Hickory's Sixth Inning Rally Too Much to Overcome for Charleston
CarL Charleston RiverDogs

Hickory's Sixth Inning Rally Too Much to Overcome for Charleston

Published on July 20, 2025 under Carolina League (CarL)
Charleston RiverDogs News Release


Hickory, NC - Charleston built a four-run lead, but the Hickory Crawdads rallied for five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to spoil the RiverDogs' hopes for a sweep with a 7-5 win on Sunday afternoon at L.P. Frans Stadium.

With the loss, Charleston falls to 47-41 and 12-10 in the second half of the season - four games behind first place Myrtle Beach.

The RiverDogs pounced in the top of the first inning, loading the bases with two outs for Larry Martinez, who sent a fly ball into right-center field that dropped past the outstretched glove of the center fielder Wady Mendez. The play pushed in all three runs (but was ruled an error) to put Charleston ahead 3-0.

Hickory got on the board in the bottom of the third on an RBI groundout from Hector Osorio, but the RiverDogs quickly got the run back in the fourth. Jose Contreras doubled and Jose Monzon singled to put runners on second and third with no outs. Jose Perez brought in Contreras on a ground out, but Monzon was left stranded on second to end the inning.

Theo Gillen pushed the lead to 5-1 with a sixth-inning sacrifice fly.

RiverDogs starter Jacob Kmatz kept the Crawdads in check until the game-defining rally in the bottom of the sixth. The first three batters of the inning singled, setting up an RBI fielder's choice which cut the lead to 5-2.

Erick Alvarez trimmed the deficit to 5-3 with an RBI double. After Marcos Torres popped a sacrifice fly, Wady Mendez lined a two-run, go-ahead home run to put Hickory in front 6-5, chasing Kmatz.

In the seventh, Hickory capitalized on a leadoff triple from Esteban Mejia with a sacrifice fly to make it a 7-5 game.

The RiverDogs failed to advance a runner past first base in their final three at-bats.

Charleston's nine-game road swing continues Tuesday at 12:05 with the series opener against the Salem Red Sox. The RiverDogs return to Charleston on July 29 to open a six-game series with Myrtle Beach.

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Carolina League Stories from July 20, 2025


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