Carolina 7, Winston-Salem 4
W: Raymar Navarro (4-1)
L: Spencer Adams (6-4)
S: Chase Johnson-Mullins (7)
Full box score attached.
ZEBULON, N.C. (June 11, 2016) – Despite a strong performance from the offense, Winston-Salem fell 7-4 against the Carolina Mudcats on Saturday night at Five County Stadium.
Dash starter Spencer Adams (6-4), who tossed a complete game shutout against Wilmington in his last start on June 5, struggled in his first outing against the Muddies (25-34). The right-hander tossed 5.2 innings, allowing 10 hits and a career-high seven earned runs.
Winston-Salem smashed 10 hits in the contest, but went just 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position. The Dash now fall to 15-16 on the road.
For the sixth time in seven games, Winston-Salem (25-37) scored in the first inning. With Hunter Jones on third and two outs, Nick Basto stroked an RBI double off Mudcats starter Raymar Navarro (4-1) to give the Dash a 1-0 edge. In just his second game with Winston-Salem since May 8, Basto went 3-for-5 and upped his High-A batting average to .354. Marcus Davis, who had his 16-game hitting streak snapped on Friday, followed with an RBI double of his own to put the Dash up two.
Carolina quickly struck back in the bottom of the frame. With runners on first and second and one out, Joey Meneses bounced an RBI single to center to make a 2-1 contest.
The Mudcats went scoreless in the second, but took the lead for good in the third. After back-to-back singles put runners on first and third with no outs, Keith Curcio delivered an RBI single to tie the game at two. Meneses followed with a two-run double down the right field line to give Carolina a 4-2 edge.
The Muddies would add to their lead in the sixth off Adams. With the bases loaded and one out, Omar Obregon lofted a sacrifice fly to put Carolina up 5-2. Curcio, the next batter, chased the Dash starter with an RBI single to up the Mudcats’ lead to four.
Manny Martinez relieved Adams and immediately gave up a Meneses RBI single that made it 7-2. The one-through-four hitters in the Mudcats lineup went a combined 11-for-17, driving in all seven runs.
Winston-Salem did climb back into the contest in the eighth. After a Toby Thomas one-out single, Brett Austin crushed a two-run homer to right-center off reliever Carlos Salazar to make it a 7-4 game.
Unfortunately, Austin’s fifth homer of the season capped the scoring. Left-hander Chase Johnson-Mullins came in for Salazar and threw 1.2 scoreless frames to lock down his seventh save in eight chances.
Chris O’Dowd, who went 1-for-5, extended his hitting streak at the High-A level to seven games. Martinez, who owns a 1.23 ERA on the road, threw 1.1 scoreless innings. Fellow Dash right-hander Jacob Morris tossed a scoreless eighth.
The Dash round out their four-game set against the Carolina Mudcats on Sunday at 2 p.m. Southpaw Tanner Banks (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will make his High-A debut against Mudcats righty Matt Withrow (4-4, 3.47 ERA). The Pregame Dash begins at 1:45 p.m., and fans can tune in on wsdash.com/broadcast or the TuneIn Radio App.
After a week-long road trip to Carolina and Wilmington, the Dash return to BB&T Ballpark on Thursday, June 16, for a four-game set against the Salem Red Sox to conclude the season’s first half. Thursday’s series opener is another Throwback Thursday, presented by Parr Investments, that will feature commemorative Warthogs jerseys. For tickets, call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.
