Dash's Eight-Run 13th Clinches Wacky Season Opener
April 8, 2016 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release
LYNCHBURG, Va. - In a season opener that seemingly had it all, Winston-Salem plated eight in the 13th inning for a 14-6 victory over Lynchburg on Thursday at Calvin Falwell Field.
The wild contest featured 14 pitchers, 29 stranded runners, 31 hits and five lead changes, along with a 25-minute delay in the middle of the first thanks to a thunderstorm that included marble-sized hail. The game spanned four hours and 59 minutes, marking the second-longest game of the Dash era. Only Winston-Salem's 20-inning marathon against Myrtle Beach on May 19, 2010, lasted longer (5:30).
After a three-inning stalemate in extras, the Dash (1-0) took advantage of an error in the deciding 13th inning. Winston-Salem loaded the bases with one out, and Gerson Montilla bounced one to pitcher Jordan Milbrath (0-1). Milbrath sailed the throw to the plate, allowing two runs to score and giving the Dash the lead for good.
Nick Basto followed with a two-run single, and Michael Danner added a run-scoring single of his own. Brett Austin capped the eight-run explosion with a mammoth three-run blast to right for his fifth professional blast. Winston fell one run shy of its highest single-inning offensive output in the Dash era (2009-present).
The Dash forced extra innings thanks to a run in the top of the ninth. Hunter Jones, who reached base four times in his Winston-Salem debut, walked on four pitches, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a Montilla sacrifice fly.
That tally capped a see-saw final few innings of regulation. Winston-Salem took a 4-3 lead into the seventh, but the Hillcats (0-1) plated a pair to reclaim the lead. An RBI single from Austin, who logged his first career four-RBI game, knotted it back up in the top of the eighth, and Lynchburg's Dorssys Paulino singled home the go-ahead run in the home half.
Offense was the story early in the contest. Both teams scored a run in the first two innings before Lynchburg snagged its first lead with an Anthony Santander solo shot in the third. Jones delivered a two-out, two-run double to right-center in the fourth to thrust Winston-Salem back in front.
Dash righty Spencer Adams logged four innings and surrendered three runs (two earned) in his first professional Opening Day start. Five relievers followed Adams, with Andre Wheeler, Nolan Sanburn and Connor Walsh (1-0) logging two scoreless innings apiece.
With the victory, Winston-Salem has won back-to-back season openers. The franchise had dropped nine of its previous 11 before this extra-inning affair, the club's longest game in innings since July of 2013, and last year's 13-0 shellacking of Frederick.
Winston and Lynchburg continue this four-game series Friday at 6:30 p.m. from Virginia. Matt Cooper makes his first High-A start against fellow right-hander Mitch Brown. Pregame coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. on wsdash.com/broadcast and the TuneIn Radio App, which is a free download for most mobile devices.
The Dash return to the Triad this Thursday, April 14, for a week-long homestand that kicks off the seventh season at BB&T Ballpark. Tickets for the homestand are available by calling (336) 714-2287 or visiting wsdash.com.
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