'Dads Last 19 Innings Before Losing 9-2
May 16, 2016 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hickory Crawdads News Release
Hickory Crawdads vs. the Rome Braves
(Hickory Crawdads)
Hickory, NC - The Hickory Crawdads and Rome Braves were mired in an offensive drought Sunday afternoon, as the two clubs were tied at 1-1 after 2 innings only to have the score remain the same for the next 16 frames. Both teams scored in the 18th but it was the Braves who broke the game open in the 19th with a 7 run outburst to hand the 'Dads a 9-2, 19-inning defeat at L.P. Frans Stadium.
The 19-inning marathon took 5 hours and 27 minutes to complete, both season highs for the Crawdads. The two clubs combined to use 10 pitchers with 273 combined pitches thrown, but it wasn't until first baseman Dylan Moore was forced into relief for the 'Dads in the top of the 19th that Rome was able to break open the score.
Hickory scored their one regulation run in the bottom of the 1st, when Eric Jenkins singled to center, stole both second and third base, and eventually scored on a fielding error by Braves shortstop Alejandro Salazar for a 1-0 'Dads lead. Rome responded in the top of the 2nd with a double by Josh Ellison, a single from Lucas Herbert, and a double steal with Ellison coming home to tie the score at 1-1.
The offenses dried up from there, with neither team scoring a run for the next 16 innings. Crawdads starting pitcher Peter Fairbanks set the tone with his best outing of the season, with 1 run allowed on 7 hits, 1 walk, and 4 strikeouts over 6 innings pitched. He was succeeded by Blake Bass (2 scoreless IP, 2 K) and Jeffrey Springs (3 scoreless IP, 5 K), before Omarlin Lopez struck out a career-best 8 batters over a career-high 5 scoreless innings of relief.
The 'Dads then turned to the newly acquired Matt Ball, who joined Hickory from Kannapolis as the result of a trade between the Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox. Ball put up a scoreless 17th before the Braves finally ended the streak of zeroes in the 18th when Leudys Baez singled to start the inning and eventually scored on a throwing error by Hickory third baseman Frandy De La Rosa to give Rome a 2-1 advantage.
The Crawdads refused to quit however, as the 'Dads responded in the bottom of the 18th with a run of their own to tie the score at 2-2 and keep the game going. Tyler Sanchez started the rally with a hit-by-pitch before De La Rosa walked and both runners advanced on a wild pitch by Braves reliever Bladimir Matos. One out later, Jenkins came through with a game-tying, RBI fielder's choice. Hickory had a chance to win the game in the 18th as well when the club loaded the bases with one out, but a line out to center by Moore and a groundout from LeDarious Clark left the 3 men on the bases and sent the contest to the 19th.
The Braves then broke open the score in the 19th when the 'Dads ran out of pitchers and were forced to send Moore to the mound as an emergency reliever. The normal infielder allowed a leadoff single to Juan Yepez before getting a fly out to right from Justin Ellison. The inning collapsed from there however, as errors by De La Rosa at third, Andy Ibanez at second, and Clark in right opened the door for Rome to score 7 unearned runs for the 9-2 final score.
Moore (0-1) took the loss for the Crawdads with 7 unearned runs allowed on 7 hits over his 1 inning on the mound. Matos (1-1) earned the win for the Braves with 1 run allowed over his 2 IP.
The loss gave the Crawdads (24-12) a 4-game series split against the Braves (13-23). The 'Dads will now head to Lexington for a 3-game series against the Legends, with first pitch on Monday scheduled for 7:05 pm.
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 Hickory Crawdads vs. the Rome Braves |
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