CarL1 Winston-Salem Dash

Celebration Postponed: Wilmington Walks-Off with Win

Published on June 19, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


WILMINGTON, DE - Jamie Romak hit an RBI single to left field in the bottom of the tenth inning to score Eric Hosmer, and Wilmington walked-off with a 4-3 win over the Dash on Saturday night at Frawley Stadium. Winston-Salem's magic number to clinch the first half Southern Division championship remains at one, as Salem beat Kinston 12-0 on Saturday.

The Dash's loss sets up a dramatic final day of the first half. If Winston-Salem (43-26) beats Wilmington, the Dash will clinch a playoff spot. If Winston loses, the team will need the Red Sox to lose against the Indians to win the division title. If Salem wins and the teams finish the first half tied, the tiebreaker goes to the winner of the teams' first matchup of the second half. The Dash and the Red Sox next play on Sunday, June 27 at BB&T Ballpark. The winner of that game would win the division.

The Blue Rocks (31-38) got the game's first run in the third inning against Dash starter Charlie Leesman. With a man at third and two outs, Eric Hosmer hit a chopper to first base. Logan Johnson, playing first for the first time since he was a freshman in college, booted the ball for an error, allowing Patrick Norris to score and giving Wilmington a 1-0 lead.

Winston-Salem's bats were quiet against Rocks starter Buddy Baumann, who did not allow a hit over the first five innings. His only blemish was a fifth-inning walk to Johnson. Baumann, a relief pitcher, was making his first professional start and was removed from the game before the start of the sixth.

Henry Barrera, a pitcher on the Royals' 40-man roster who has battled injuries for the past year, came on to relieve Baumann. He ran into trouble after retiring the first two batters on two pitches. Brandon Short picked up the Dash's first base hit with a single to right, then moved to third on a stolen base and a wild pitch. Eduardo Escobar drove him in with a single to tie the game and then stole second base. Jon Gilmore gave Winston-Salem its first lead with a double into the left field corner, scoring Escobar and putting the Dash on top 2-1. Ozzie Lewis followed with another RBI base hit, a single to center that gave Winston a 3-1 lead.

Leesman came back out for the sixth, looking to protect the two-run advantage. After allowing a leadoff single, he retired Romak on a fly ball to center to bring up Rey Navarro. The light-hitting shortstop proceeded to smash a 2-0 offering from Leesman over the left field fence for a two-run home run to tie the game. It was the second home run in a week for Navarro off Leesman, as he also took him deep on Sunday afternoon at BB&T Ballpark.

A pair of relievers kept both offenses scoreless over the next three innings. Winston's Kyle Bellamy and Wilmington's Brendan Lafferty combined for 7.2 shutout innings, allowing just four hits and no walks with nine strikeouts.

After Lafferty (1-1) worked a scoreless top of the tenth, Joe McEwing called upon Gregory Infante to get his team to the 11th inning. The All-Star closer struck out the first man he faced, but walked Hosmer, who then stole second base. After getting ahead of Romak 0-2, the Canadian slugger worked it to a full count. He fouled off one pitch, then yanked a ball to the left side, just tipping off the third baseman Gilmore's glove. Kenny Williams, Jr. over-ran the ball and Hosmer scored without a throw to win the game for Wilmington.

Lafferty picked up his first win of the season with an outstanding four-inning effort. Infante (1-2) was charged with his second loss.

The Dash offense collected five straight base hits in the sixth inning, but managed just two singles in the other nine innings. The game was the team's first extra-innings road contest and the loss dropped Winston's record in extra-inning games to 3-2.

Gilmore's RBI double in the fifth inning extended his hitting streak to 19 games. Short and Lewis extended their hitting streaks to ten and eight, respectively.

Winston plays its all-important final game of the first half on Sunday afternoon when RHP Terry Doyle (2-2, 3.82) opposes LHP Ivor Hodgson (2-6, 5.61) in a 1:35 p.m. start. The audio broadcast begins at 1:15 on www.wsdash.com.

The Dash returns to BB&T Ballpark on Sunday, June 27 to start a six-game home stand with a series against the Salem Red Sox.

Fans may purchase tickets for every Dash game this season by calling the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visiting www.wsdash.com.

Check out the Winston-Salem Dash Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from June 19, 2010


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