Late Rally from Crawdads Spoils Opening Night for Cannon Ballers in 7-4 Loss

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CarL Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Late Rally from Crawdads Spoils Opening Night for Cannon Ballers in 7-4 Loss

April 4, 2025 - Carolina League (CarL)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers News Release


KANNAPOLIS, N.C. - Despite holding onto the lead for most of the game, the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers crumbled late while in the field, falling, 7-4, Friday to the Hickory Crawdads on Opening Night at Atrium Health Ballpark.

With the loss, Kannapolis (0-1) falls for the second year in a row on Opening Day, and 2-3 all-time as the Cannon Ballers in their first contest of the season. Hickory scooped the victory in their first game back at the Single-A level since 2019 after spending the last four years at the Advanced-A level of professional baseball.

RHP Mason Moore showed flashes of the former Friday night starter at Kentucky that he was, striking out six over five efficient innings. Moore allowed one unearned run with two hits, but did walk three Crawdads along the way. RHP Morris Austin impressed in his White Sox organization debut, striking out four in two innings, walking one and allowing one hit.

Despite struggling to find the strike zone consistently, Hickory's Kai-Noa Wynyard (W, 1-0) earned the winning decision, his third at the Single-A level in his four years of competition. RHP Pierce George (L, 0-1) ended up being dealt the loss, landing on the wrong end of a ninth inning rally from the Crawdads.

Hickory opened the scoring in the top of the third, taking a, 1-0, lead on a Ben Hartl RBI single, scoring Yeremy Cabrera.

Friday's contest proved to be one of many walks, with Kannapolis getting on the board for their first two runs of the game in the third and fourth on a bases-loaded walk and a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch, respectively, from Crawdads arms.

Lyle Miller-Green made an impact in the lineup with a multi-hit game, including a 441-foot blast into left field to hand Kannapolis a, 3-1, lead after six innings.

Maxton Martin broke through in the top of the eighth innings with an RBI double to left field, scoring Chandler Pollard to make it a, 3-2, game. Pablo Guerrero wasted no time following up, smoking a first pitch ground ball up the middle, drawing a throwing error from Kannapolis INF Javier Mogollon that allowed two runners to score, making it a, 4-3, lead for Hickory.

The Ballers tied the game up in the bottom of the eighth to stay in it, knotting the matchup at, 4-4, with the second bases-loaded walk of the night for Hickory pitching.

With George on the mound for the ninth, the Crawdads broke through with a leadoff triple from Marcos Torres, who then scored on a Cabrera RBI single to give Hickory a, 5-4 lead. Martin and Rafe Perich contributed with RBI of their own in the ninth, pushing the visitors ahead, 7-4. The lead was too much for Kannapolis, who had no rally of their own late in the game.

The Cannon Ballers will look to even the series against the Hickory Crawdads on Saturday, April 5 at Atrium Health Ballpark. First pitch is slated for 7:00 p.m., with the debut of the new K-Town Red jersey and cap combination at the top of exciting topics to see. RHP Luis Reyes (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will make his first start in a Cannon Ballers uniform in Saturday's contest.

Single-game tickets, season ticket packages and 10-game mini plans for the 2025 season are available now! Come see your defending Carolina League South Division champion Kannapolis Cannon Ballers in their fifth season at Atrium Health Ballpark. Call the Cannon Ballers ticket office at (704) 932-3267 or visit ‚ kcballers.com ‚ for more information and to secure your seats today.

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