Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes
Published on June 25, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release
Trey Cool: The Dash sent a big Harry Grove Stadium crowd home disappointed, beating the home standing Keys 5-1 last night for their third straight win. In front of 6,318 fans, Andy Wilkins blasted two of Winston's three home runs on the night and Justin Collop yielded just one hit and one walk through six masterful shutout innings. After scratching across a run in the first inning against Ryohei Tanaka, the Dash played longball as Wilkins and Mike Blanke hit back-to-back homers in the fourth and Wilkins added another dinger in the sixth to build a 5-0 lead. Collop faced the minimum over six frames and retired the last 11 men he faced. Winston-Salem will look to stay undefeated in the second half and go for its second series sweep of the season.
Master Key: Andy Wilkins two-home run game last night was his first career multi-home run game as a professional. His first home run last night was a titanic blast, hitting midway up on the scoreboard above the third tied of advertising in right field, approximately 45 feet above the ground. Wilkins' second homer was more modest, an opposite field fly ball that just carried over the fence in left. The home runs came amidst a terrible slump for the Carolina League All-Star. Wilkins had been just 1 for 18 over his last two series entering last night, but the Keys always seem to bring out the best in the former Razorback. In 12 games against Frederick this season, Wilkins is hitting .302 with six home runs and 16 RBI, good for half of his home run output and 44% of his RBI.
Wayne Knight: Justin Collop turned in another excellent performance as he builds up arm strength to take a regular spot in the Dash rotation. The Wayne, Michigan native allowed just one hit and one walk over six scoreless innings to earn his second straight win. Over his last five outings, including four starts, Collop has allowed just one earned run in 19 innings for a 0.47 ERA. He has allowed just ten hits over that span for a .154 opponents' batting average (10 for 65).
Mike Check: Dash catcher Mike Blanke's first home run and RBI as a member of Winston-Salem was nearly overshadowed by Wilkins' big offensive night. Blanke's line drive home run was his third of the season and his first since April 23 when he was still with the Kannapolis Intimidators. The 2011 South Atlantic League All-Star had gone 160 at bats without a home run until his shot last night.
Recovery Summer: Jose Martinez' first full healthy season as a professional continues to proceed swimmingly. Martinez missed roughly two full seasons worth of baseball from 2008-2010 after a series of right knee injuries that required three separate surgeries. Café went 1 for 5 last night and is hitting .303, good for third in the Carolina League. After a six-game stretch when he went 1 for 23 that spanned the end of May and beginning of June, Martinez has hit in 14 of his last 16 games. He is batting .324 (22 for 68) during this period with 11 RBI. His 12 RBI in June are the most he has had in any month this season.
Ty High: After missing the first month of the season with a broken hand, Tyler Saladino is starting take off offensively. He went 1 for 5 with a double and a run scored last night and has a base hit in ten of his last 12 games and a multi-hit game in six of the last 11 contests he has played in. Since June 5, Saladino is batting .327 (17 for 52) with seven doubles, one homer, seven RBI, and six runs scored. He has raised his batting average 52 points to .237 during this period.
Today's Opposing Starter: LHP Nick Haughian (3-4, 4.77) makes his ninth start and 15th appearance of the season. He has appeared in three games against the Dash this season, starting two and relieving in another. He is 0-2 with an ERA of 10.03 (13 ER, 11.2 IP) against Winston-Salem. In his most recent start, he allowed six runs on 11 hits in 4.1 innings at BB&T Ballpark in a loss. Prior to that he was coming off back-to-back quality starts, including his best start of the season on June 10 that saw him surrender just three hits over seven shutout innings against the Hillcats in a win. The performance earned him the Carolina League's "Player of the Week" award for the week. Haughian spent most of last season as a reliever for low-A Delmarva (30 appearances) before transitioning to a starter late in the year (5 starts). He went 6-4 with a 3.97 ERA for the Shorebirds, striking out 90 batters in 93 innings. He spent most of his 2009 season with short-season Aberdeen (with two apperances for Delmarva) and played for the Iron Birds in 2008, his first professional season. Haughian was drafted by Baltimore in the ninth round in 2008 out of the University of Washington. The Marysville, WA native was 12-13 with the Huskies and spent his last two seasons there as a starting pitcher. As a junior, Haughian went 6-5 with a 3.76 ERA and led UW in complete games (3), shutouts (1), and strikeouts (107, second in the Pac-10). He was first-team All-State as a senior at Marysville-Pilchuck HS, going 10-0 with a 0.68 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 61.2 innings. He led his team to the state quarterfinals that season. Overall, he was 20-1 as a pitcher in high school. Haughian throws a low-90s fastball, a slider, and a changeup.
Carolina League Stories from June 25, 2011
- P-Nats End Series with a Whimper - Potomac Nationals
- Donachie Delivers in 6-2 Victory - Frederick Keys
- Pelicans Pepper P-Nats with 17 Singles in Win - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Kinston Sweeps - Kinston Indians
- Rocks' Bid for Sweep Falls Short - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Kinston Edges Salem 2-1 to Complete Sweep - Salem RidgeYaks
- Shafer Shuts Down Blue Rocks - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Donachie Helps Frederick Avoid Sweep - Winston-Salem Dash
- Myrtle Beach Pelicans Game Notes - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Kinston Indians Game Notes - Kinston Indians
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes - Winston-Salem Dash
- Pelicans Pull out Surreal 5-4, 13-Inning Win - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
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