SAL1 Charleston RiverDogs

Crawdads Come From Five Down, Choke R'Dogs 12-9

Published on July 26, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston RiverDogs News Release


CHARLESTON, SC - Hickory battled back from a five-run deficit and pounded Charleston pitching for 18 hits - the most allowed this season - as the Crawdads choked the RiverDogs, 12-8, in South Atlantic League action Saturday night in front of 5,369 fans at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.

Three Crawdads - Albert Laboy, Matt Hague and Erik Huber - had three hits apiece to lead Hickory to their first win of the season against Charleston having dropped the first nine contests, while Keanon Simon contributed three RBI in the triumph.

With the victory, the Crawdads snap a 10-game losing skid. On the season Hickory improves to 42-63 and 12-23 in the second half while Charleston falls to 61-42 overall and 16-17 since the All-Star break. Both teams combined for 32 hits, the most this season for the RiverDogs. The game also lasted 3:40, the longest 9-inning game of the year for Charleston.

For the second straight night, the RiverDogs scored a run in the first inning, this time on a RBI single by Austin Romine.

The hosts then exploded for four runs in the third to extend their lead to 5-0. Jesus Montero blasted his 10th homer of the season, a two-run shot to left field that came on a 3-1 offering by Crawdad starter Rafael De Los Santos. Austin Krum singled home a run and Prilys Cuello scored on a throwing error by Hickory catcher Aeden McQueary.

But the Crawdads came back with four runs of their own n the fourth starting with a two-run single by Greg Picart. Simon reached on a fielding error by RiverDogs shortstop Carmen Angelini that plated the third tally, and the fourth came when Picart scored on a throwing error by Romine.

Charleston increased the lead to 6-4 in the bottom of the fourth on Brandon Laird's sacrifice fly to left field that scored Bradley Suttle, who led off the inning with a single and moved to second on Romine's single.

In the sixth, Hickory closed the gap to 6-5 on Matt Hague's sacrifice fly to left.

But in the seventh, the Crawdads took the lead with a three-run inning. Facing starter-turned-reliever Adam Olbrychowski (5-5), shortstop Jordy Mercer blasted the first pitch he saw for a solo shot to left to knot the game at 6-6. Simon eventually singled home a pair of runs with a single up the middle to increase Hickory's lead to 8-6.

The RiverDogs came right back to pull within one run in the seventh on a RBI single by Cuello.

But Hickory sealed the victory in the eighth scoring four runs as Tom Hagen and Danny Bomback recorded back-to-back RBI singles and then, with the bases loaded, Charleston reliever Chase Vacek uncorked two wild pitches that scored the visitors' 11th and 12th runs.

Charleston posted their seventh run in the eighth when Abraham Almonte doubled and scored on Suttle's RBI single, and the final run came in the ninth on Krum's run-scoring double.

The RiverDogs recorded 14 hits with Suttle and Romine each accounting for three while Laird and Krum both posted a pair.

Hickory's third pitcher, Ronald Uviedo, earned the win to improve his mark to 3-1. In the process, he pitched the sixth and seventh frames and allowed one run on three hits while striking out three and walking none.

Four Charleston pitchers fanned 10 Crawdads with starter Noel Castillo paving the way with four punchouts.

Game 3 of this four-game set is slated for Sunday at 4:05 p.m. with Charleston sending righty Jairo Heredia (5-3, 2.96 ERA) to the mound while Hickory will counter with righty Duke Welker (2-8, 4.67 ERA).

Check out the Charleston RiverDogs Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from July 26, 2008


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