Greene Caps Big Comeback with Walkoff Homer
Published on June 5, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release
WINSTON-SALEM, NC - Justin Greene hit a walk-off solo home run on the first pitch of the ninth inning to complete a 6-5 comeback win over the Kinston Indians on Saturday night. A sellout crowd of 5,752 saw the Dash erase a 5-0 first inning deficit to win its third straight game and capture the series victory.
The game was billed as a marquee matchup of the league's top two pitchers in ERA, as Nevin Griffith took the mound opposite of ERA leader T.J. McFarland.
The duel fizzled early, as Griffith allowed five K-Tribe runs in the first inning. The first five Indians reached base to start the game and Abner Abreu, Kyle Bellows, Doug Pickens and Chris Kersten drove in runs to put Kinston (29-27) up 5-0 before McFarland had a chance to begin his outing.
Winston-Salem (37-19) got a run in the bottom of the first, as Seth Loman drove in Eduardo Escobar on a base hit to left to cut the deficit to 5-1.
The Dash got one more back in the second inning. Jason Bour hit a one-out double and scored two batters later on double by Greene.
McFarland gave up one more run in the fifth inning. Jon Gilmore singled to right field to score Escobar and make it 5-3 Indians.
While the Dash was slowly chipping away at the K-Tribe lead, Winston's pitchers kept the Indians from adding to their run total. Griffith calmed down after the first to throw three straight shutout innings before leaving the game. Santos Rodriguez was dominant in two perfect innings, while Dan Remenowsky struck out six in two scoreless frames.
Gilmore brought the Dash within one run on a solo homer off Rob Bryson to left field. It was his third home run of the season and it snapped Kinston's streak of retiring eight straight Winston players.
The Dash tied the ballgame at five with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, as Bour hit an opposite field home run off new pitcher Matt Langwell (3-2).
After Charlis Burdie (1-1) stranded a man at second base in the top of the ninth, Langwell returned to the mound for the bottom half of the inning. Greene rocketed the first pitch he saw off the bottom of the batter's eye in straightaway centerfield for a game-ending home run. Greene thought the ball merely bounced off the wall for what would have been a double and stopped at second base. After seeing his teammates flood out of the first base dugout, Greene began his home run trot, tossed his helmet skyward, and started celebrating the fourth walkoff win for the Dash this season.
Burdie collected the win with his scoreless inning of work. Langwell suffered both the loss and a blown save.
Winston-Salem won its third straight game and took the series from the K-Tribe. The Dash still leads Salem by five games for first place in the Southern Division after the Red Sox beat Myrtle Beach 6-4. Winston's magic number to clinch a first half playoff spot dwindled to ten with the win.
The Dash goes for the four-game sweep on Sunday afternoon. RHP Stephen Sauer (4-2, 4.19) opposes RHP Joey Mahalic (1-0, 3.68) in a 2 p.m. start. The audio webcast starts at 1:45 at www.wsdash.com.
Fans may purchase tickets for every Dash game this season by calling the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visiting www.wsdash.com.
Carolina League Stories from June 5, 2010
- Greene Caps Big Comeback with Walkoff Homer - Winston-Salem Dash
- Winston-Salem Walks off with a 6-5 win - Kinston Indians
- Tejeda Goes 4-4 in Salem Victory - Salem Red Sox
- Right-hander Works His Way Out of Multiple Jams in Win - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Nery's Gem Leads Keys To Fourth Straight - Frederick Keys
- Four-run Seventh Gives Salem Saturday Night Win - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- P-Nats Drop Bizarre Game to Blue Rocks - Potomac Nationals
- Keys Cruise Over Cats Again - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Cesar Cabral Joins Salem - Salem Red Sox
- K-Tribe Notes - Kinston Indians
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.
