SAL1 Hagerstown Suns

Fourteenth-Inning Collapse Overshadows Curran's Clutch Slam

Published on August 13, 2009 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hagerstown Suns News Release


HAGERSTOWN, MD -- What could have been the biggest hit of the season by the lineup's smallest slugger instead gave way to another maddening home loss for the Hagerstown Suns (15-29) on Thursday night, as the Rome Braves (22-23) plated four runs in the top of the fourteenth inning to complete the series sweep with a 10-6 win.

Centerfielder Chris Curran capped an improbable Suns' comeback in the bottom of the ninth inning with a game-tying grand slam, but Hagerstown could never push its way over the top, and the Braves eventually pounced on Hagerstown reliever Carlos Peralta (4-6) for four straight singles to drive home the game's deciding runs.

Curran's clutch blast to right centerfield punctuated a memorable night for the five-foot, seven-inch, 160-pound leadoff man, as he went four-for-seven and either scored or drove in all six of the Suns runs.

A Rome error put Curran aboard to lead off the top of the first inning, and three batters later, Curran came around to score on a double off the top of the fence in left by first baseman Tyler Moore.

Hagerstown's early lead was erased in the third on a three-run home run by Braves' No. 3 hitter Adam Milligan, who matched Curran's four-for-seven performance and drove in five runs. Rome added a run in the fifth and two more in the eighth to take a 6-1 lead, and the Suns appeared ready to limp out of the series quietly.

Curran got Hagerstown going in the bottom of the eighth, however, with a one-out bunt single, and eventually came around to score when shortstop Steven Souza lined an infield single off the Rome pitcher to pull the Suns to within four.

That deficit set the stage for Curran's ninth-inning heroics, which came after Braves' reliever Cody Railsback walked the first three batters of the inning and was replaced by Matthew Small. Curran tagged Small for his second homer of 2009, but Small stayed in to shut down Hagerstown over his next two innings of work, and fellow Moises Hernandez (1-0) followed with four shutout innings of his own.

Peralta began his second inning of work in the fourteenth, and things got off to a bad start when Braeden Schlehuber led off with a double to center. Four consecutive one-out Rome singles later, the Braves led 10-6, and Peralta was pulled from the game for Austin Garrett.

It was the third 14-inning game of the season for the Suns, matching their longest contest of the season.

Check out the Hagerstown Suns Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



South Atlantic League Stories from August 13, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central