SAL1 Charleston RiverDogs

Double the pleasure, RiverDogs take two from Greensboro

Published on June 1, 2005 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston RiverDogs News Release


Charleston, SC- The Charleston RiverDogs rode the arm of Philip Hughes, then cranked up the offense for a season-high 14 runs in sweeping a doubleheader from the Greensboro Grasshoppers, 2-1 and 14-8 Wednesday night at Riley Park. The RiverDogs (35-18) moved a season's best 17 games above the .500 mark, and lengthened their Southern Division lead to a season-high 4.5 games over rained-out Augusta.

Hughes (6-1) dominated game one, tossing the first complete game of the season for Charleston, a two-hit masterpiece that gave him his sixth win in his last seven starts. The right-hander retired the first 12 batters he faced before allowing a run in the fifth, but then closed with scoreless frames in the 6th and 7th to complete the win. He struck out four and walked one in lowering his season ERA to 1.62.

Craig Molldrem (4-1), who also went the distance in the opener, took the hard-luck loss for Greensboro in allowing only two runs (one earned) on three hits.

The RiverDogs scored both runs and collected all three hits in game one in the second inning against Molldrem, as Cody Ehlers and Ben Jones opened the frame with consecutive singles. Two batters later, Yosvany Almario lined an RBI single to left plating Ehlers, and left-fielder J.T. Restko booted the ball for a two-base error allowing Irwil Rojas to score from first base. Molldrem then retired 14 of the final 16 batters he faced, but still fell on the losing end of the 2-1 decision.

It was a different story in game two, as the team's combined for 22 runs on 26 hits after totaling only three runs and five hits in the opener. After Brad McCann's two-run home run off Christian Garcia (4-3) gave Greensboro a 2-0 first-inning lead, the RiverDogs scored five times in the bottom of the inning against lefty Adam Brandenburg (3-3). The first five batters in Charleston's line-up recorded hits, including RBI singles by Marcos Vechionacci and Ben Jones, and all five came around to score, giving the RiverDogs a 5-2 lead.

The Grasshoppers came back to tie the game against Garcia in the top of the second on three walks, one hit, and five stolen bases, including Beau McMillan's steal of home that knotted the score 5-5. Garcia would allow six runs in the game, all earned, on seven hits in five innings pitched.

The Charleston bats broke it open in the bottom of the second with another huge inning against Brandenburg, scoring four more times on four more hits. After Tim Battle struck out to lead off the frame, Mario Holmann, Vechionacci and Jones each reached to load the bases, before Almario chased Brandenburg with a go-ahead two-run double. The new pitcher David Humen was then greeted by a two-run single by Edwar Gonzalez that made the score 9-5. Brandenburg was charged with nine runs, all earned, in only 1.1 innings pitched on the night.

Garcia then settled down, allowing only one run over the next three innings to earn his fourth win of the season. Charleston's offense supplied two more runs in the third off of Humen on a two-out, two-run hit by Vechionacci, who finished 3-3 in game two after entering in the midst of a 4-45 slump.

Greensboro scored twice against T.J. Beam in the sixth to cut the deficit to 11-8, but the RiverDogs added three insurance runs against Scott Nestor in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by Gonzalez' two-run blast, his first of the season. Charleston bested its previous season-high for runs in a game (12, 4/27 at Augusta) with the 14-run game two outburst, coming on the heels of scoring only a total of six runs in the team's previous three games.

Six of the nine RiverDogs starters had multiple hits, paced by Almario's 4-4 effort with three runs scored and two driven in. Gonzalez picked up five RBI, tying Ben Jones for the most by any RiverDog in a game this season. Vechionacci and William Plaza each went 3-3 with a walk.

The RiverDogs go for the series sweep Thursday night at Riley Park, sending right-hander Jeff Marquez (3-5) to the hill against Greensboro righty Kurt Koehler (0-3). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm.

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South Atlantic League Stories from June 1, 2005


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