CarL1 Winston-Salem Dash

Warthogs Rally Falls Short in 7-6 Loss to Lynchburg

Published on May 5, 2008 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


WINSTON-SALEM, NC - The Winston-Salem Warthogs late inning rally fell short in a 7-6 loss to Lynchburg on Monday night at Calvin Falwell Field. The Warthogs trailed 6-1 after four frames, but trimmed the deficit to a run entering the ninth inning. The Hillcats turned to closer Adam Simon, who gave up a leadoff double to Javier Colina. Brandon Allen grounded out to the right side of the infield, which moved the runner to third base with one out. But Simon got Lee Cruz to strike out swinging and Adam Ricks popped out to end the game with Colina stranded at third to give Lynchburg a victory in the opener of this three-game series.

Lynchburg jumped in front early with three runs in the first inning off Warthogs starting pitcher John Ely. Three consecutive singles with one out plated Angel Gonzales with the first run. Steve Lerud followed with an RBI double to score Jim Negrych and Kent Sakamato collected an RBI sacrifice fly to give the Hillcats a 3-0 lead. The Hillcats added to their lead with a pair of runs in the second inning on run-scoring hits by Brian Friday and Negrych to extend their lead to 5-0.

Winston-Salem put a run on the board in the fourth inning when Colina, who finished 4-for-5 with 3 doubles, singled and Brandon Allen followed with a double to start the inning. Adam Ricks brought Colina across the plate with a ground out to first.

The Hillcats answered with another run in the fourth inning when Brian Friday led off the inning with a single and moved to second when Ely was called for a balk. It was the 10th time a Warthogs hurler has been called for a balk this season, which is the most by any team in professional baseball. Gonzalez moved the runner to third with a single. With Negrich at the plate, Gonzalez was picked off first base, but managed to prolong the rundown, which allowed Friday to score from third.

The Warthogs cut the deficit to 6-3 with a pair of runs in the sixth inning. Lee Cruz greeted reliever Jake Cuffman with an RBI double and Anderson Gomez plated a run later in the inning with an RBI groundout. Lynchburg took advantage of a Warthogs error to bring another run across in the sixth inning when Cruz dropped a fly ball in left field.

John Shelby III belted a two-run home run and Adam Ricks laced a two-out RBI double off Hillcats reliever Blair Johnson to reduce the Warthogs deficit to 7-6 in the seventh inning, but Winston-Salem failed to register the tying score over the final two inning.

Watson (3-3) collected his third straight win for Lynchburg as he tossed 5 1/3 innings and held the Warthogs to two runs on six hits. Ely (0-4) struggled thru four innings and surrendered six runs on 12 hits to take the loss for the Warthogs, who fell to 1-9 on the road this season.

These two teams will square off in the second of this three-game series on Tuesday night at Calvin Falwell Field. The Warthogs will send LHP Aaron Poreda (2-1, 3.07) to the mound. The Hillcats will counter with RHP Jared Hughes (1-3, 4.31). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.

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Carolina League Stories from May 5, 2008


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