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CarL1 Winston-Salem Dash

Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes

May 3, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


WINSTON-SALEM DASH (9-15) @ FREDERICK KEYS (10-13)

Tuesday, May 3, 2011, 7:00 p.m. | Harry Grove Stadium | Frederick, MD

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

Game No. 25 ⌂ Road Game No. 14 | 2011 Home Record 4-7 | 2011 Road Record 5-8

RHP Cameron Bayne (2-2, 3.96) @ RHP Oliver Drake (1-0, 1.86)

Comeback Catharsis: The Dash hope that last night's 8-5 win turns the page on a tough stretch of baseball the team has endured over the last two weeks. Winston entered last night's game on a five-game losing streak and having lost 12 of its previous 14 games. The Dash led 3-1 entering the bottom of the sixth, but the Keys scored three times to take the lead. Winston-Salem had been 0-10 when trailing after six innings this season, but rallied for two runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth to complete the comeback win. Jake Oester and Andy Wilkins provided two of the biggest hits of the late innings, with each driving in two runs with base hits in the seventh and eighth to send the Dash to the win. With the losing streak over, Winston looks to win consecutive games for the first time since April 11 - 13 tonight against the Keys.

Kloess-ing the Door: When the Dash needed someone to step up from the bullpen, Brandon Kloess proved to be up to the task last night. With the memory of Sunday's eighth-inning Wilmington comeback still fresh and Winston's two previous relievers faltering on Monday, Kloess entered the game in the seventh inning with runners at first and second base and no outs after the Dash had just gone back ahead 5-4. Kloess retired Dale Mollenhauer on a sac bunt, struck out Brian Ward, and, after an intentional walk, got pinch hitter Jacob Julius to ground out to end the inning with the bases loaded. Kloess finished the ballgame, allowing a meaningless run to score with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to pick up his second save of the season. His three-inning performance tied a season-high and was exactly what the Dash needed to pull off the win.

Heating Up': After being held to just three runs on 15 hits over their first three games of this road trip, the Dash exploded for eight runs on 12 hits in last night's affair. The 12 hits tied for the most the team has had in a game this season. Winston could have also struck for more runs, but left a season-high 12 men on base.

Oester Boy: Jake Oester continues to make his presence felt since getting called up to Winston-Salem, contributing a two-out, two-run double that brought home the go-ahead run in last night's win. Since getting a promotion from low-A Kannapolis on April 21, Oester is batting .385 (10 for 26) with two doubles, three RBI, and two runs scored. Going back to his final two games with the Intimidators, Oester has a nine-game hit streak and is batting .364 (12 for 33). Prior to this hit streak, he had been 0 for 13 on the season.

Gacamole: Ian Gac ran his hit streak to 14 games in a loud was last night, blasting his league-leading eighth home run over the third tier of fencing at Harry Grove Stadium. Gac is batting .346 (18 for 52) during the streak with five doubles, three home runs, eight RBI, and 11 runs scored. The streak is tied for the longest in the Carolina League this season (Salem's Peter Hissey had a 14-gamer that ended on Saturday). Five of Gac's home runs this season have either tied the game or given Winston-Salem the lead. The Seattle-native is fourth in the CL in RBI (20), third in slugging percentage (.633), fourth in runs scored (19), tied for second in extra-base hits (14), and tied for first in total bases (57).

A(ndy)-OK(lahoma): A day after seeing his eight-game hitting streak end, Andy Wilkins bounced back last night, going 2 for 3 with a big two-run single in the eighth inning, two walks, and two runs scored. The Oklahoma native worked an important walk with two outs in the seventh inning and scored the go-ahead run from first on Jake Oester's two-run double. After getting off to a slow start to his first full pro season, Wilkins has settled into Carolina League life nicely. He hit just .154 with no extra-base hits or RBI in his first seven games. In his last 17 games, Wilkins is batting .288 (19 for 66) with four homers, 12 RBI, and five doubles.

Iced Café: Jose Martinez had a tough game last night, going 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and getting ejected for arguing a called third strike. It was the third straight hitless game for Café, who had had a hit in all but two games prior to this stretch. Martinez has had three hitting streaks of six or more games, including a seven-gamer that was snapped on Saturday night. Despite the hitless consecutive games, Café is still among the Carolina League leaders in many categories. He is third in batting (.354), tied for first in hits (34), tied for fifth in doubles (8), tied for second in runs scored (20), and third in most plate appearances per strikeout (9.55).

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer: The Dash played another close contest yesterday, continuing their season-long trend of playing tight games. Twenty of the team's 24 games have been decided by three runs or fewer and the team has had a lead in 19 games this season. Winston has played 11 one-run games and six two-run games. The Dash are 4-7 in one-run games and 3-3 in two run contests. At this rate, the Dash would play 64 one-run games over the course of the season.

Today's Opposing Starter: Tonight RHP Oliver Drake (1-0, 1.86) makes his second start of the season for the Keys and his first against the Dash. Drake made a start against Salem early in the year before receiving a promotion to AA Bowie, where he was hammered in two starts (4 IP, 10 H, 11 R, 6 BB). He returned to Frederick and pitched well in a win at Winston-Salem on April 28, allowing 2 R on 3 H in 4.2 innings. Last year against the Dash, Drake was 2-0 in 4 starts with a 3.86 ERA and 26K/7BB in 25.2 innings. Overall last year with the Keys, he was 6-6 with a 4.36 ERA in 24 games (21 starts). Drake hails from Gardner, MA and was drafted by Baltimore in the 43rd round in 2008 out of the Naval Academy. In his first full professional season in 2009, he went 8-9 with a 4.34 ERA in 25 games (24 GS) with low-A Delmarva. He tied for the Shorebirds' leader in wins and was second on the club in strikeouts (104). Drake had a successful professional debut in 2008, going 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA in 12 relief appearances between Aberdeen and Delmarva. He was just the fourth player in Navy history to be selected in the First-Year Player Draft, but left the academy before he had to honor his five-year military commitment. He signed with the Orioles for $100,000 after going 6-3 and leading the Patriot League with 78 strikeouts in 2008. He initially attracted Baltimore's attention while playing for the Maryland Orioles in the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League. Pitching under Baltimore scout and Maryland Orioles manager Dean Albany, he posted a 1.00 ERA and a 17-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in five starts. He attended high school at Northfield Mount Hermon (Gill, MA) and was a First-Team All-Central New England Prep School League selection as a junior and senior. He throws an 89-93 mph fastball, a slider, and a changeup.

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