SAL1 Greensboro Grasshoppers

Hayes' grand slam propels Hoppers by Jackets

Published on June 25, 2006 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greensboro Grasshoppers News Release


GREENSBORO, N.C. - Brett Hayes, in his first game off the disabled list, belted a grand slam home run that lifted the Greensboro Grasshoppers to a 5-3 win over the Augusta GreenJackets Sunday at First Horizon Park.

With the teams locked in a scoreless tie, Hayes came up with two outs and the bases loaded in the fifth inning. His drive to left-center field eluded a leaping try at the fence by Augusta's Ben Copeland for a home run. Gary Roche, Andy Jenkins and Juan Figueroa scored ahead of Hayes.

It was the fourth homer of the year for Hayes, who spent three weeks on the disabled list with a high ankle sprain.

"The first week-and-a-half I just sat around and stretched it," said Hayes, sporting a large bag of ice taped to his ankle after the game. "Then I started with some batting practice and three or four days ago I started to run and catch in the bullpen."

Hayes said his timing at the plate felt a little off, and that he "got lucky" on the grand slam against Jackets starter Joe Martinez.

"He had been throwing good curves all day but he left one up, I put the barrel on it and it went out," Hayes said of his first professional grand slam.

That lead stood up behind the sharp pitching of Aaron Thompson, who did not allow a runner past first base through seven innings and got 11 groundball outs. In the eighth, the Jackets strung together singles by Jose Yens and Pablo Sandoval, an RBI double by Antoan Richardson and back-to-back sacrifice flies by Copeland and Hector Borg to cut the lead to 4-3.

The Hoppers added an insurance run in the eighth on an RBI single by Gary Roche, his fourth hit of the game.

Todd Doolittle, who relieved Thompson with one out in the eighth, surrendered a walk in the ninth but struck out the side to preserve Thompson's sixth win and earn his second save.

"Thompson was unbelievable," said Hayes, the catcher. "He threw all his pitches for strikes and stayed at the knees the whole game."

The Hoppers head out for eight games on the road. The first four are in Asheville, starting Monday, followed by four in Kannapolis. The return home July 4 against the Greenville Drive.

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South Atlantic League Stories from June 25, 2006


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