D-Braves Win on Walk-Off
June 21, 2013 - Appalachian League (ApL)
Danville Otterbots News Release
DANVILLE, Va. - The D-Braves won in dramatic fashion Friday evening on a walk-off single by left fielder Justin Black. The hard hit ball up the middle scored pinch runner Connor Lien from second and sent the team home a 3-2 winner.
Michael Flores was given the ball to start for the Braves Friday evening and he was excellent throwing five shutout innings. He was able to change speeds effectively helping rack up many swing-and-misses, ultimately resulting in 9 strikeouts for the lefty.
Princeton starter Nolan Gannon was equally as effective, throwing five innings of one hit baseball. Gannon relied heavily on his defense retiring only four batters via the strikeout and walking none.
Dakota Dill relieved Flores and walked the leadoff hitter, but regained his composure to struck out the next three batters each on hard biting sliders to the outside corner.
The offense picked up in the sixth inning when Danville got a boost from outfielder Hector Garcia as he hustled to beat out the back end of a double play. The outfielder promptly stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch to get into scoring position for leadoff man Kyle Wren. He then used his speed again to score on a groundball from Wren as the shortstop's throw to the plate was too late to get Garcia from third.
Princeton rallied back to tie it in the top half of the second as Leopoldo Correa followed a Elias Torres double with a single of his own, fighting off a tough 3-2 pitch from Dill. The single marked the end of the night for Dill as Clint Wright came into the game to finish out the inning.
In the eighth, Wren started a Danville rally with a walk and shortstop Johan Camargo followed with a shallow hit to right field allowing Wren to advance all the way to third. Victor Caratini was able to lift a pitch to deep left field to score the run and allow the Braves to retake a 2-1 lead.
The Rays would rally though in the top of the ninth to tie the game back up. Torres followed a walk to Travis Flores with a line drive triple off Wright that flew over the head of centerfielder Wren to make the score 2-2. Brandon Rohde made his first appearance of the season and got Chad Nacapoy hit a grounder to third on the first pitch, allowing Jacob Schrader to gun down the go ahead run at the plate. Rohde would get into a bit more trouble, but managed to strand runners on second and third.
Aris Alcantara was able to work a walk at the plate off lefty Darren Fischer which allowed Manager Jonathan Schuerholz to pinch run speedy outfielder Connor Lien at first. Carlos Sanchez was able to execute a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt getting Lien to second, all while setting the stage for Black's heroics. Black laced a ball up the middle than glanced off the shortstop's glove as he ranged for the ball allowing Lien to score from second as the throw to the plate was too late.
Rohde picked up his first win of the season for the D-Braves while Fischer took the loss for Princeton.
The two teams will face off again Saturday evening in the final game of the series as Danville tries to finish off the sweep of their Appalachian League East opponent. The game is set for a 7:00 p.m. first pitch as Jorge Montenegro is set to face Jacob Faria for Princeton. Get your tickets by calling 434-797-3792 or by coming by the box office at ALP 325 Field between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. tomorrow.
Appalachian League Stories from June 21, 2013
- D-Braves Win on Walk-Off - Danville Otterbots
- Astros Fall to Blue Jays in Season Opener - Greeneville Astros
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