Crawdads & Braves Split Doubleheader
Published on May 30, 2015 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hickory Crawdads News Release
Hickory, NC - The Hickory Crawdads earned a split of their doubleheader against the Rome Braves Saturday night, as the 'Dads rallied late for a 4-1 win in game one before being shutout 5-0 in the nightcap in front of 4,043 fans at L.P. Frans Stadium.
The split twin bill marked the first time this season that a Crawdads doubleheader did not end in a sweep, as Hickory swept their first two doubleheaders against Asheville and Kannapolis before being swept themselves in their twin bill in Kannapolis last week. The 'Dads win in game one also snapped a 6-game winning streak for the Braves, one day after Rome ended the Crawdads 5-game streak.
Offense was at a premium for Hickory throughout both contests, as the 'Dads were held to six total hits on the night. The difference between games one and two was that the Crawdads were able to bunch all their hits together into one big inning to rally for a 4-1 win to start the night. The game began with four straight scoreless frames, with Nick Gardewine keeping the Braves at bay while Chad Sobotka held Hickory without a hit. Rome was finally able to break up the shutout in the top of the 5th, when Joseph Daris reaches on an infield single, stole second base, and came in to score on an infield, RBI single by Ozhaino Albies for a 1-0 Braves lead.
The Crawdads responded in the bottom of the frame by not only breaking up the no-hitter, but by rallying for four runs on four hits, a walk, and a costly Rome error to take a 4-1 advantage. Travis Demeritte started the rally with a leadoff walk, which was followed by a single to left from Rock Shoulders to put two on with nobody out. Tripp Martin then laid down a bunt to move the runners over, but Braves catcher Brian De La Rose threw the ball into center field trying to get the runner at second, allowing Demeritte to score and tie the game at 1-1. Josh Morgan gave the 'Dads the lead with an ensuing RBI double off the left field wall before Luke Tendler delivered a 2-RBI single to finish the scoring.
Reliever Yohander Mendez finished off the game from there with two perfect innings out of the bullpen to secure Hickory's 4-1 victory. Gardewine (4-3) earned the win for the Crawdads with one run allowed on five hits, one walk, and two strikeouts over his five innings pitched. Rome reliever Carlos Salazar took the loss with all four of the 'Dads runs allowed, one earned, on four hits, while Mendez (2) recorded the save for closing out the game.
The nightcap saw the Braves jump on Crawdads spot starter Adam Parks for three runs on four hits in the first inning for a 3-0 score. Parks, making his first start of the season, settled down after the initial frame and held Rome scoreless over the next two innings, while 'Dads reliever David Perez tossed three scoreless frames out of the pen to keep the score at 3-0.
Hickory had an opportunity to rally in the 6th when Braves reliever Francisco Gonzalez walked consecutive batters on 8 pitches to put two on with one out, but a fly out to the wall in right by Eduard Pinto and a strikeout by Jose Trevino against Kyle Kinman ended the fame with no runs scored.
The Crawdads ended game two with two hits, both coming in the form of doubles by Martin who finished 2-3. Morgan finished 0-1 with two walks, going 1-2 with a double, RBI, run, and three walks over the two games.
Gonzalez (1-0) earned the win with 1.2 scoreless innings of relief. Parks (1-3) took the loss with three runs allowed on five hits over 3 IP. Kinman (7) earned the save after recording the final four outs of the game.
The Crawdads (33-16) will try to earn a split in the series finale versus the Braves (24-25) on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 5:00 pm.
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