Crawdads swept
April 20, 2009 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hickory Crawdads News Release
With Hickory clicking on all cylinders in winning the first two games of the series against Asheville, the Crawdads seemed unstoppable. However, the rainout on Sunday perhaps took the Crawdads off their game as defensive miscues proved costly to Hickory as they lost both ends of a doubleheader to the Tourists on Monday.
In game one, the Crawdads allowed seven unearned runs en route to a 10-3 loss to Asheville. Three errors and a passed ball proved costly for Hickory in the game. The Tourists took a 2-0 lead off Crawdads' starter Cliff Springston in the first inning. After Scott Robinson led off the first with a single, Patrick Rose hit a two-run homer to center field.
Hickory got even in the next half inning with the help of the Tourists' defense. Mike Bianucci reached first on a fielding error by 3B Ryan Peisel. Eric Fry followed with a single to right. Bianucci continued to third base as RF James Sims bobbled the ball for the second error of the inning. After a passed ball by the catcher moved Fry to second base, Clark Murphy hit a double off the wall to score both Bianucci and Fry to even the score at 2-2.
Unfortunately, the Crawdads defense returned the favor in the Tourists third inning leading to six runs. James Sims led off the inning with a single to left. Robinson followed with a sacrifice bunt and reached when the throw by Springston was wide of first, allowing Robinson to reach base with Sims advancing to third. Springston then loaded the bases by walking Rose. The next hitter James Cesario hit a potential double play ball to 2B Jason Ogata, who mishandled the ball for an error, allowing Sims to score and leaving the bases loaded.
Jordan Pacheco hit a sacrifice fly to score Robinson with the other runners advancing to second and third. Peisel brought in Rose with a run scoring single before David Christensen completed the scoring with a three run home run to rightfield for an 8-2 lead.
Asheville scored two more runs in the fourth inning. Sims led off the inning with a double and moved to third on a fly ball. With Rose at the plate, Springston struck Rose out, but a passed ball by catcher Leonel De Los Santos allowed Rose to reach first with Sims scoring on the play. Rose later scored on a double by Cesario for a 10-2 lead. Hickory added a run in the 6th on a sacrifice fly by David Paisano, scoring Matt West. Isaiah Froneberger (2-0) picked up the win in relief for Asheville, while Springston (0-1) took the loss for Hickory.
In game two, a key error by Hickory led to two unearned runs as part of a decisive three run sixth inning as Asheville won the second game 3-1.
Asheville's Jonnathan Aristil and Hickory's tandem of Wilmer Font and Yoon-Hee Nam kept the opposing offenses at bay through the first five innings.
Aristill allowed only two hits a two walks through five innings. Font, pressed into a starting role due to the rainout on Sunday, held the Tourists scoreless through the first three innings, with Nam retiring the first six hitters he faced in the fourth and fifth innings.
Hickory took a 1-0 lead in the sixth off Tourists reliever Tyler Trice. With one out, Jared Bolden singled to left and scored on Bianucci's double to right.
The Tourists came back in the sixth as Cesario doubled and Pacheco singled to lead off the inning. One out later, Eric Wetzel singled up the middle to score Cesario. Nam then loaded the bases by walking Christensen, before striking out Bo Bowman.
Mark Hamburger was brought into face Carlos Martinez. Hamburger induced Martinez to hit a grounder to short to end the inning. However, the throw to first by Crawdads SS Edward Martinez bounced past first baseman Clark Murphy, allowing Pacheco to score the go ahead run. A wild pitch by Hamburger brought in Wetzel with the third run of the inning.
Hickory put a pair of runners aboard inthe seventh inning, but Kurt Yacko retired the side without any damage to record his first save of the year.
Trice picked up the win for Asheville (1-1), while Nam (1-1) took the loss for the Crawdads. Hickory evened its record at 6-6 for the season, while Asheville improved to 5-7 on the season.
Hickory returns home to begin a six game homestand on Tuesday against Lexington. Game time is at 7pm.
A reminder to fans about the no-hitter special on Tuesday and Wednesday's game. In honor of the April 11th no-hitter, fans can purchase three grandstand seats for only $7.
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South Atlantic League Stories from April 20, 2009
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