Late Offense Leads Crawdads to 7-2 Win
Published on May 8, 2016 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hickory Crawdads News Release
Hickory Crawdads RF Jose Almonte
(Hickory Crawdads)
Charleston, SC - It took 6 innings before the Hickory Crawdads got their bats going Sunday night, but once they did the 'Dads ran away with the game as Hickory scored 7 unanswered runs beginning in the 6th frame en route to a 7-2 win over the Charleston RiverDogs at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park.
The Crawdads entered the 6th with only two hits on the night and trailing Charleston 2-0 before solo home runs by Chris Garia and Tyler Sanchez in the 6th and 7th innings tied the game at 2-2. The 'Dads then pulled away with a 4-run 8th and one final tally in the 9th for the final 7-2 score.
The win is the second straight for the Crawdads in the matchup of the two first place teams in the South Atlantic League.
The RiverDogs took their initial lead with a run in the 1st, as Chris Gittens doubled and Connor Spencer collected an RBI single to center off of Hickory starting pitcher Peter Fairbanks for a 1-0 score. The 'Dogs doubled their advantage to 2-0 in the 4th, when Spencer singled and came home on an RBI double from Angel Aguilar.
Fairbanks escaped the 4th without further damage before retiring the final 8 batters he faced to keep his team in the game. The Crawdads bats responded in the 6th, when Garia lined a solo shot inside the left field foul pole to cut the deficit to 2-1. One inning later, Sanchez unloaded a no-doubt solo blast to left to tie the score at 2-2.
The 'Dads then got to the RiverDogs bullpen in the 8th, scoring 4 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks to take their first lead of the night at 6-2. Andy Ibanez and Dylan Moore started the rally with consecutive walks, before Yeyson Yrizarri reached on a fielder's choice one out later to load the bases. Jose Almonte then delivered a 2-out, 2-RBI single to left to break the tie. Following a call to the bullpen that brought in right-handed reliever Claudio Custodio, LeDarious Clark came through with a 2-RBI double to left to give Hickory a 4-run lead.
The Crawdads tacked on their last tally in the 9th, when Frandy De La Rosa doubled off the wall in right before eventually scoring on an RBI groundout by Sanchez for the final 7-2 score.
Sanchez finished the game 2-4 with his third homer of the season and 2 RBI. Almonte went 1-4 with 2 RBI, Clark finished 1-3 with a double and 2 RBI, while Ibanez ended the night 2-4 with 2 doubles, a walk, and a run scored.
Hickory reliever Omarlin Lopez (2-1) earned the win with 1.2 scoreless innings pitched, while Charleston bullpen arm David Palladino (1-1) took the loss after surrendering 5 runs on 4 hits, 3 walks, and 3 Ks over 1.2 IP. Fairbanks received a no-decision for his efforts after going a season-high 6 innings and allowing 2 runs on 7 hits and 3 strikeouts.
The Crawdads (21-9) and RiverDogs (19-10) will play again Monday night at 7:05 pm in game three of their 4-game series.
Images from this story
 Hickory Crawdads RF Jose Almonte |
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