Perich and Molina Power Crawdads to Saturday Win
May 17, 2025 - Carolina League (CarL)
Hickory Crawdads News Release
Hickory, NC- Mason Molina provided the punch on the mound and Rafe Perich provided the pop at the plate on Saturday night as the Hickory Crawdads defeated the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 11-6 at LP Frans Stadium in front of 2,509 "Friends".
The Crawdads celebrated their 2015 South Atlantic League Championship, complete with replica rings for 1,000 fans, on a night that saw the club bang out twelve hits on their way to a season-high 11 runs in the win.
After a solo homer from Caleb Bonemer in the first inning for Kannapolis, the 'Dads responded with a six-spot in the bottom half, capped by a two-run double from Perich, to leap in front of the Cannon Ballers in the fifth game of the series.
In the second inning, Hickory was not done, as Yeremy Cabrera skied a two-run homer that scraped the top tier of signs in right to extend the lead to 8-1. The homer was Cabrera's first and would prove to be the necessary margin on this Saturday night.
A four-run seventh for the Ballers got things closer, but Perich added an exclamation point with his fourth homer of the year, a towering blast that landed against his namesake on the videoboard. The homer brought the lead back to 11-5 as Brock Porter came in to close the contest out for Hickory (18-19).
A solo shot from Ryan Burrowes closed out the scoring from Kannapolis (20-18), leaving the final margin at 11-6.
Molina pitched 5.1 innings on his way to his first win of the year. The outing featured eight strikeouts on one hit allowed.
Perich drove in four runs on his multi-hit night, as Ben Hartl, Chandler Pollard and Cabrera added multi-hit efforts, as well. The Cabrera clout, paired with Perich's dinger was the first multi-homer game for the 'Dads since May 6th in Augusta.
Tomorrow, Dalton Pence looks to earn Hickory a series win over Kannapolis, as the Cannon Ballers will send Kaleb Sophy to the mound for this 2pm finale.
Carolina League Stories from May 17, 2025
- Perich and Molina Power Crawdads to Saturday Win - Hickory Crawdads
- FredNats Blanked 2-0 in Saturday Loss at Delmarva - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Delmarva Clinches Series Victory with Second Shutout of Fredericksburg - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Mudcats Fall to Fayetteville - Carolina Mudcats
- Ramirez Slams Fireflies to 11-Inning Win - Columbia Fireflies
- Pelicans Collect Third Shutout of the Season, Down Hillcats 6-0 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Salem Snaps RiverDogs' Win Streak with Late Rally - Charleston RiverDogs
- Bats Go Quiet, Hillcats Shut out against Myrtle Beach - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes and Roster Move 5.17 - Columbia Fireflies
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
