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CarL1 Winston-Salem Dash

Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes

July 29, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


WINSTON-SALEM DASH (18-15, 50-53) @ MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS (18-16, 58-45)

Friday, July 29, 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. 105 | Road Game No. 50 | 2011 Home Record 29-25 | 2011 Road Record 21-28

SHP Brad Furnish (0-2, 13.50) vs. LHP Robbie Ross (9-4, 2.24)

Rude Sendoff: In the final-ever meeting between Winston-Salem and Kinston, the Dash once again used a big inning early in the game to blow by the Indians. Winston scored six times in the fourth inning and did not need to score again, winning 6-3 over the K-Tribe to polish off a four-game sweep. Kinston took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth, but the Dash immediately responded. In the bottom of the inning, the first two men reached before Ian Gac tied the game with a bloop single and Brady Shoemaker gave the Dash the lead with a two-run double. Nick Ciolli drove in his old college teammate with a base hit later in the inning, while two more runs came home on an error and a wild pitch to build a five-run lead. The Indians scored single runs in the fifth and seventh innings, but could get no closer than three the rest of the way. Taylor Thompson collected his third save of the home stand, protecting Joe Serafin's second straight win. By winning all four games against the Indians, Winston-Salem cut its deficit to just 0.5 games for first place and a playoff spot in the Southern Division. Last night's game was the final meeting of the season with the Indians, thus the last-ever game between the teams, as the Kinston franchise will move to Zebulon next year to become the new Carolina Mudcats. Winston-Salem won the season series between the teams 12-8 in 2011.

Home Stand Wrap-Up: The Dash picked a great time to produce their best home stand of the season. With just over one month left in the season, Winston-Salem has officially started its playoff push after going 6-1 in its two-series home stand against the Nationals and Indians. Both the hitting and pitching were on target, as the Dash hit .295 as a team over the seven games and averaged seven runs per game while the staff put together a collective ERA of 3.57. Starting pitchers earned all six of the wins and the only game that Winston lost was the game that starter Santos Rodriguez had to leave in the second inning because of an arm injury.

Multi-Run Innings: Last night's game continued an encouraging habit for the Dash offense. Winston scored six times in the fourth inning, marking the seventh time on this home stand the team has scored three or more runs in one inning (six games). The Dash had a three-run and four-run inning on Friday against Potomac, a five-run first against the Nats on Saturday, a four-run third inning on Monday night, a four-run second on Tuesday night, and a five-run second on Wednesday. Winston-Salem was 6-0 in those big-inning games.

The Andy Man Can: On Wednesday, just one day after Andy Wilkins hit a pair of home runs, he blasted another long ball. Shortly after Tyler Saladino hit his three-run shot in the second inning, Wilkins hit a solo blast for his 17th of the season. The first baseman moved ahead of Wilmington's John Whittleman for second place in the Carolina League in home runs, and is also climbing the RBI list. Now with 65, Wilkins is third in that category. He trails teammate Ian Gac for the league lead in both homers and RBI, while Potomac's Destin Hood has one more run batted in this season.

The Mitch That They Can't Scratch: Opponents have had a hard time consistently retiring Jared Mitchell on this home stand. He went 1 for 2 in yesterday's ballgame with a double, two runs scored, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch. He moved his home stand average to .423 (11 for 26). He is tied for first in the Carolina League in triples (7) and is tied for third in doubles (26) this season.

They Came in Peace: The Dash sent away the K-Tribe on a losing note, nothing new for the teams when they play in Winston-Salem. The Indians lost 28 of their final 31 games in Winston over the last three seasons. In 2009, Kinston won the first game it played at Gene Hooks Field at Wake Forest Baseball Park, but lost its last nine. The Indians lost eight in a row at BB&T Ballpark before picking up their first win at the new yard on July 27 of last year. The 17-game losing streak in Winston-Salem spanned nearly 14 months; 11 of those Dash wins were by just one run. The K-Tribe had not won consecutive games in Winston-Salem since August 25-27 of 2008 and had not won a series in the Twin City since August of 2007, a span of 12 straight regular season series without a series victory.

Gacplosions In The Sky: Ian Gac leads the Carolina League with 27 home runs and is tied for fourth in all of minor league baseball in the catefory. He has ten more home runs that any other player in the CL and his 76 RBI are ten more than second place. Gac is also first in the CL in games played (103), first in at bats (385), tied for second in hits (105), second in doubles (27), first in slugging percentage (.553), first in extra-base hits (54), first in runs scored (68), first in total bases (213), and first in HR/AB ratio (1/14.26). He is on pace to hit 37 home runs this season which would surpass his previous career-high of 32 in 2008. He has 154 career homers in nine professional seasons.

‚¬ËœMaul of America: Ryan Kussmaul bounced back from allowing an earned run for the first time in 13 appearances by throwing a scoreless ninth inning on Wednesday, striking out the side in the process. Kussmaul leads all Carolina League relievers with 14.09 strikeouts per nine innings, more than three full K's more than second-place Sean Gleason (10.84). He is third among all full-season minor leaguers in the category. Kussmaul is second on the Dash in strikeouts (69) despite only ranking sixth among all 2011 Winston players in innings pitched (45.0).

Today's Opposing Starter: LHP Robbie Ross (9-4, 2.24) makes his 21st appearance and 20th start of the season tonight and his second start against Winston-Salem. He got a no-decision against the Dash on July 6, throwing five shutout innings of three-hit ball. The Carolina League All-Star has lost two of his last three starts despite allowing only five total runs in 21 innings. In his last six starts, he has posted a 1.18 ERA. The Kentucky native is third in the Carolina League in ERA this season (first among active pitchers), tied for third in wins, third in innings pitched with 116.1, fifth in opposing batting average (.229), and fifth in fewest baserunners per nine innings (10.14). Ross was drafted in the second round of the 2008 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of high school at Lexington Christian Academy. He had signed a letter of intent with the University of Kentucky. Coming into the season, Ross was ranked by Baseball America as the 19th-best prospect in the Rangers organization. He split last year between low-A Hickory and Advanced-A Bakersfield, going a combined 12-11 with a 3.58 ERA. With Hickory he was 8-7 with a 2.59 ERA and was named a South Atlantic League All-Star. His father was also drafted out of high school in the second round by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1975 MLB Draft. Ross throws an upper 80s/low 90s fastball with good movement, a slider, and a changeup.

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