Déjà Vu All over Again: Stowers Walks It off against Rockers to Give Club 3-2 Win in 10 Innings
June 20, 2024 - Atlantic League (AtL)
Gastonia Ghost Peppers News Release
As if the previous night wasn't filled with enough drama, Gastonia walked off against High Point once again in the 10th inning with a single, scoring a runner from third. Talk about déjà vu.
Josh Stowers played hero Wednesday night with a two-out, 67 mile-per-hour bloop single to right field, giving the Club a 3-2 victory.
Nick Wells and Ben Braymer, both lefty starters, had great outings for their respective squads.
Wells made his fourth start of the season for Gastonia, and the southpaw allowed two runs in 5.2 innings. He walked two and struck out eight batters.
Wells was cruising through five innings, allowing just two High Point baserunners - a Colin Moran single and Brian Parreira walk.
Pareira walked once more to lead off the sixth before D.J. Burt worked a 10-pitch at-bat against Wells, resulting in a two-run home run. Burt's long ball gave the Rockers a 2-1 lead in the sixth.
The Gastonia offense, which had one run on two hits through five innings against Braymer, responded immediately to tie things up.
Jake Gatewood, who extended his on-base streak to 14 games on Wednesday, doubled with one out. Patrick Mazeika then hit a single to right-center that scored Gatewood to make it 2-2 in the sixth.
Just like Tuesday night, the game remained tied until the 10th inning.
Both bullpens were spectacular.
Gastonia: 4 relievers, 4.1 innings, 0 R
High Point: 4 relievers, 3.2 innings, 0 ER
Trent Fennell, Bryan Blanton, Pheonix Sanders and Cory Thompson were the arms used by Mauro "Goose" Gozzo in relief of Wells, with Thompson's performance being the most impressive.
Thompson stepped into the same role that Gabe Klobosits had Tuesday night - facing the Rockers in the top of the 10th, with a ghost runner starting on second base.
And he filled it perfectly.
The right-hander retired the bottom of the High Point order 1-2-3 to keep it 2-2 headed to the bottom of the 10th.
Jake Hoover, who scored the game-winner the previous night, laid down a sacrifice bunt, advancing Eric De La Rosa to third.
Ryan Meisinger, the fourth and final reliever used by the Rockers, struck out Jack Reinheimer before facing Stowers.
Stowers was responsible for his team's first run of the night, blasting a solo homer off Braymer in the fourth inning. Now, he had a chance to play hero.
The center fielder hit a 67 mile-per-hour pop up to shallow right field, with Martin Figueroa charging like a free safety attempting to make a play on a tight end.
Figueroa dove in, got his glove on the ball and was unable to hold onto it, the ball trickling slowly away from him - the High Point right fielder inches away from sending the game to an 11th inning.
De La Rosa scored and Gastonia completed its second straight walk-off win against its arch rival.
Gastonia improved to 34-15 on the season, now three games up on High Point in the South Division with 14 games to go in the first half.
The Club goes for the sweep on Thursday, with first pitch at 7 p.m.
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Atlantic League Stories from June 20, 2024
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