SAL1 Hickory Crawdads

'Dads Emerge from Wild 7th with 9-6 Win

Published on August 13, 2015 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hickory Crawdads News Release


Hickory, NC - The 7th inning of Thursday night's Hickory Crawdads game against the Kannapolis Intimidators proved to be both frustrating and exhilarating for the home team, as the 'Dads watched their 4-run advantage evaporate in the top of the frame only to emerge from the bottom of the inning with a 3-run lead en route to a 9-6 win at L.P. Frans Stadium.

The Crawdads entered the 7th having built a 6-2 advantage over the first six frames thanks to the standout pitching from starter Collin Wiles and run-scoring innings in the 4th and 5th. The 4-run lead quickly disappeared against Hickory reliever Kelvin Vasquez however, as the Intimidators scored four runs on four hits and a walk to chase Vasquez from the game and tie the score at 6-6. The resilient 'Dads fought back though, with a walk from Edwin Garcia and a double by Jose Trevino setting up a 3-run home run from Luke Tendler to give the club the 9-6 lead they would win by.

Tendler's 3-run homer was the first long ball for the Crawdads since August 2nd, and capped off a 2-3 night for the All-Star including 4 RBI and 2 runs scored. The timely big fly also lifted the 'Dads to their 70th win of the season, making them the first South Atlantic League team to reach the plateau this year.

Kannapolis was the team that jumped out to the night's initial lead, with the visiting club using a hit batter, a single, and a 2-out, 2-RBI double by Ryan Leonards in the 1st to take a 2-0 advantage. Wiles immediately settled down after the rocky start, as the Hickory hurler allowed only an infield single over the next five frames while retiring the final 13 batters he faced and finishing the game with two runs allowed on three hits and four strikeouts over 6 innings pitched.

That allowed the Hickory offense time to rally with a 5-run 4th and another tally in the 5th to take a 6-2 lead. 10 Crawdads stepped to the plate in the 4th, with RBIs coming on a triple by Trevino, a single form Tendler, a double off the bat of Jonathan Meyer, a base knock to left by Carlos Arroyo, and a double from Chuck Moorman. Meyer came through for the 'Dads again in the 5th with another RBI on a ground ball single to put the team up by four after 6 innings.

Crawdads manager Corey Ragsdale turned the ball over to Vasquez in the 7th, only to watch the normally reliable hurler allow a 2-RBI double to Cody Daily and a 2-RBI single to Michael Suiter to tie up the game at 6-6. Following Ragsdale's ejection after arguing with the umpires, reliever Joe Filomeno eventually recorded the last two outs to get the 'Dads out of the inning and set up Tendler's heroics in the bottom of the frame.

Filomeno (2-1) earned the win with 2.2 shutout innings pitched on one hit, one walk, and 5 Ks. Kannapolis reliever Jacob Morris (4-3) took the loss after giving up two runs on one hit, one walk, and one strikeout over 1 IP.

Joining Tendler with a big night offensively was Trevino, who finished a home run short of the cycle with a 3-4 night including a triple, double, RBI, and three runs scored. Meyer also posted a multi-hit game going 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI, while Moorman went 1-4 with a double and an RBI.

The Crawdads (70-44/26-20) will now welcome in the 1st place West Virginia Power (69-46/32-14) for a 3-game series at L.P. Frans Stadium, beginning Friday night at 7:00 pm.

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South Atlantic League Stories from August 13, 2015


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