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CarL1 Winston-Salem Dash

Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes

July 23, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


WINSTON-SALEM DASH (13-14, 45-52) vs. POTOMAC NATIONALS (16-11, 45-51)

Saturday, July 23, 2011, 7:00 p.m. | BB&T Ballpark | Winston-Salem, NC

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

Game No. 99 | Home Game No. 50 | 2011 Home Record 24-24 | 2011 Road Record 21-28

LHP Joe Serafin (1-8, 5.61) vs. RHP Paul Demny (6-8, 4.39)

Perfect Ten: Rested and re-charged, the Dash took no prisoners in their return home last night, blasting the Potomac Nationals in a series-opening 10-3 win. Winston-Salem pounded a season-high 20 hits against a trio of P-Nats pitchers en route to the blowout. The Dash, who were coming off their longest road trip of the season, scored three times in the first inning against prospect left-hander Sammy Solis and then once more in the second. Leading 4-1 when Solis left the game after four innings, Winston jumped all over reliever Mitchell Clegg for six runs in the fifth and sixth to blow the game open. The win kept the Dash within 3.5 games of first place Kinston and improved the team to 24-24 at BB&T Ballpark.

Hit Me Baby, 20 More Times: Winston-Salem's offense went into unexpected overdrive last night in the series opener. After hitting just .205 with 71 total hits over the course of their season-long 11-game road trip, the Dash produced a season-best 20 hits alone against the P-Nats. Every Winston player reached base multiple times and all but one starter (Ian Gac) had at least two base hits. Jared Mitchell led the charge with a career-high-tying four hits, while Tyler Saladino and Andy Wilkins each had three. The top third of the order set the tone for the entire night and went 10 for 14 with three doubles, seven RBI, and four runs scored. Winston-Salem managed to score ten runs despite not hitting any home runs, making last night's game the highest run total the team has had without a home run this season.

Jaked and Pumped: Jake Petricka earned his first Carolina League win last night with a terrific performance against the P-Nats. Petricka, who needed not to worry about run support last night, allowed one run on three hits over six innings. It was the first time he earned the win since May 12 with Kannapolis, just prior to the intercostal muscle injury that cost him roughly six weeks.

QuickSilverio: New Dash third baseman Juan Silverio has wasted no time adjusting to Advanced-A. The Dominican, who was promoted to Winston-Salem last Monday, has hit in all four games that he has played with Winston-Salem. He went 2 for 5 last night and is now 8 for 16 (.500) at the plate with the Dash with two doubles, a triple, three RBI, and five runs scored. Silverio started the season for Kannapolis and hit .289 with five homers, 29 doubles, six triples, and 58 RBI in 88 games before his promotion. The 20-year-old was at one point ranked by Baseball America as the tenth-best White Sox minor league prospect and may now be reaching his considerable potential.

Red Hot American Summer: Tonight the Dash continue their series against the red-hot Potomac Nationals. Although the P-Nats have lost their last two games, they one game back of Frederick for first place in the Northern Division at 16-11. Because the Keys have already qualified for the postseason, the Nationals are in the driver's seat for a second half playoff spot, leading Wilmington by six games and Lynchburg by seven. Since starting the second half 2-4, the Nationals have won 14 of their last 21 games, including winning two of three against the Dash at Pfitzner Stadium June 29 - July 1. Both the offense and pitching have picked up for the P-Nats as the defending champs attempt to make it back to the Carolina League playoffs. After hitting a league-worst eight home runs in June, they third with 17 already this month. The Nationals had the worst team ERA in each of the first two months of the year, but have been second and third in ERA in June and July, respectively. Over this two month stretch, their record of 27-18 is third only to Kinston and Frederick.

Gacplosions In The Sky: The only player left out of the hit parade last night was Ian Gac, who, ironically, brought the longest current hit streak on the team into last night's contest. Gac's nine-game hitting streak, his second-longest of the season, ended last night with an 0 for 3, two-walk night at the plate. Earlier on the recent road trip, the Seattle native was white-hot offensively. Over an eight-game stretch from July 11 - 19, Gac hit .407 (11 for 27) with six home runs, two doubles, and 15 RBI. He has terrorized the Indians this season, hitting eight home runs and five doubles with 23 RBI versus the K-Tribe in 16 games. Gac leads the Carolina League with 26 home runs and 72 RBI, 11 more homers and 12 more RBI than the closest players in either category in the CL. Gac is also first in the CL in games played (97), second in at bats (364), fourth in hits (98), second in doubles (26), second in slugging percentage (.555), first in extra-base hits (52), first in runs scored (64), first in total bases (202), and first in HR/AB ratio (1/14.00). He is on pace to hit 38 home runs this season which would surpass his previous career-high of 32 in 2008.

Putting the "K" in Kussmaul: Ryan Kussmaul threw one more scoreless inning on Wednesday and struck out two Indians to continue a productive and K-filled stretch of pitching. The Wisconsin native and Iowa resident has been lights out lately, not allowing an earned run in his last 12 appearances. In 19 innings over this period, he has allowed six hits, walked four, struck out 39, and held hitters to a .098 average (6 for 61). He has lowered his season ERA more than two full runs since June 7 from 5.11 to 2.89. Kussmaul leads all Carolina League relievers in strikeouts per nine innings with 14.02, more than two better than Keys closer Sean Gleason (11.70). Kussmaul is second on the Dash in strikeouts (68) despite only ranking seventh among all 2011 Winston players in innings pitched (43.2).

Today's Opposing Starter: RHP Paul Demny (6-8, 4.39) makes his 19th start of the season tonight and his fifth against the Dash. He is 3-0 with a 2.96 ERA against Winston-Salem. The East Bernard, Texas native has spent the last two seasons with low-A Hagerstown, going 6-10 with a 4.23 ERA in 27 starts last year and 3-11 with a 5.14 ERA in 23 starts in 2009. He suffered from bouts of inconsistency in both of his seasons with the Suns. While he had 15 starts in which he allowed one run or fewer, he also had 12 during which he yielded five or more runs. According to scouting reports, Demny's inconsistency stems from inconsistent mechanics that have led to shaky control, leaving him effectively wild at times and uncomfortable for hitters to face. At 21 years old, he is the youngest pitcher on the P-Nats and the fourth youngest on the entire roster. He throws his four-seam fastball in the low-90s and his two-seamer in the high-80s. His repertoire also includes a curveball and changeup. Demny was selected in the sixth round of the 2008 draft after two years at Blinn College (Brenham, TX), where he mainly pitched in relief. He was originally selected by Atlanta in the 12th round in 2006 but did not sign. In high school, Demny was an All-State player and the Houston Chronicle Athlete of the Year. He was an accomplished hitter in high school, leading East Bernard HS in on-base percentage, slugging, doubles, and total bases.

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