Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes (April 10 at Lynchburg)
April 10, 2016 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release
Winston-Salem hopes to split its season-opening series at Lynchburg. Sunday's finale begins at 2 p.m.
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WINSTON-SALEM DASH (1-2) at LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (2-1)
RHP Jordan Stephens vs. RHP Julian Merryweather
2 p.m. - Calvin Falwell Field (Lynchburg, Va.)
Game #4 (Road Game #4)
DEFENSE ABANDONS DASH SATURDAY
Lynchburg exploited five Winston-Salem errors in a 7-2 win over the Dash on a frigid Saturday at Calvin Falwell Field. The Hillcats claimed the lead for good with four in the fifth inning, which was sparked by a two-error play that should have resulted in a double play. Lynchburg tacked on three more runs in the sixth to pull away from the Dash. Slugger Bobby Bradley drove home three, while starter Luis Lugo permitted just an unearned run over five and two-thirds innings for the victory.
CHILLY DEFENSE
Temperatures in the 30s and winds upwards of 20 miles per hour troubled the Dash's defense. Winston-Salem committed five errors in a game for the first time since May 15, 2015, against Salem. The Dash had not posted a higher error total since their six defensive miscues on June 15, 2014, against Potomac. In the first three games of the season, Winston has committed 10 errors, while no other team on the circuit has more than five (Carolina and Myrtle Beach).
ENDING THE SLUMP
Two players who are expected to be key cogs in the Dash's lineups ended season-starting slides on Saturday. Two-hole hitting Louie Lechich snapped an 0-for-14 funk with an eighth-inning double. He ended up scoring on a single from Gerson Montilla, who posted a 2-for-4 game after starting his Dash career without a hit in his first nine at-bats. However, Montilla did deliver a game-tying sacrifice fly in the ninth inning of Thursday's thrilling victory.
ROUGH STARTS
In recent seasons, Winston-Salem has not fared well in its first series. The Dash have not won a series to begin the season since 2011 when the club took two of three in Kinston. Since then, the Dash are just 5-12 in the first set of the year. Winston can salvage a split for just the second time during this span. The Dash and Blue Rocks each took two in a series in the Triad in 2014.
STRIKEOUT STEPHENS
Sunday starter Jordan Stephens will make his first appearance above rookie ball. A fifth-round pick out of Rice University this past June, Stephens did not work more than two innings in any of his 11 outings between the AZL White Sox and Great Falls. Still, the righty struck out at least one batter in every outing. He only permitted one run all season, and he is riding a nine-inning scoreless streak. More information on Stephens is available on page 3 of the attached document.
JAM-PACKED COLLEGE CAREER
At Alvin High School in Texas, Stephens was an outstanding pitcher who logged the majority of his outs via the strikeout as a senior (100 of his 197 outs were strikeouts). Thus, he attended Rice University, which is within an hour of his hometown. As a freshman, Stephens posted a 4.38 ERA, but he surged onto the scene as a sophomore. The right-hander claimed the Eugene Regional MVP award before the Owls fell in the Super Regionals to an NC State squad that featured former Dash star Carlos Rodon and current Dash catcher Brett Austin. Unfortunately, Stephens could not parlay that big season into more success in 2014, because he needed Tommy John Surgery after just 14 innings as a junior. Stephens did rehab quickly and return for the second half of the 2015 season. His 3.17 ERA helped convince the Sox to draft him in the fifth round that June.
A BAD TRIP TO THE BIG LEAGUES
For most young pitchers, an opportunity to pitch in a Major League park is unforgettable. It certainly was for Stephens, but not for a reason you would expect. Rice met Texas at Minute Maid Park, the home of the Houston Astros, on February 28, 2014. In the bottom of the second, Stephens felt a pop in his right arm and left the contest. Less than a week later, Stephens underwent Tommy John Surgery, but because he did not have a palmaris longus tendon in his forearm, he had to replace the old UCL with a gracilis from his right leg. Thus, he had to rehab both his right arm and his right leg, but it did not slow him down. Stephens returned to game action less than a year after the procedure and produced well enough for the Owls to command a fifth-round selection.
FIVE OF THE SOX TOP PROSPECTS
Of the top 30 prospects in the White Sox system according to MLB Pipeline, five of them begin the season in Winston-Salem, and all are pitchers. Right-hander Spencer Adams is the top farmhand on the roster and the third-best in the organization, behind only righty Carson Fulmer and shortstop Tim Anderson. Jordan Stephens (13th), Thad Lowry (21st), Danny Dopico (26th) and Andre Wheeler (30th) round out the talented group of prospect pitchers.
A WACKY OPENER
Winston-Salem and Lynchburg played a bizarre season opener Thursday. The Dash claimed a 14-6, 13-inning game that took four hours and 59 minutes, marking the second-longest game in the Dash era (2009-present). This does not even include a 25-minute delay due to a thunderstorm that dropped hail in the first inning. The Dash scored more runs on Opening Day than any team in Minor League Baseball.
DASH DOTS
After recording back-to-back multi-hit games, Nick Basto (0-for-3) and Hunter Jones (0-for-5) did not muster a knock in Saturday's defeat...Dash relievers inherited five runners Saturday, and four came around to score...Following this series finale, the Dash travel to Myrtle Beach for the first time since last year's Southern Division Championship Series...The Pelicans eliminated the Dash a year ago with back-to-back wins by a single tally in South Carolina.
Carolina League Stories from April 10, 2016
- Mudcats and Red Sox Split Sunday Doubleheader in Salem - Carolina Mudcats
- Salem Uses Long Ball to Split Doubleheader - Salem Red Sox
- Dunston's Triple Spurs Pelicans to 7-5 Win, Series Split - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Late Rally Not Enough for Keys - Frederick Keys
- P-Nats Use Trio of Homers to Topple Blue Rocks 9-4 in Fedde's Debut - Potomac Nationals
- Greg Allen Steals a 2-0 Win for Hillcats - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Dash Drop Sunday Finale Despite Strong Pitching - Winston-Salem Dash
- Ynoa Becomes 32nd Dash Alumnus to Reach Majors - Winston-Salem Dash
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes (April 10 at Lynchburg) - Winston-Salem Dash
- April 10 - Carolina Mudcats Game Information - Carolina Mudcats
- Godfrey Transferred to Mississippi, Gaylor to Carolina - Carolina Mudcats
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