Lopez's Record Weekend
Published on May 28, 2014 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greensboro Grasshoppers News Release
Carlos Lopez wasn't even born when Alex Smith collected seven hits in a contest on August 7, 1986 for Sumter to set the South Atlantic League record for hits in a single game. Lopez fell one at-bat short of the record as he went 6-for-6 against the homestanding Rome Braves on Saturday April 24.
"The first couple of at-bats I was hitting the ball hard and finding holes," Lopez said. "Obviously as the game goes on, it progresses and you are like wow they haven't got me out yet."
Lopez collected his sixth hit of the ballgame with a single in the top of the tenth inning.
"I was enjoying it the whole time. I stepped out and heard a fan say: anybody can go 5-for-5, but can you go 6-for-6," Lopez said. "The next pitch I got a hit."
There was only one thing standing in the way of Lopez and placing him in the record book. That was Rome's manager Jon Schuerholz, who chose to walk Lopez in the top of the twelfth inning.
"I didn't know what the league record was," Lopez said. "When I was walking up to the plate, a coach from Rome told me no chance and wiggled four fingers at me."
Lopez became the first South Atlantic League player to go 6-for-6 since Michael Bianucci did in 2009 for Hickory. Lopez's career night came one game after another career night as he drove in six runs on April 23 in the Grasshoppers 14-4 thrashing of Rome. The six RBI was a career high for Lopez.
"It feel really good to go out there and help out the team as well as I did," Lopez said. "It was really unreal."
The two-day total for Lopez came out as going 8-for-9 with nine RBI. When asked if he had a better two-day span of games, Lopez joked and said maybe it t-ball.
Lopez is working on an eight game hitting streak and has improved his batting average to .319 during the span.
The Grasshoppers continue their three-game series tonight with the Lakewood BlueClaws before hosting the West Virginia Power for a four-game series April 29-June 1.
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