Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes
August 11, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release
WINSTON-SALEM DASH (26-18, 58-56) @ FREDERICK KEYS (27-18, 68-46)
Thursday, August 11, 2011, 7:00 p.m. | Harry Grove Stadium | Frederick, MD
Webcast available on www.wsdash.com 15 minutes before first pitch
Game No. 116 | Road Game No. 55 | 2011 Home Record 33-27 | 2011 Road Record 25-29
LHP Joe Serafin (4-8, 5.55) @ RHP Scott Copeland (1-0, 0.00)
Two for the Road: Behind dominant pitching and some good situational hitting, Winston-Salem was able to take a pair of games last night at Wilmington to sweep a doubleheader. The Dash won the first game 6-2 and took the second contest 2-0. In game one, Winston took advantage of a shaky Tim Melville for the second time in a week, scoring four runs of the right-hander before the end of the third inning. The Dash tacked on two more runs against Michael Mariot and got excellent pitching from Justin Cassel (4 IP, 6 H, R) and Leroy Hunt (3 IP, 4 H, R) to earn the victory. Game two was a pitcher's duel between Andre Rienzo and Noel Arguelles. Neither team scored until Arguelles left after five innings. Winston plated single runs in the sixth and seventh innings on RBI singles by Mike Blanke and Juan Silverio. Those proved to be enough for Rienzo, who combined with Ryan Kussmaul to one-hit the Blue Rocks and finish of the doubleheader sweep. Winston-Salem has now won 14 of its last 18 games and six straight series.
Standings Update: After winning both games in yesterday's double-dip, the Dash are now three games in front of Kinston for first place in the Southern Division. First half champion Myrtle Beach is 4.5 games behind and Salem is lingering 5.5 games behind Winston-Salem in the race for the second half playoff spot.
"We're the Oneders!": Andre Rienzo and Ryan Kussmaul combined to one-hit the Blue Rocks in last night's series finale, marking the third time the Dash have held an opponent to just one hit in a game this season. Rienzo had his sharpest outing of the season, needing only 70 pitches to get through six innings. He struck out seven and walked one. The only hit he allowed was a soft line drive by Yem Prades that missed falling into first baseman Ian Gac's glove by mere inches. Rienzo, who is still building up his arm strength after a two-and-a-half-week stint on the DL left the game to Kussmaul to close out in the seventh. The strikeout artist racked up a pair of K's before getting Ryan Stovall to fly out to left to finish the one-hit shutout. The shutout win was the Dash's fourth in the last seven games. Winston's other one-hitters came on May 30 (Ryan Buch was the starter) and May 13 (Hector Santiago).
Sweep Satisfaction: Last night's doubleheader sweep was the first in 783 days for Winston-Salem. The Dash last won both games of a doubleheader on June 19, 2009 which, coincidentally, also came against the Blue Rocks at Frawley Stadium. The Winston-Salem won those games against Wilmington 4-0 and 4-2 before splitting another doubleheader two days later. Fourteen sweepless doubleheaders passed over more than two seasons before the Dash were able to win two complete games again on one day.
OMG! Look at that OBP!: Two Winston hitters distinguished themselves in yesterday's action by reaching base a combined 12 times in 12 plate appearances. Ian Gac, who celebrated his 26th birthday yesterday, was 3 for 5 with three walks and two runs scored. Brady Shoemaker was 5 for 6 with a double, two RBI, a run, and a walk. Shoemaker raised his Carolina League batting average from .186 to .265 while Gac's .280 batting average is the highest it has been since May 20.
30 for 33: On Monday, Ian Gac was named the Carolina League's Player of the Week for the first time this season, although it is the third time in his professional career he has received a similar honor. Last week, the slugger batted .450 (9 for 20) with a double, three homers, four RBI, eight runs scored, and five walks. Sunday's two-homer game was Gac's third multi-homer game of the season and the 14th since 2005. For the season, Gac leads the Carolina League with 30 home runs and is tied for the most in all of minor league baseball in the category (current major leaguer Paul Goldschmidt and the Iowa Cubs' Bryan LaHair also have 30). Gac has 12 more home runs that any other player in the CL and his 82 RBI are ten more than second place. Gac is also first in the CL in games played (114), first in at bats (422), fifth in batting average (.280), third in hits (118), tied for second in doubles (28), first in slugging percentage (.559), second in extra-base hits (58), first in runs scored (78), first in total bases (236), and first in HR/AB ratio (1/14.07). He is on pace to hit 37 home runs this season which would surpass his previous career-high of 32 in 2008. That total would also be tied for the most in any Carolina League season since Tolia Solaita hit 49 for the Hi-Toms in 1968. Gac has 157 career homers in nine professional seasons.
Winning Formula: The odds are pretty good for Winston-Salem to come away with the victory when Ian Gac homers. The Dash are 19-8 when games Gac hits a home run, good for a .703 winning percentage. The Dash are just 39-48 (.448) when Gac does not homer. The Dash are 10-6 (.625) when Andy Wilkins hits a home run, but have won 10 of the last 12 games during which the Oklahoman has homered.
The Wilky Way: Missing a week with a sore right knee has not seemed to slow down Andy Wilkins offensively. His season-best nine-game hitting streak ended in game one of yesterday's doubleheader, but he bounced back to go 2 for 4 with a double in the second game to start a new streak. Over his last 15 games, Wilkins is batting .414 (24 for 58) with six doubles, four home runs, 11 RBI, 13 runs scored and a stolen base. He is batting .317 in the second half since hitting .239 before the All-Star break.
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 ten consecutive Dash losses, going 0-2 in that stretch with a 7.06 ERA (17 ER, 21.2 IP).
Making a Good First Impression: Kevin Dubler has needed no learning curve for adjusting to life in the Carolina League. The backup catcher, who was called up from low-A Kannapolis on July 18, is batting .368 with one home run, three doubles, six RBI, and six runs scored in six games with the Dash. Not only has he picked up a hit in every game that he has played for Winston-Salem, but he has gotten a hit in his first at bat of each contest with the Dash. He owns a seven-game hitting streak going back to his final game with Kannapolis and is batting .429 (9 for 21) during the streak.
'Maul of America: Ryan Kussmaul threw a perfect seventh inning last night to pick up his fifth save in as many chances. He struck out the first two batters he faced to continue his terrific season. Kussmaul leads all Carolina League relievers with 14.33 strikeouts per nine innings, more than three full K's more than second-place Sean Gleason (10.99). He is second among all full-season minor league pitchers in the category. Kussmaul is second on the Dash in strikeouts (78) despite only ranking seventh among all 2011 Winston players in innings pitched (49.0).
Today's Opposing Starter: RHP Scott Copeland (1-0, 0.00) makes his second start for the Keys and his second straight against the Dash. He got the win in Winston-Salem on Saturday night, allowing just two hits over six shutout innings. Copeland began the season with low-A Delmarva where he was 5-9 with a 6.58 ERA in 20 starts, and opponents hit .308 against him. Upon his departure from Delmarva, he led the South Atlantic League in earned runs allowed with 79. He was drafted in the 21st round of the 2010 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Southern Mississippi where he was teammates with Dash reliever J.R. Ballinger. In the professional ranks in 2010 he split time between Rookie Aberdeen and Delmarva, combining to go 3-5 with a 2.66 ERA in 13 starts. During his last season with the Golden Eagles, he was 11-1 with a 3.75 ERA in 15 appearances, 14 starts. Copeland was named First Team All-Conference USA and the C-USA Tournament Most Outstanding Player after USM won the championship. His team was eliminated in the 2010 Auburn Regional by current teammate Trent Mummey, who was playing with Auburn.
• Discuss this story on the Carolina League message board...
Carolina League Stories from August 11, 2011
- Bolden, Bats Help Birds Rout Potomac - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Indians Rout Red Sox 11-1 - Salem Red Sox
- Wilmington Bats Befuddled by Hillcats - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- K-Tribe Blasts Sox in Opener - Kinston Indians
- 'Cats Stay Hot, Win 4-1 - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Copeland Controls Dash - Frederick Keys
- The Pelican Grief: P-Nats Lose 12-5 - Potomac Nationals
- Copeland Continues Mastery of Dash - Winston-Salem Dash
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes - Winston-Salem Dash
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Pelicans Game Notes - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
