6-Run Lead Evaporates in 'Dads 9-8 Loss
August 19, 2015 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hickory Crawdads News Release
Hagerstown, MD - The Hickory Crawdads offense put together their best performance in a week Tuesday night in Hagerstown, but the normally dominant pitching staff could not hold on to an early 6-run lead as the 'Dads fell to the Suns in walk-off fashion with a 9-8 defeat at Municipal Stadium.
The Crawdads jumped on Suns starting pitcher Luis Reyes for six runs over the first four innings to take a 6-0 lead with All-Star pitcher Ariel Jurado on the mound. The Hagerstown bats rallied with five runs against Jurado and three against 'Dads reliever Adam Dian for an 8-0 run to put them ahead 8-6. The Hickory hitters had one last rally in them as they tied up the score at 8-8 with two runs in the 8th, but the Crawdads couldn't hold the Suns bats down as an RBI single by Jeff Gardner off of Chris Dula in the bottom of the 9th gave Hagerstown a 9-8, walk-off win.
The Suns 17-hit performance marked the most hits surrendered by the 'Dads pitching staff this season. The lack of pitching also spoiled a breakout effort at the plate by the Crawdads offense, which scored 8 runs on 10 hits including three multi-hit games.
Hickory jumped ahead early with one run in the 2nd, two in the 3rd, and three in the 4th to take a 6-0 lead. The 'Dads first run of the night come on a leadoff, solo home run from Luke Tendler in the top of the 2nd for a 1-0 score. The Crawdads pushed their advantage to 3-0 with an RBI single by Juremi Profar followed by an RBI sacrifice fly from Edwin Garcia in the 3rd. The 'Dads capped off their offensive surge with three unearned tallies in the 4th, with Jose Cardona, Michael De Leon, and Carlos Arroyo all scoring thanks to a pair of Hagerstown errors.
The Suns began picking away at the deficit in the bottom of the 4th, with an RBI triple by Bryan Mejia cutting the score to 6-1. Hagerstown then brought the game to 6-5 with a 4-run outburst in the 5th that chased Jurado from the contest after 4.2 IP. The Suns finally completed their comeback and took the lead in the 7th, when they plated three runs, one earned, against Dian to go ahead 8-6.
The Crawdads counter attack in the 8th saw the club use singles by Eduard Pinto and Cardona along with an RBI double from De Leon and a fielding error by Hagerstown left fielder Jeff Gardner to score two runs and tie the game at 8-8.The Suns came through with the final rally of the night however, when Gardner lined the game-winning, RBI single to left in the bottom of the 9th to score Matthew Page and give the 'Dads a 9-8 loss.
Hagerstown reliever Koda Glover (1-1) earned the win after initially blowing the save, with two runs allowed, one earned, on three hits and two strikeouts over two innings pitched. Dula (1-1) took the loss for Hickory after allowing one run on two hits, two walks, and a strikeout over 1.2 IP out of the bullpen.
Profar led the 'Dads offensive attack with a 2-4 game including a double and two RBI, while De Leon finished 1-2 with a double, one RBI, two walks, and two runs scored.
The Crawdads (72-48/28-23) and Suns (61-58/26-25) will play in the rubber match of their 3-game series Wednesday night, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm.
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