Crawdads Outlast Drive 5-4 in 17 Innings
April 20, 2016 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hickory Crawdads News Release
Hickory Crawdads Celebrate a Win
(Hickory Crawdads)
Hickory, NC - It took 17 innings and nearly five hours but the Hickory Crawdads outlasted the visiting Greenville Drive Wednesday afternoon, as an RBI double from Andy Ibanez lifted the 'Dads over the Drive with a 5-4 win at L.P. Frans Stadium.
The Crawdads and Drive entered the 17th frame tied at 4-4, with neither team having scored since Ibanez deadlocked the score with a solo home run in the bottom of the 7th. After 9 scoreless innings Hickory finally ended the marathon contest when Eric Jenkins singled to center and scored all the way from first on Ibanez's double off the base of the wall in left-center field.
The walk-off hit was the fifth hit of the game for Ibanez, who was just named the South Atlantic League Player of the Week. The Cuba native finished the afternoon 5-7 with a home run, two doubles, three RBI, two runs scored, a walk, and a stolen base.
The win also salvaged the final game of the series for the Crawdads, giving the club a 4-3 homestand and improving their record to 10-4 on the season.
Hickory jumped out to an early lead in the 1st, when Jenkins reached on a fielding error by Greenville third baseman Chad De La Guerra and came in to score on an RBI double from Ibanez. Ibanez came home himself three batters later on an RBI, sacrifice fly by Frandy De La Rosa to give the 'Dads a 2-0 advantage.
The Drive answered in the top of the 3rd, when the club plated a pair of unearned runs on two walks, a single, and an error by Crawdads right fielder Jose Almonte to tie the score at 2-2. The 'Dads quickly retook the lead in the bottom of the frame however when Jenkins tripled to right and came in on an RBI groundout by Tyler Sanchez for a 3-2 Hickory lead.
The score remained the same until the 6th, when the Drive got to Crawdads reliever Johan Juan with a single by Tate Matheny and a 2-run homer from Luis Alexander Basabe to give Greenville the lead at 4-3. Ibanez tied the game at 4-4 one frame later with his solo home in the 7th, before nine straight scoreless innings took the game into the 17th and set the stage for Ibanez's game winner.
Six different Hickory pitchers saw action, with relievers Jeffrey Springs, Adam Choplick, Jacob Shortslef, and Blake Bass combining to throw 10 shutout innings out of the bullpen. Bass (1-0) came away with the win for the 'Dads after working around a single and an intentional walk in a scoreless 17th. Greenville reliever Victor Diaz (0-3) took the loss after allowing the game-ending run in his fourth inning of work.
The Crawdads (10-4) will now take to the road for a 4-game series in Hagerstown against the Suns, with first pitch Thursday night scheduled for 6:05 pm.
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 Hickory Crawdads Celebrate a Win |
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