SAL1 Hickory Crawdads

'Dads Fall to 'Hoppers 6-5 in 14 Innings

Published on June 8, 2016 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hickory Crawdads News Release


Hickory, NC - The Hickory Crawdads found themselves in familiar territory Wednesday afternoon, as the 'Dads took a day game deep into extra innings for the third time this season. Unfortunately for the home team the Crawdads also lost the extra-long contest for the third time, as the 'Dads fell to the visiting Greensboro Grasshoppers 6-5 in 14 innings at L.P. Frans Stadium.

The Crawdads and Grasshoppers played a back-and-forth affair over the first 9 frames, with the 'Dads holding two separate leads before ultimately entering the 10th in a 3-3 tie. Greensboro ended the 5-inning stalemate with 2 runs in the top of the 12th, only to have Hickory respond with 2 tallies of their own in the bottom of the frame to keep the game going with a 5-5 tie. The 'Hoppers re-took the lead again in the top of the 14th with an unearned run against infielder Josh Altmann on the mound, while the 'Dads failed to score in the bottom of the inning against second baseman Giovanny Alfonzo pitching to end the game with a 6-5 Crawdads defeat.

All three pitchers of record ended up being regular position players, as normal Greensboro third baseman Aaron Blanton (1-0) earned the win with 1.1 perfect innings pitched while Alfonzo (1) earned the save with a scoreless 14th. Altmann (0-1) became the second Hickory position player to earn a loss this year despite not allowing an earned run, as the right-hander gave up 1 unearned tally on 4 hits, 1 walk, and 1 strikeout over 2 innings pitched.

The Crawdads jumped out to the initial lead, with an unearned tally in the 2nd and an additional run in the 3rd for a 2-0 lead. A Chuck Moorman single and an eventual fielding error by Alfonzo at second led to the first run, while a double from LeDarious Clark and a passed ball from Greensboro starter Gabriel Castellanos put the 'Dads up by 2.

The Grasshoppers responded in the top of the 4th, with two runs scoring on four hits against Hickory All-Star starter Erik Swanson to tie the game at 2-2.

The Crawdads re-took the lead in the 5th, as Clark doubled again to left, moved to third on a wild pitch from reliever Justin Jacome, and came in to score on an RBI groundout by Yeyson Yrizarri to put Hickory ahead 3-2. The 'Hoppers quickly tied the game back up in the 6th, when Roy Morales was hit by a pitch and scored on an RBI base knock from Korey Dunbar for a 3-3 game.

The score remained the same until the 12th, when Greensboro scored 2 runs on 2 hits and a walk against 'Dads reliever Blake Bass to take a 5-3 lead. Hickory refused to give up however, as Jose Almonte and Frandy De La Rosa both singled to start the bottom of the 12th. Following a sacrifice bunt by Clark, Yrizarri plated the first run on an RBI single to left before De La Rosa scored the tying tally after a balk by reliever Jose Quijada.

The game continued until the 14th, when the 'Hoppers used 2 singles, a walk, and errors by both Almonte in right and Yrizarri at shortstop to score an unearned run and take a 6-5 lead. The 'Dads attempted one last gasp when Yrizarri was hit by a pitch with 2 outs in the bottom of the 4th, but the Hickory base runner was thrown out trying to steal second to end the game with a 6-5 loss.

The Crawdads (33-25) will now go on the road for a week, starting with a 4-game series in Kannapolis beginning Thursday night at 7:05 pm.

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South Atlantic League Stories from June 8, 2016


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