Fayetteville Opens Second Half with 8-7 Victory over Columbia
Published on July 1, 2011 under Coastal Plain League (Coastal Plain)
Fayetteville SwampDogs News Release
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - The Fayetteville SwampDogs opened the second half of the CPL season the same way they closed the first half, with a thrilling nail-biter at J.P. Riddle Stadium that ultimately resulted in a notch in the win column.
Brian Yeung went 3-for-4 with two RBI's, and every SwampDogs starter reached base safely in some form in their 8-7 victory over the Columbia Blowfish on Friday night. Cody Davis went 3-for-5 with two RBI's, and Eric Grabe and Jay Cannon each contributed RBI groundouts in the win.
The SwampDogs are now 1-0 in the second half, 18-11 overall. Columbia falls to 9-20 overall after losing their second-half opener, and just 1-6 against the SwampDogs this season.
Fayetteville opened an early 6-0 lead after two innings against Blowfish starter Blake Forslund (0-3). But Columbia did not fold, plating three runs off SwampDogs starter Brewer Carter (3-1) in the fifth to draw within four.
After the SwampDogs extended the lead to 8-4 in the bottom of the sixth, the Blowfish scored four runs in the top of the seventh off reliever Mike Hebert. But with runners at first and third and two outs, Brandon Huffman struck out Tyler Jackson to end the threat.
Huffman then struck out all three men he faced in the eighth, and Cody Davis recorded a perfect ninth with three strikeouts of his own to earn his eighth save of the year. In all, Huffman and Davis combined to strikeout the final seven Columbia batters of the game, all swinging.
The same two teams will switch venues and face off tomorrow at Capital City Stadium. Alex Belew (1-1) is expected to start for the SwampDogs, while John Long (2-1) is the scheduled starter for Columbia. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. The SwampDogs then return home for their annual Independence Day fireworks spectacular on Sunday against the Wilson Tobs. Box seats are already sold out for the game. Gates will open at 5 p.m., an hour earlier than usual, with a special Sunday start time of 7:05 p.m. at J.P. Riddle Stadium.
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