SAL1 Charleston RiverDogs

RiverDogs Crunch Sand Gnats, 6-5

Published on August 6, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston RiverDogs News Release


CHARLESTON - Charleston held off Savannah's ninth-inning charge, winning a back-and-forth affair, 6-5, in front of 4,722 fans in South Atlantic League action at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park Saturday night.

With the triumph, the RiverDogs snapped a four-game skid improving to 17-25, 43-69 overall, while Savannah's four-game win streak also ended, dropping the Sand Gnats mark to 27-15, 66-45 overall.

The contest was delayed 27 minutes due to rain at the outset, and Savannah waited until the third inning to open the scoring, snatching a 2-0 lead courtesy of two Charleston errors. Alonzo Harris singled and moved to third on an errant pickoff throw. He came around to score on Darrell Ceciliani's RBI single. Wilfredo Tovar then lined a single to centerfield, which scored Ceciliani all the way from first after the ball was misplayed in the outfield.

Charleston answered back with a run in the bottom half on Shane Brown's two-out RBI single, cutting the score to 2-1.

Kyle Higashioka helped the RiverDogs take their first lead in the fourth, clobbering a two-run home run off Savannah's Angel Cuan over the left-field foul pole, giving Charleston control of the ledger at 3-2 on his fourth bomb of the campaign.

Jose Toussen ensured that the RiverDogs would score for the third straight inning, hitting a leadoff single, stealing second, taking third on a throwing error and coming plateward on Anderson Feliz's sacrifice fly for the 4-2 cushion.

Savannah fought back in the sixth to cut the score to 4-3 on a solo home run by Blake Forsythe, his fifth of the year.

Nuno (1-0) gave up 10 hits in a season-high 6.0 innings, but fanned a season-high six while walking none in picking up his first SAL victory.

Gary Sanchez let his bat be heard in the bottom of the frame, cranking his team-best 15th home run of the season over the right-field Palmetto trees, upping the margin to 5-3.

It spelled the end for Savannah starter Cuan (9-2), who gave up a season-high tying five runs on seven this through his 6.0 innings, with one walk and seven strikeouts. The 5'11" southpaw lost for the first time since April 27 after entering the game tied for the fourth in the loop in ERA.

In the seventh, Savannah put two men on base with one out against RiverDogs reliever Aaron Dott. Rafael Fernandez reached on an infield single, but when the throw to first got away, it was Dott who picked up the ball and threw out Tovar rounding second base too far for the second out. In the process, Ceciliani darted for home ahead of the throw from second, inching the Sand Gnats to 5-4.

Charleston pushed its lead to 6-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning, thanks to a RBI single by Kevin Mahoney that glanced off the glove of diving first baseman Juan Torres.

That insurance ran came in handy due to the fact that Savannah loaded the bags with two outs against Mark Montgomery in the ninth, and Albert Cordero brought in a run on a walk to make the count 6-5. Montgomery settled down, getting Aderlin Rodriguez to ground out to end the affair and get his team-leading ninth save.

Game three takes places Sunday at 5:05 p.m., with Charleston sending right-hander Nathan Forer (1-4, 4.60 ERA) to the firing line, while Savannah counters with right-hander Erik Goeddel (2-2, 2.72 ERA).

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South Atlantic League Stories from August 6, 2011


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