Salem 4, Winston-Salem 2

W: Jamie Callahan (2-1)
L: Jacob Morris (0-1)
S: Jake Drehoff (6)

SALEM, Va. (May 22, 2016)­ – Despite a sensational start from Dash starter Matt Cooper, Salem sparked another late rally against Winston-Salem’s bullpen to pull out a 4-2 victory in a lengthy contest at LewisGale Field on Sunday.
Cooper dazzled against Salem (30-13), who has the best record in the Carolina League. The right-hander allowed one run in six innings and struck out eight batters, upping his Carolina League-leading total to 63 punchouts. The University of Hawaii product is now tied atop that category among all Minor League pitchers.
However, Salem took advantage of a pair of Dash errors in the eighth inning. With two on and nobody out, Mike Meyers broke a 2-2 score with a bases-clearing double to center off Dash reliever Jacob Morris (0-1) to give Salem a 4-2 edge. Before Sunday’s outing, the right-hander had thrown 14.2 consecutive scoreless frames to start the season.
Jake Drehoff pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his sixth save in seven chances, sending Winston-Salem (16-28) to its fourth loss in six games on this week-long road trip. Still, the Dash do boast a 4-3 record in Salem this year.
After being retired in order through the first three frames, Salem broke through in the fourth. With a runner on second and two outs, Nick Longhi stroked an RBI single to right to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead. Dash pitching had not allowed a hit in 10.2 frames before that single.
Winston-Salem trailed 1-0 through five, but the Dash tied the contest in the sixth inning. With one out, Adam Engel and Hunter Jones drew back-to-back walks against Salem starter Trey Ball.
With Gerson Montilla at the plate, Engel and Jones advanced to third and second on a double steal. Later in the at-bat, Montilla drove in Engel on an sacrifice fly to tie the game at one. The Dash third baseman now has 16 RBIs in his last 10 games, and he is third on the circuit with 34 on the season.
Ball ended up going six innings, allowing two hits and one run.
After a second consecutive hour-plus rain delay (89 minutes), the game resumed in the seventh tied at one apiece. The Dash set up runners on first and third against new reliever Jamie Callahan (2-1), and Ryan Leonards put the Dash ahead on an RBI fielder’s choice.
That would be the last lead of the game for Winston-Salem. Salem tied the game in the bottom of the seventh off Morris on a double steal and then seized the lead for good on the aforementioned double by Meyers in the eighth.
Winston-Salem completes its four-game series on Monday at LewisGale Field at 7:05 p.m. The Dash send right-hander Thad Lowry (2-3, 4.19 ERA) against Salem lefty Matt Kent (2-2, 4.05 ERA). The Pregame Dash begins at 6:50 p.m., and fans can listen on wsdash.com/broadcast and the TuneIn Radio App.
#YourHomeTeam returns to BB&T Ballpark on Tuesday for the first of three against the Frederick Keys. This game also happens to be the Dash’s next All-You-Can-Eat for Free Night. Fans in attendance will enjoy all the hot dogs and burgers they can handle through the seventh inning, and normal ticket prices apply! For your seats, call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.