RidgeYaks Blank Crawdads 1-0 Behind Dominant Pitching Effort
CarL Salem RidgeYaks

RidgeYaks Blank Crawdads 1-0 Behind Dominant Pitching Effort

Published on May 31, 2026 under Carolina League (CarL)
Salem RidgeYaks News Release


SALEM, Va. - The Salem RidgeYaks (23-28) rode a stellar performance from their pitching staff and an early RBI single from Andruw Musett to secure a 1-0 victory over the Hickory Crawdads (28-21) on Sunday afternoon at Carilion Clinic Field.

In a game that lasted just one hour and 51 minutes, Salem's pitching staff combined to allow only two hits while shutting out Hickory for just the third time this season.

The RidgeYaks wasted little time manufacturing the game's lone run in the bottom of the first inning. Andrews Opata ripped a two-out single off Crawdads starter Evan Siary before Kleyver Salazar followed with a base hit to move Opata into scoring position. Musett then delivered the decisive blow, lining an 0-1 fastball into right field to score Opata and give Salem a 1-0 advantage. Salazar advanced to third on the play, but Hickory escaped further damage and kept the deficit at one.

That run proved to be all the offense Salem would need.

Starter Jacob Mayers set the tone with three hitless innings, working around three walks while striking out three. The right-hander faced just 11 batters and did not allow a hit during his outing.

Cole Tolbert followed with the longest appearance of the afternoon and earned his first victory of the season. The right-hander tossed a career-high 4.2 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out three.

Salem carried a no-hit bid into the fifth inning before Angel Arredondo lined a single for Hickory's first hit of the afternoon.

The Crawdads mounted their biggest threat in the sixth inning when Hector Osorio singled and Yolfran Castillo drew a walk with one out. Tolbert induced a weak groundout before Musett threw out Osorio attempting to steal second base, ending the threat and preserving Salem's slim lead.

Wuilliams Rodriguez closed the door in the ninth, recording the final four outs to collect his second save of the season. Rodriguez struck out one and did not allow a baserunner.

The RidgeYaks managed six hits offensively, with Opata leading the way by going 2-for-3 and scoring the game's only run. Musett finished 1-for-3 with the lone RBI, while Salazar, Avinson Pinto and Givian Sirvania each added hits. Pinto also tripled, accounting for one of Salem's two extra-base hits.

Siary (2-2) suffered the loss despite a strong outing for Hickory. The right-hander allowed one run on four hits over five innings while striking out seven. The Crawdads' pitching staff combined for eight strikeouts and surrendered only six hits, but their offense could not solve Salem's arms.

The victory allowed the RidgeYaks to close the six-game series on a high note while earning a split of the series with Hickory.

Salem begins a six-game road series against the Wilson Warbirds on Tuesday night. First pitch from Wilson is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Tuesday.

Game Notes:

The 1:51 time of game marks Salem's shortest nine-inning game of the season and second shortest game overall of the season (May 22 at Hill City, seven innings, 1:46)

The time of game marked Salem's quickest nine-inning game since June 19, 2024 vs Augusta (1:50)

It also tied the mark for the third shortest nine-inning game time since 2006, June 19, 2024 (1:50), and June 9, 2023 (1:46)

Jacob Mayers went three innings scoreless and hitless, Mayers has now allowed just two earned runs over his last six outing since April 22. He has pitched 19.2 over his last six with 24 strikeouts and just seven hits allowed

Cole Tolbert set a new career high by going 4.2 innings on the hill allowing just two hits

Tolbert drops his season ERA under 1.50 for the first time in his pro ball career by bringing it down to 1.35 with the winning effort

Wuilliams Rodriguez tossed the final four outs without allowing a hit. Over his last five relief outings since May 15, Rodriguez has allowed no runs and just one hit across 8.1 innings pitched with six strikeouts and one walk

Rodriguez has not allowed an earned run since May 9 vs. Delmarva and has now gone six straight outings without an earned run allowed

Salem pitchers held Hickory to just two hits, the second time this year Salem held an opposition to two hits or less

Andrews Opata went 2-for-3 in his 11th multi-hit effort this season, Opata extends his on-base streak to 14-games

In 39 games played this season, Opata has reached safely in 34 games

Opata finished the series by going 5-for-16 (.313) at the plate with a .764 OPS

Avinson recorded his fourth triple of the season to lead the team and jump into a tie for second most in both the Carolina League and Single-A Baseball

After allowing 21 runs to Hickory in the first four games of the series, Salem held Hickory to just one run off eight hits the last two days with 17 strikeouts

The shutout was Salem's second shutout win of the season (April 28 at Wilson)

Salem's 1-0 victory marked their first win of that score since August 1, 2025 at Lynchburg

Salem has now split their last two series and split three of their four total series in the month of May

Salem finishes the month of May with an 11-16 record

Check out the Salem RidgeYaks Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Carolina League Stories from May 31, 2026


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.

OurSports Central