Walk-Off HR Hands Crawdads 6-5 Loss
Published on April 22, 2016 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hickory Crawdads News Release
Hickory Crawdads on the Mound
(Hickory Crawdads)
Hagerstown, MD - The Hickory Crawdads were 3 outs away from consecutive wins in Hagerstown before things unraveled in the 9th Friday night, as a 5-3 lead became a 6-5 loss at Municipal Stadium thanks to a walk-off 3-run homer by Suns left fielder Matthew Page.
The 'Dads entered the 9th with a 2-run lead they had held since the 5th, with Hickory relievers John Werner and Omarlin Lopez combining to toss 3.2 scoreless innings of relief. Lopez ran into trouble in the final frame however when both Max Schrok and Kelvin Gutierrez singled to start the inning and brought the winning run to the plate. Page then came through with a fly ball that just cleared the fence down the right field line for a home run and a 6-5 final score.
The long ball was the first of the year for Page, and just the sixth total for the Suns as a team.
Prior to the 9th, the Crawdads had led for much of the game despite being outhit. The 'Dads did this thanks to 5 of their 9 hits going for extra bases, while Hagerstown had 12 singles among their 14 hits. Hickory jumped out ahead in the 2nd thanks to an extra-base hit, as Dylan Moore drew a leadoff walk and came in two outs later on an RBI double to left from Ti'Quan Forbes that put the club on top 1-0.
The Suns answered in the bottom half of the inning with a 2-out, 2-RBI single by Victor Robles that gave the home team a 2-1 lead. The Crawdads immediately responded in the 3rd when Eric Jenkins singled to right, moved to second base on a walk from Andy Ibanez, stole third base, and ultimately scored on an error by Hagerstown catcher Jorge Tillero to tie the score at 2-2.
Hickory regained the lead with another single tally in the top of the 4th when Forbes drew a 2-out walk and came home to score on an RBI double off the center field wall by Jose Almonte that put the Crawdads on top 3-2. The 'Dads stretched their advantage to 5-2 in the 5th thanks to three straight extra-base hits, as Chris Garia lined a solo homer to right before Ibanez and Moore laced back-to-back doubles that brought in the inning's second run.
Hagerstown cut into their deficit the next half inning on an RBI single from Ryan Ripken that made the score 5-3. It would stay the same until the 9th, when the Suns lined three straight hits including the game-winning homer for the final 6-5 margin.
Lopez (1-1) took the loss for Hickory with three runs allowed on five hits and one strikeout over 1 inning pitched. Hagerstown reliever Tommy Peterson (1-1) earned the win after tossing two scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
Moore led the 'Dads bats by going 2-4 with a double, one RBI, a walk, and a run scored. Ibanez (2-4, 2B, R, BB) and Jenkins (2-4, SB, R) finished with multi-hit games as well.
The Crawdads (11-5) will try to bounce back against the Suns (11-5) in game three of the 4-game set Saturday night, with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 pm.
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