Catfish hook Hoppers with 3 homers in 8-6 win

Published on August 11, 2007 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Columbus Catfish News Release


GREENSBORO, N.C. - All Greensboro Grasshoppers manager Edwin Rodriguez could do Saturday night was give a verbal tip of his hat to the Columbus Catfish.

The Catfish beat the Hoppers for the second straight night, 8-6, to earn a split in the four-game series as 7,593 fans watched in First Horizon Park. Greensboro won the first two games.

Columbus hit three more home runs, bringing its total in the series to 12. Ryan Royster hit his fifth homer of the series, a two-run shot in the second inning. He now has 24 for the year and extended his streak of consecutive games with a home run to six.

Quinn Stewart added a home run, also a two-run drive, for the third straight game, giving him 20 for the season. And Matt Fields provided the coup de grace with his 15th of the year, a two-run homer that provided the difference in the ninth inning.

"They have the best hitting I've seen in the league," Rodriguez said. "They drive the ball to all fields. You just have to tip your hat."

The Catfish rapped out 14 hits, following the 17 they had in a 15-9 win Friday. The Hoppers had 13 hits of their own, with Chris Hatcher and Jake Blackwood getting three apiece.

The homers by Royster and Stewart gave the Catfish a 4-0 lead before the Hoppers rallied. Hatcher drove in the first four runs, with a two-run homer in the fourth and a two-run double in the fifth. Justin Webb's RBI single pushed the Hoppers ahead in the fifth and Scott cousins hit his 13th homer in the sixth to make it 6-4.

But the lead didn't hold. John Matulia's two-run single in the eighth tied the game and Fields' homer in the ninth was the game-winner.

Ryan Reid (6-4) pitched the final three innings, allowing just one hit, to pick up the win for Columbus. Blake Jones (3-4) was tagged with the loss.

Royster wore out Hoppers pitching in the series, going 9-for-19 with five homers, 11 RBIs and nine runs scored.

The Hoppers continue their home stand with a four-game series against Rome, starting Sunday at 5 p.m. at First Horizon.

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South Atlantic League Stories from August 11, 2007


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