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CarL1 Winston-Salem Dash

Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes

April 19, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


WINSTON-SALEM DASH (6-4) @ MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS (7-3)

Tuesday, April 19, 2011, 7:05 p.m. | BB&T Coastal Field | Myrtle Beach, SC

Webcast available on www.wsdash.com 15 minutes before first pitch

Game No. 11 ⌂ Road Game No. 8 | 2011 Home Record 2-1 | 2011 Road Record 4-3

RHP Terry Doyle (0-1, 3.60) @ RHP Ryan Kelly (0-0, 3.00)

Hosed: The Dash's ninth-inning bid to tie last night's game ended at home plate when Andy Wilkins was thrown out after attempting to score from second base on Austin Yount's two-out single to left field. After fielding Yount's base hit, leftfielder Travis Adair threw a strike to catcher Vinny DiFazio, who absorbed the full force of Wilkins. Wilkins' attempt to knock the ball from DiFazio's grasp was unsuccessful and he was called out, sending Myrtle Beach to a dramatic 2-1 victory in the series opener. The Dash had grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second inning but did not score again as the Pelicans scored runs in the third and seventh innings to take the lead. Adair, whose arm was on display in the ninth, was the one who broke the 1-1 tie with his RBI single two innings earlier.

Starting to Excel: Joe Serafin's good start last night (5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 4K, 0 BB) continued a terrific stretch of starting pitching by the Dash to begin the season. In all ten games this season, Winston's starters have allowed three runs or fewer. In nine of the ten games, the Dash starting pitchers have allowed two or fewer runs (in the only exception, Terry Doyle allowed three runs in a six-inning complete game last Wednesday). The starting pitchers own an impressive 1.94 ERA collectively.

Keeping ‚¬ËœEm Close: Last night's game marked a return to the close games Winston-Salem has played for the vast majority of the young season. All but one of the games the Dash has played have been decided by three runs or fewer, with eight of those games being decided by one or two runs.

Rangers are no Strangers: Tonight the Dash begins a three-game road trip with a series at the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. There may be a crescent moon shining over the palm tree on the South Carolina state flag, but this year it might as well be a lone star, as the Texas Rangers have taken up residence on the Grand Strand. The reigning American League champions became the new parent club of the Pelicans in the off-season, ending the Atlanta Braves' 12-year run in Myrtle. While the Rangers are new to the Carolina League for this season, Texas is historically no stranger to the CL. The Rangers fielded Carolina League teams from 1963-72 (Peninsula/Rocky Mount/Burlington Senators & Burlington Rangers), 1975 (Lynchburg Rangers), and 1984-86 (Salem Redbirds). The big league club has stocked this year's Pelicans outfit with five Baseball America top-30 prospects (Robbie Erlin, Michael Olt, Robbie Ross, Joe Wieland, and Barret Loux).

Attention J-Mart Shoppers: Jose Martinez collected a hit last night to continue his stellar start to the season. Martinez has at least one hit in all but one game this season and batting .415, second in the Carolina League. He is second to Wilmington's Rey Navarro in hits (20 to 17), is fourth in on-base percentage (.467), fifth in total bases (23), second in most plate appearances per strikeout (15.0), and is tied for the league lead in runs scored (9).

Another Gac Crack: Ian Gac continued to punish Kinston pitching on Sunday, smacking a Joey Mahalic fastball into the Andromeda Galaxy for a three-run home run to build the Dash's lead to 9-0. It was Gac's league-leading fifth home run of the season and his fourth against the K-Tribe. Sunday's homer was Gac's first that did not either tie the game or give Winston-Salem the lead in a ballgame. The former Texas Rangers farmhand is tied with Steven Souza for the league lead in RBI (12) and is second in the league lead in runs scored with eight. Gac is currently on pace to belt 70 home runs and drive in 168 runs this season.

Today's Opposing Starter: RHP Ryan Kelly (0-0, 3.00) makes his first start of the season tonight against the Dash. Kelly was inserted into the rotation after the Pelicans' opening day starter, Neil Ramirez, was promoted to AA Frisco last week. He nailed down three saves in as many chances to start the season, allowing two runs on eight hits with five strikeouts in six innings. Kelly is in his first year with the Rangers organization after being traded twice in a two-week span this past off-season. After spending his first four professional seasons with the Pirates, he was traded to the Athletics on December 23 for infielder Corey Wimberly. On January 8, Oakland shipped him to Texas in exchange for RHP Guillermo Moscoso. The second trade resulted from the Rangers' signing of Adrian Beltre, for whom they needed to create space on the 40-man roster. A native of Hilton Head, South Carolina (a four-hour drive down the coast, not far from Savannah, Georgia), Kelly has spent the bulk of his career pitching out of the bullpen. He made 37 relief appearances and one start last year for low-A West Virginia, going 2-3 with a 4.20 ERA and four saves. Over his final eight appearances last year, Kelly posted a 1.22 ERA to lower his season ERA by 0.72. He also spent 2009 with the Power, going 3-2 with a 4.30 ERA in 30 relief appearances. Kelly was originally drafted by Pittsburgh in the 26th round in 2006 out of Walters State Community College (Morristown, Tennessee). He played one season for the Senators, going 6-1 with a 4.71 ERA and 55K/57IP. At Hilton Head HS, he went 8-0 with a 0.98 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 61 innings as junior.

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