Winston-Salem 4, Wilmington 1
W: Tanner Banks (3-0)
L: Cristian Castillo (0-1)
S: Ryan Riga (1)
Full box score attached.
WILMINGTON, Del. (April 21, 2017) – Behind Tanner Banks’ fourth straight quality start and Luis Basabe’s first home run as a White Sox prospect, Winston-Salem knocked off Wilmington 4-1 on Friday night at Frawley Stadium.
Banks (3-0) spun six solid innings, during which he gave up one run on three hits. With five strikeouts, Banks pushed his season-long total to 27, third-most in the Minor Leagues. His 26.0 innings of work in 2017 paces all of Minor League Baseball.
After extending his hitting streak to six with a single in the fifth, Basabe capped Winston-Salem’s scoring with a solo shot down the right field line. Not only was it his first since joining the White Sox organization in the offseason, but it was the Dash’s first long ball since April 13.
Basabe’s blast was the exclamation point after Winston-Salem (5-11) snagged the lead for good in the sixth. Brady Conlan and Johan Cruz singled to set up an RBI chance for Aaron Schnurbusch, who rolled a two-run double inside the bag at first base to make it 3-1.
Banks and three Dash relievers protected this middle-inning offensive surge. Both Kelvis Valerio and Aaron Bummer spun a hitless inning of relief to collect holds, and Ryan Riga worked around a single to post his fourth professional save. In all, Wilmington (6-9) mustered just four hits for the second consecutive game.
After suffering a shutout loss on Thursday, the Dash jumped out to a first-inning lead. Danny Mendick lashed a triple to the gap in left-center, and Zack Collins brought him home with a groundout. Wilmington tied the game in the third with its lone run of the game, an RBI groundout by Anderson Miller.
This four-game series continues Saturday at Frawley Stadium. Winston-Salem will send right-hander Zach Thompson (1-1, 2.77 ERA), who spun five shutout innings in his last outing, to the bump against Blue Rocks southpaw Foster Griffin (1-1, 6.57 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m., and pregame coverage will begin at 6:50 p.m. on wsdash.com/broadcast and the TuneIn Radio App.
The Dash’s next homestand is set for this coming Tuesday through Thursday at BB&T Ballpark. During this series with the Buies Creek Astros, the Dash will hold a Two for $22 Tuesday, an Education Day on Wednesday and a Lowes Foods Thirsty Thursday, with $1 beers through the seventh inning. For tickets, call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.
