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SAL1 Charleston RiverDogs

Roller Goes Yard as Charleston Cracks Hickory, 6-3

May 27, 2011 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston RiverDogs News Release


HICKORY, N.C. - Kyle Roller went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and 3 RBI to lead the Charleston RiverDogs over the Hickory Crawdads, 6-3, in South Atlantic League action Friday night in front of a crowd of 2,552 fans at L.P. Frans Stadium.

Charleston halted a five-game losing streak and improved to 21-27 with the victory, while Hickory regressed to 26-21 in defeat.

Roller also delivered an RBI single as the RiverDogs sprung to life to avoid a season-high six game losing streak, rallying for two runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to provide the final outcome.

The East Carolina alum took a rare 0-for-4 in Thursday night's loss, but wasted no time in bouncing back right away. Roller staked the RiverDogs to a 2-0 lead off Crawdads starter Cody Buckel in the top of the first, cracking his seventh home run of the year over the left field fence.

Charleston's bats went to sleep after the Roller homer, however, as Buckel and reliever Ben Rowen (0-1) retired 15 RiverDogs in a row over a stretch that ranged from the second to the seventh.

Hickory, meanwhile, plated a run each in the second, third, and fifth innings to forge a 3-2 advantage against Charleston starter Jose A. Ramirez (2-1).

Alejandro Selen and Jonathan Roof registered back-to-back two-out hits to put the Crawdads on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second. Selen doubled to center field, and came home to score when Roof laced a line drive to left for an RBI single.

A night after clubbing three long balls, the Crawdads took a power trip again to tie the tally at 2-2 in the third. Teodoro Martinez powered his second home run of the season, and second in as many nights, turning on a Ramirez fastball to send it clear of the left field wall.

Jurickson Profar took a page out of Martinez's book to vault Hickory in front, 3-2, in the last of the fifth inning. Profar pumped a homer for the second consecutive game, ripping a line drive shot to right for his sixth jack of the season.

Buckel settled in after the first inning, but was still lifted quickly in just his second outing since making the transition from the starting rotation to the bullpen. The 18-year old Californian still worked a season-high 4.0 innings, yielding the two runs on three hits, while striking out five.

Rowen breezed through the first eight Charleston batters he faced until Ramon Flores blooped a single into shallow left field to open the flood gates in the top of the seventh.

Kelvin De Leon weaved a groundball single into right field to chase Flores to third and then onto the plate, tying the game at 3-3, when Josh Richmond made a wild throw. De Leon advanced all the way to third base on the error, and made the trot down the line for a 4-3 advantage when catcher Francisco Arcia rapped a RBI single up the middle in his RiverDogs debut.

Tommy Kahnle staged yet another high-wire act in the last of the frame, escaping a bases-loaded jam with a pair of strikeouts after issuing three walks. Kahnle entered in place of Ramirez, who picked up his second quality start in a row, penning 6.0 solid innings. The 21-year old Dominican, rated the Yankees' 24th best prospect by Baseball America, permitted the three runs on six hits and two walks, racking up a season-best seven strikeouts in the process.

Slade Heathcott got the ball rolling in the eighth, as Charleston pieced together two insurance runs to advance its cushion to 6-3. Heathcott hammered a triple over the head of Jake Skole in center field, and made the 90-foot journey to touch the plate when Anderson Feliz reached safely on a fielding error by Profar.

Jorge Marban was summoned from the Crawdads bullpen to replace Rowen, but could not stop the bleeding. Feliz swiped second base and progressed to third on a throwing error, setting the stage for Roller again. The hulking first baseman displayed his run-producing prowess once more, singling through the originator to drive home Feliz.

Kelvin Perez solidified the win in the ninth, notching his third save of the campaign with a scoreless frame to give Charleston a chance to salvage a series-split tomorrow.

The RiverDogs and Crawdads meet in the finale of the four-game set on Saturday night at 7:05 pm. Right-hander Mikey O'Brien (2-3, 3.31 ERA) is expected to toe the slab for Charleston, versus fellow righty Nicholas Tepesch (0-2, 3.62 ERA) of Hickory.

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