SAL1 Charleston RiverDogs

Altherr's Two-Out Infield Single Sends Lakewood to Walk-Off Win

Published on April 25, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston RiverDogs News Release


LAKEWOOD, N.J. - Aaron Altherr legged out a walk-off infield single to give the Lakewood BlueClaws a dramatic 4-3 win over the Charleston RiverDogs in South Atlantic League action Monday night in front of a crowd of 3,222 fans at FirstEnergy Park.

Lakewood moved to 7-10 with the victory, while Charleston fell back to the .500 mark at 9-9 with their second consecutive loss.

Altherr's hit made a loser of Danny Burawa (1-2), who worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning before meeting his demise in the ninth. Burawa was one out away from sending the game into extra innings, but Altherr hit a groundball deep into the hole between shortstop and third base, allowing Anthony Hewitt to cross the plate with the winning run.

Chase Johnson (1-0) upped his scoreless innings streak to eleven to garner the win, penning 2.0 scoreless innings while permitting just one hit and striking out three.

Altherr keyed a first inning run as the BlueClaws jumped in front, 1-0. The centerfielder worked a leadoff walk against Charleston starter Mikey O'Brien, stole second base, moved to third on a groundout, and scored when Jeremy Barnes powered a sacrifice fly to center field.

Aided by an error, the BlueClaws forged a two-out rally to take a 2-0 second inning lead. Cameron Rupp reached on the fielding miscue and back-to-back singles by Hewitt and Edgar Duran plated him for the two-run cushion.

Another unearned run advanced the BlueClaws' advantage to 3-0 in the fifth. Altherr reached on a fielding error by the third baseman leading off the frame and promptly swiped his second base of the contest to move into scoring position. Geancarlo Mendez then stepped to the plate and drove a fly ball double over the head of right fielder Kelvin De Leon to chase home Altherr.

O'Brien tied a season-high with seven strikeouts over his 5.0 innings of work, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk.

The 5-11 RiverDogs right-hander has pitched to tough luck this season and looked to be in line for his second loss when he gave way to Wilton Rodriguez in the sixth. Things changed in the seventh, though, as BlueClaws starter Mario Hollands hit a roadblock after blanking the 'Dogs for the first six frames.

Ramon Flores and De Leon rapped consecutive one-out singles to set the stage for Kelvin Castro. Castro, who connected for only two long balls in 437 at-bats a year ago, launched his third home run of the year just inside the left field foul pole to knot the score, 3-3.

Hollands exited after logging a season-high 7.0 innings, displaying the stuff that earned him the SAL's fourth best ERA coming into play. The UC Santa Barbara product was very efficient, scattering seven hits and yielding the three runs while fanning six.

Rodriguez was excellent out of the bullpen for Aaron Ledesma's club, hurling 2.0 perfect innings and striking out two in the process.

The RiverDogs and BlueClaws square off again tomorrow night in the second of a five-game set. Left-hander Kramer Sneed (1-1, 3.77 ERA) is expected to head to the mound for Charleston, while right-hander David Buchanan (2-0, 2.55 ERA) will toe the rubber for Lakewood. First pitch is slated for 6:35 pm.

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South Atlantic League Stories from April 25, 2011


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