CarL1 Salem Red Sox

Offensive Fireworks Include Pair of Three-Run Jacks

Published on April 16, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem Red Sox News Release


Salem, VA - The fans were promised postgame fireworks, and the Red Sox offense provided a mighty opening act. Ryan Lavarnway and Tim Federowicz each belted three-run homers as Salem jumped out to a 13-2 lead after five innings, winning by that score in front of 4,903 fans on Friday night at Lewis-Gale Field. With the victory, the Red Sox improved to 6-2 in 2010, good for the top record in the Carolina League through eight games.

Myrtle Beach spoiled the start of the Home Opener with two runs on four consecutive hits in the first inning, yet little did everybody know that the Red Sox bats were ready to rake. Salem starter Caleb Clay settled down after a bumpy first, setting down 14 of the final 16 batters he faced to toss five strong innings and earn the win behind his teammates' offensive eruption.

With a brisk wind blowing out to left field, the scoring surge began in the last of the first when Peter Hissey, Anthony Rizzo, and Lavarnway all doubled, scoring a pair to tie things up at two. Both teams went quietly in the second, which for the Red Sox proved to be the calm before the storm.

Tim Federowicz drilled a one-out single in the third, and he shuffled to third base on Rizzo's second double. Lavarnway then belted his third home run in the last two games, another three-run shot that was launched over the Lewis-Gale Medical Center sign on the green wall in left. Lavarnway finished the game with three more hits and five more RBI, his second straight five-RBI game.

Up 5-2 after three, the Red Sox broke it open in the fourth. David Mailman began the inning with a leadoff triple, and the Red Sox continued to pound Pelican starter Zeke Spruill with four more singles in the frame, scoring four more runs to make it 9-2 and chase Spruill from the game. Spruill was charged with nine earned runs on 12 hits in three and a third innings.

Juan Abreu entered in relief and did not have the immediate answer. Salem's onslaught continued in the fifth inning, as the Sox tacked on another quartet of runs, highlighted by a mammoth three-run blast by Federowicz, his second homer on the year. The Red Sox only mustered one hit over the final three innings, yet the Pelicans were stymied by Salem's pen. Kyle Fernandes and Blake Maxwell tag-teamed to hold Myrtle Beach scoreless over the final four innings and sustain the 11-run advantage.

The top five hitters in Salem's lineup combined to bat 13-24 in the game with 11 RBI, and the Sox finished the night with nine hits in 13 at-bats with the bases loaded.

After the offensive fireworks concluded, the near-capacity crowd enjoyed a different kind of fireworks display, as the night sky illuminated beyond the right field fence following a satisfying season-opening victory at Lewis-Gale Field.

The Red Sox and Pelicans continue their three-game weekend series at 6:05 on Saturday evening when Alex Wilson opposes J.J. Hoover. Salem will ring in "A Night of Elegance" by wearing Tuxedo jerseys, and the first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive free Salem Red Sox Tuxedo t-shirts, courtesy of Fast Signs.

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Carolina League Stories from April 16, 2010


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