2013 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hickory Crawdads News Release
HICKORY, NC - It was a day late and a couple of runs short for the Hickory Crawdads Friday night, as the 'Dads lost their season opener 4-2 to the Greensboro Grasshoppers in front of 3,463 fans at LP Frans Stadium.
A day after losing the original season opener to rain, the Crawdads received a great starting pitching performance from CJ Edwards who allowed just one unearned run on two hits and six strikeouts over five innings pitched. Unfortunately, the Hickory lineup squandered several early scoring opportunities and never really got going while plating just two runs on six hits.
The 'Dads had their chances in the first couple of innings, but were only able to score one run while leaving four men on base. The early 1-0 lead would last until the fifth when the Grasshoppers were able to score an unearned run to tie the game before taking their first lead with another tally in the sixth.
Hickory did have one rally in them as second baseman Ryan Rua reached and scored on errors in the sixth to tie the game at 2-2, but that would be the 'Dads last serious threat of the night.
Greensboro, meanwhile, posted the only crooked number of the night in the eighth as they got to Crawdads reliever Keone Kela for two runs to take their 4-2 lead.
At the plate, center fielder Lewis Brinson led the Hickory attack with a 3-5 night complete with an RBI and stolen base. First baseman Joe Maloney also had a nice game finishing 1-2 with a double and a walk.
Kela (0-1) took the loss for the Crawdads after allowing two runs on three hits over his 1.2 innings pitched. Reliever Jheyson Manzueta (1-0) got the win for Greensboro with just one unearned run allowed on one hit over his three innings. Blake Logan (1) picked up the save with a scoreless ninth.
With the loss the Crawdads fall to 0-1 on the young season while the Grasshoppers improve to 1-0. The two teams will face off again on Saturday with a pair of seven inning games. The doubleheader is scheduled to start at 5:00 pm with game two commencing 30 minutes after the end of game one.
Get Tickets:
Individual Tickets for all Crawdads home games are available right now at Hickorycrawdads.com or by calling (828) 322-3000! Group outings, corporate partnerships, Levine Children's Hospital Claw Club memberships and Ticket Books for the 20th Anniversary Season are also available right now by calling the Front Office at (828) 322-3000 .
• Discuss this story on the South Atlantic League message board...
South Atlantic League Stories from April 6, 2013
- Drive and RiverDogs Split Doubleheader - Greenville Drive
- RiverDogs Split Doubleheader in Greenville - Charleston RiverDogs
- Crawdads Split Doubleheader - Hickory Crawdads
- Three Run Shot Propels Rome to Victory - Rome Emperors
- Augusta Takes Two from Legends - Lexington Legends
- Hughes Goes Seven, Leads Tourists to Third Straight Win - Asheville Tourists
- Shorebirds Split Doubleheader with Suns - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Power lose 4-1 - Charleston Dirty Birds
- BlueClaws Score Late, Down Intimidators 3-2 for First Win - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- New-Look Legends Open Home Season with Seven-Game Stand - Lexington Legends
- WV Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Crawdads Drop Season Opener 4-2 - Hickory Crawdads
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
