SAL1 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Wild Pitch Offense Propels Intimidators to Win

Published on August 12, 2014 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers News Release


KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (August 12, 2014) - The wild pitch offense was in full effect as part of a 4-run eighth inning for the Kannapolis Intimidators, which came back to beat the Lexington Legends, 5-1, on Tuesday night at CMC-NorthEast Stadium. Kannapolis (55-64, 26-26 Second Half) scored three runs on wild pitches during the frame to pull away from Lexington.

The rest of the offense came via an RBI-triple by a catcher and a game-tying hit from an Olympic silver medalist as the Intimidators secured a series win with their second straight victory over the Legends.

Second baseman Eddy Alvarez - an American Olympian during the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia - tied the game with a seventh inning single in his Class A debut. The White Sox promoted Alvarez to Kannapolis on Monday. He competed in four speed-skating events in Sochi, taking a silver medal in the 5,000-meter relay. Alvarez finished the game 1-for-3 with an RBI, a walk, and a stolen base.

Jose Brito tossed a pair of scoreless relief innings to earn a win. Despite walking the first two batters of the ninth, Brito (3-1) bounced back to retire the next batter before inducing a game-ending double play.

After six scoreless innings of play, Lexington's Mauricio Ramos led off the seventh with a double - the first Legend to reach scoring position in the game. He moved to third on a sac-bunt, and Chad Johnson snuck a single past first base to cash Ramos for a 1-0 lead.

In the home half of the seventh, Toby Thomas drove a 1-out double to right field, and Alvarez followed with a game-tying base hit that ramped off the mound and into centerfield, the Olympian's first hit at Class A, to get starter Robinson Leyer off the hook for a hard-luck loss.

Leyer opened with six scoreless innings, limiting the Legends to four base-runners in that span. He finished the night withs seven strikeouts in 7.0 innings while limiting Lexington to a run on five hits.

In the eighth, Legends reliever Kevin Perez allowed a leadoff single to Christian Stringer before walking Danny Hayes and Jacob Morris to load the bases with catcher Jeremy Dowdy at the plate. Two wild pitches later, Kannapolis led 3-1. Dowdy then blasted a ball to the wall in right-center field for a run-scoring triple, the third of his career. The catcher then scored on a wild pitch for a 5-1 lead.

Lexington reliever Kevin Perez (1-3) took the loss, allowing all five Kannapolis runs on five hits over 2.0 innings. Alec Mills took no decision after 6.0 scoreless innings for the Legends.

The Intimidators wrap up the 3-game series against the Legends on Wednesday at 12:05 p.m. as LHP Chris Freudenberg (1-0, 4.50) takes the mound for Kannapolis against Lexington's RHP Matt Alvarez (5-5, 4.88). For ticket and promotional information, call the F&M Bank Box Office at (704) 932-3267 or visit IntimidatorsBaseball.com.

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South Atlantic League Stories from August 12, 2014


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