9th Inning Surge Leads 'Dads to 5-2 Win
Published on June 15, 2014 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hickory Crawdads News Release
Lakewood, NJ - The Hickory Crawdads utilized a 9th inning rally for the second straight night Saturday, as the 'Dads broke up a 2-2 tie with a 3-run surge in the final frame for a 5-2 win over the Lakewood BlueClaws at FirstEnergy Park.
One night after the Crawdads scored a run in the 9th and two in the 10th for a come from behind 8-6 win, the 'Dads broke up a 2-2, 9th frame deadlock with three runs on three hits for a 5-2 victory. The win is the 14th in the last 15 games for Hickory, giving them 40 wins in the first half of the season for the third time since becoming a Texas Rangers affiliate in 2009.
The 'Dads and 'Claws played to a 2-2 deadlock over the first five innings, with Lakewood scoring once in the 1st and 5th while Hickory put up a pair of tallies in the 4th. The 1st inning BlueClaws run came across without the benefit of a hit, as Lakewood put together two walks, a double steal, and a RBI groundout to bring across the game's first run against Crawdads starter Ryne Slack.
Hickory responding with a two runs in the 4th thanks to a leadoff walk by Michael De Leon, a RBI triple off the wall in right from Ryan Cordell, and a wild pitch that allowed Cordell to score and give the Crawdads a 2-1 advantage. The lead held until the bottom of the 5th, when rehabbing Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Cody Asche lined a 2-out, RBI double to right to tie the score at 2-2.
The tie game would last all the way until the top of the 9th, when the 'Dads pushed across three runs against Lakewood reliever Chris O'Hare for the 5-2 lead they would go on to win by. Cordell kick started the frame with a double to right, followed by an infield single from Nomar Mazara, a wild pitch to move both runners up, and an intentional walk to Ronald Guzman to load the bases with nobody out. That brought in Janluis Castro, who was hit by a pitch in the legs to force home the go ahead run.
Kellin Deglan plated another tally with a RBI single to right before Castro came in to score on a passed ball for the final run of the inning. Crawdads All-Star closer Cody Kendall set the BlueClaws down in order in the bottom of the 9th to earn his fourth save and give the 'Dads the 5-2 win.
Cordel paced the Hickory offense with a 2-3 night, including a triple, double, RBI, and two runs scored. Deglan also finished with a multi-hit game, going 2-4 with a RBI.
Crawdads right-handed reliever Josh McElwee (1-0) earned the win with 3.1 scoreless innings out of the pen, giving up just one hit and no walks while striking out five. O'Hare (0-2) took the loss after allowing all three runs in the 9th.
The Crawdads (40-28) and BlueClaws (27-41) will wrap up their series and the first half of the South Atlantic League season Sunday afternoon, with a 1:05 pm scheduled first pitch.
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- 9th Inning Surge Leads 'Dads to 5-2 Win - Hickory Crawdads
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