Watson Jr. crushes 10th-inning grand slam, leads Lancaster to win over old team
AtL Gastonia Ghost Peppers

Watson Jr. crushes 10th-inning grand slam, leads Lancaster to win over old team

Published on August 24, 2025 under Atlantic League (AtL)
Gastonia Ghost Peppers News Release


GASTONIA, N.C. - Kevin Watson Jr. made his presence felt in his return to Gastonia, crushing a grand slam in the 10th inning and leading Lancaster to an 8-5 victory over the Ghost Peppers on Sunday.

Gastonia carried a 3-2 lead into the ninth, but Yeison Coca picked up his third hit of the day with a game-tying single off Cory Thompson.

Watson Jr. then delivered in the 10th, smacking a grand slam to straight-away center field and giving the Stormers an 8-3 advantage.

The lefty, who started his season as a Ghost Pepper before getting traded to Lancaster on August 4, ends the day with 16 homers and 65 RBIs.

Gastonia and Lancaster traded blows throughout the day, with the Peppers striking first in the opening frame. Dalton Guthrie lined a single to right-center, plating Justin Wylie to make it 1-0 in the first.

Guthrie was responsible for the first three Gastonia runs, blooping an RBI double to shallow left-center in the fifth and hitting a sac fly in the seventh to put the Peppers on top, 3-2. The third baseman upped his RBI total to 67 on the season.

Donovan Benoit allowed the Watson Jr. grand slam in the 10th, which led to Lancaster taking Sunday's rubber match, 8-5.

The Ghost Peppers fell to 24-18 in the second half, remaining in first place and a game above High Point. They face off against Lexington in the beginning of a six-game road trip on Tuesday at 6:45 p.m.

Check out the Gastonia Ghost Peppers Statistics

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Atlantic League Stories from August 24, 2025


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