CarL1 Winston-Salem Dash

Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes

August 5, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release


WINSTON-SALEM DASH (22-16, 54-54) vs. FREDERICK KEYS (25-14, 66-42)

Friday, August 5, 2011, 7:00 p.m. | BB&T Ballpark | Winston-Salem, NC

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

Game No. 111 | Home Game No. 59 | 2011 Home Record 31-26 | 2011 Road Record 23-28

LHP Joe Serafin (3-8, 5.87) vs. LHP Nathan Moreau (10-8, 3.95)

Eleven is Heaven: Winston-Salem put up double-digit runs for the sixth time this season in last night's 11-0 win over Wilmington. The 11-run margin of victory was the largest of the season for the Dash, who also won their third consecutive series. It was the fifth shutout of the season for Dash pitchers and first nine-inning shutout since May 13 when Winston beat Salem in Salem. The last shutout was against Myrtle Beach on July 8, when rain shortened the game to eight innings. Nick Ciolli and Kevin Dubler both drove in three runs with two hits apiece. Dubler has now appeared in four games for the Dash and has driven in a run in each of them. In total, everyone had a hit, six players had multi-hit games (including Ian Gac who had a team-high three), and five scored more than one run in the series finale.

Back in the Rien-zone: Andre Rienzo made his first start and third appearance since coming off the disabled last night. Though he was on a limited pitch count, he still made it through four innings and gave up no runs on three hits and struck out four. He still leads the Carolina League in walks, but didn't issue a free pass in Thursday's game.

Key-Holed: Winston-Salem plays Frederick for only the second time in the second half of the season, and the Dash look to win their second series against the team with the Carolina League's best record. This is a matchup between the two teams with the best second half record in their respective divisions, but Frederick leads the season series 8-5. The series also marks the return of former Dash infielder Dale Mollenhauer to Winston-Salem. Mollenhauer, who played with the Dash in 2009, is hitting .318 with three RBI and eight runs scored against his former team in 2011.

Who Stopped J.R.': At one point this season, J.R. Ballinger had the Midas Touch when it came to pitching for the Dash. The right-hander from Moss Point, Mississippi earned the win in each of his first four appearances for Winston-Salem, posting a miniscule ERA of 0.90 (1 ER, 10 IP). Since getting the win on June 12 against Wilmington, Ballinger has pitched exclusively in games the Dash would go on to lose. He has appeared in nine consecutive Dash losses, going 0-2 in that stretch with a 6.16 ERA (13 ER, 19 IP).

New World Order: With the win on Thursday, the Dash stayed atop the Southern Division for the sixth straight day. Winston-Salem leads Kinston by two games, Myrtle Beach by 3.5 games, and Salem by 4.5 for a second half playoff spot.

Mitches get Stitches: Jared Mitchell went 1 for 4 with an eighth-inning single, a walk, and two runs scored last night for Winston-Salem. The former first rounder ran his hit streak to a career-best nine games. He is batting .353 (12 for 34) during the streak and is hitting .362 (17 for 47) over his last 12 games. Mitchell is tied for first in the Carolina League in triples (7) and is first in doubles (28) this season.

Marathon Men: Hopefully the Dash got plenty of rest on their off-day Monday, because today is day four of a long stretch of continuous baseball for the team. Winston-Salem is in a stretch that will see the team play 29 games in 27 days until the Dash's next off-day on Monday, August 29. That includes the doubleheader against Myrtle Beach on August 26 and the resumption of an earlier suspended game against Lynchburg on August 15, when the teams will restart tied at 0-0 in the bottom of the first inning, followed by a seven-inning game immediately afterward.

‚¬ËœMaul of America: Ryan Kussmaul earned his fourth save of the season Friday night with a perfect ninth inning. He struck out the last two batters he faced to continue his terrific season. Kussmaul leads all Carolina League relievers with 14.17 strikeouts per nine innings, more than three full K's more than second-place Sean Gleason (10.80). He is fourth among all full-season minor leaguers in the category. Kussmaul is second on the Dash in strikeouts (74) despite only ranking seventh among all 2011 Winston players in innings pitched (47.0).

Gac Nap: Ian Gac leads the Carolina League with 27 home runs and is tied for fourth in all of minor league baseball in the category. Gac, however, has gone ten games without a home run, his longest homer drought of the season. He still has ten more home runs that any other player in the CL and his 79 RBI are 12 more than second place. Gac is also first in the CL in games played (108), first in at bats (406), third in hits (110), third in doubles (27), first in slugging percentage (.537), second in extra-base hits (54), first in runs scored (70), first in total bases (218), and first in HR/AB ratio (1/15.04). He is on pace to hit 35 home runs this season which would surpass his previous career-high of 32 in 2008. He has 154 career homers in nine professional seasons.

Today's Opposing Starter: LHP Nathan Moreau (10-8, 3.95) makes his 22nd start of the season tonight and his third against Winston-Salem. He is 0-2 with a 3.97 ERA in 11.1 innings against the Dash, registering eight strikeouts and three walks with 14 base hits. He is coming off his worst month of the season, going 3-2 with a 5.29 ERA in July with 18 walks in 32.1 innings. Moreau is back in Frederick for the second straight season. He lost in his only start against the Dash last year, allowing five runs on six hits in 3.2 innings at BB&T Ballpark on August 7, 2010. He threw a nine-inning no hitter in his Carolina League debut on June 30, 2010 at Salem, striking out six and walking none. He was unable to go more than 5.1 innings in any start last year after the no-no and ended up going 4-5 with a 5.29 ERA in ten starts for the Keys. Moreau started last season pitching for low-A Delmarva and posted a 2-3 record and a 2.98 ERA in 16 games (seven starts). He struck out 70 South Atlantic League batters in 60.1 innings and held the opposition to a .209 batting average. Moreau was drafted by Baltimore in the 11th round in 2008 out of the University of Georgia. After making his professional debut with short-season Aberdeen, he spent his first professional season with the Shorebirds, going 5-3 with a 3.61 ERA in 20 starts. Moreau started 17 games for the SEC Champion Bulldogs in 2008, helping UGA reach the College World Series Finals and a number two final national ranking. He went 4-4 with a 5.11 ERA that season and recorded the win in the SEC-title clinching game against Vanderbilt. Moreau led UGA in wins in both his freshman (8) and sophomore (6) seasons. He tied the school record for wins as a freshman and was named to the Freshman All- American Team by Collegiate Baseball. That year, he helped Georgia get to the CWS. Moreau is native of Lilburn, Georgia and starred at Parkview High School, going 12-0 with a 1.66 ERA as a senior with 103 strikeouts in 71.2 innings.

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