Crawdads Sweep Legends in Saturday Doubleheader
July 9, 2011 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hickory Crawdads News Release
HICKORY, NC - The Hickory Crawdads, 1st-Half Northern Division Champions, won both seven-inning games in Saturday's doubleheader against the Lexington Legends, before 3,003 fans at L.P. Frans Stadium. Hickory prevailed in game one, 6-2, which was completed after being suspended in the bottom of the third inning on Friday night due to rain, before cruising to the 6-1 win in game two on Saturday.
Game 1:
The Crawdads and Legends picked up Friday's postponed seven-inning game with a 2-0 lead, runners at second and third and no outs in the bottom of the third inning.
Hickory (50-34, 10-6) wasted no time regaining the offensive momentum against reliever LHP Gabriel Garcia, who started the resumed game for Lexington. 3B Christian Villanueva started the day's action with a sacrifice fly, bringing in CF Teodoro Martinez from third to make it 3-0. C Yefry Castillo, who entered as a pinch runner at second base, moved to third on a base hit from DH Tomas Telis. Both runners advanced ninety feet on a passed ball charged to C Ben Heath, plating Castillo and stretching the lead to 4-0. RF Josh Richmond followed with a single, before LF/2B Alejandro Selen brought in Telis from third with an RBI fielder's choice. A walk by 1B Andrew Clark loaded the bases for 1B/LF Jhonny Gomez, who promptly struck a sacrifice fly to right field, capping the big inning at 6-0.
RHP Nick McBride (W, 1-1) took over on the mound for RHP Roman Mendez, who started the game with three scoreless innings prior to the rain on Friday night. McBride started the outing with a pair of scoreless frames, but Lexington got on the board with a pair of tallies in the top of the sixth. 2B Enrique Hernandez started the inning with a single and advanced to second on a walk by LF Telvin Nash. 3B Mike Kvasnicka got the Legends (40-46, 5-11) on the board with an RBI base hit, plating Hernandaez, before Nash darted home on a double play ball, cutting the 'Dads lead to 6-2.
After a scoreless bottom of the sixth, RHP Joe Van Meter slammed the door with a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, closing the 6-2 win for the Crawdads.
Game 2:
The Legends (40-47, 5-12) took the early lead in the second game, tallying in the top of the first against RHP Nick Tepesch (W, 5-3). CF Jay Austin led off with a single and swiped second base. Austin took third on a sacrifice bunt, before racing home on an RBI single by 3B Mike Kvasnicka.
Hickory (51-34, 11-6) responded by leapfrogging past the Legends with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third. LF Jake Skole started the stanza with a single and a steal to quickly get himself to second base. One out later, C Kellin Deglan ripped an RBI double down the right field line to score Skole and tie it, 1-1. After a lineout, 2B Odubel Herrera struck an RBI single up the middle to score Deglan and give the 'Dads the 2-1 advantage.
The Crawdads tacked another run onto the lead in the bottom of the fourth frame. 1B Andrew Clark got himself on with a free pass to start the inning and later came in on a two-out RBI double by RF Jhonny Gomez, stretching the lead to 3-1.
Hickory kept swinging away with three more runs in the fifth. CF Teodoro Martinez doubled to begin the inning and swiped his way to third base. Herrera wasted no time bringing Martinez home, driving a sacrifice fly to right field for the 4-1 lead. After a single from 3B Christian Villanueva got a man on board, Clark emptied the bases again with one swing, belting a two-run bomb to put Hickory in front, 6-1.
While the offense padded the lead, Tepesch continued to keep Lexington at just one run, before striking out the side in the top of the seventh to close the 6-1 Hickory win and put the exclamation mark on his second seven-inning, complete-game victory of the season.
South Atlantic League Stories from July 9, 2011
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