Crawdads Blank Tourists 7-0
Published on April 13, 2015 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hickory Crawdads News Release
Hickory, NC - The Hickory Crawdads continued their hot start to the 2015 season Monday night, as the 'Dads came away with their first shutout of the year in a 7-0 win over the Asheville Tourists at L.P. Frans Stadium.
Crawdads starting pitcher Collin Wiles headlined the dominant pitching effort, with the 6'4" right-hander becoming the first 'Dad this season to go six innings. The former 1st round draft pick kept the Tourists off the board on only four hits, no walks, and one strikeout before turning things over to the bullpen. Hickory relievers David Perez and Kevin Matthews took it the rest of the way, with Perez tossing two scoreless frames before Matthews pitched a perfect ninth to finish off the win.
At the plate, leadoff hitter Josh Morgan (3-5, 2B, RBI, 2 R) and number two hitter Michael De Leon (3-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, R) set the pace for a consistent Crawdads offense that scored a run in five different frames with a season high 14 hits. Eduard Pinto also had a 3-hit night going 3-4 with two runs scored, while Jose Trevino finished 1-4 with a solo home run.
Hickory and Asheville entered the game with identical 3-1 records to lead the South Atlantic League, but it was the Crawdads who took control of the game early and never looked back. The 'Dads jumped on Tourists starting pitcher Sam Howard for single runs in each of the first three innings, before getting to relievers Yoelly Bello and James Lomangino for two runs in both the 4th and 6th frames.
Morgan led off the 1st with the first of his three hits when he singled to left field. The DH then stole second base before coming home on an RBI double by Travis Demeritte for a 1-0 Crawdas lead. The advantage doubled to 2-0 the next inning when Trevino lined his first homer of the year to left, while a De Leon double and a Demeritte RBI sacrifice fly made the score 3-0 after three.
The 'Dads broke the game open with two more runs in the bottom of the 5th to make the score 5-0. Pinto kick started the inning with a leadoff single, followed by a steal of second where he also moved to third on a throwing error by Asheville catcher Dom Nunez. Two batters later, Isiah Kiner-Falefa brought Pinto home on an RBI sacrifice fly. Morgan and De Leon followed with back-to-back doubles to score the second run of the frame.
The Hickory offense wrapped things up in the 6th when Morgan and De Leon drove home Pinto and Kiner-Falefa respectively with two, RBI singles for the final 7-0 score.
Wiles (1-0) earned the win for his impressive outing, while Howard (0-1) took the loss for the Tourists after allowing three runs on five hits, one walk, and four strikeouts over his three innings pitched.
The Crawdads (4-1) and Tourists (3-2) will have a rematch Tuesday night in game two of the three-game set, with first pitch scheduled for 6:00 pm.
South Atlantic League Stories from April 13, 2015
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- Blanked in Hickory; Tourists Drop Series Opener 7-0 - Asheville Tourists
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