Salem 6, Winston-Salem 2
W: Roniel Raudes (2-2)
L: Zach Thompson (1-6)
S: Daniel McGrath (1)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (June 9, 2017) – Zack Collins and Landon Lassiter each smacked a solo home run for Winston-Salem, but a four-run third inning proved to be the difference as the Salem Red Sox defeated the Dash 6-2 on Friday evening at BB&T Ballpark.
Salem (38-23) plated the game’s first run with two outs in the second against Dash (19-42) starter Zach Thompson (1-6). After Trenton Kemp drew a five-pitch walk, Jose Sermo smoked an RBI double past first baseman Keon Barnum to make it a 1-0 contest.
In the third, the Red Sox added to their advantage. Thompson struck out Jeremy Rivera to begin the inning before issuing back-to-back walks to Tate Matheny and Chad De La Guerra. Following a successful double steal with Michael Chavis at the plate, Thompson uncorked a wild pitch to allow Matheny to score. Later in the at-bat, Chavis grounded an RBI double down the left field line to put Salem up 3-0.
Josh Ockimey followed with a walk to put runners on first and second, and Mike Meyers delivered an RBI seeing-eye single to right to push the lead to four. Kemp then chased Thompson from the game with an RBI infield single.
However, Lassiter quickly cut the deficit to four in the bottom of the frame. On the first pitch from Salem starter Roniel Raudes (2-2), the 23-year-old cranked a leadoff blast to the Nature’s Select Knoll beyond the left field wall. The former UNC Tar Heel has hit both of his home runs this season at BB&T Ballpark.
That would be Raudes’ only costly mistake in his second High-A victory. The 19-year-old tossed five innings, allowing three hits and one run while striking out four batters.
The Red Sox scored their final run in the sixth inning on an RBI double by Rivera against Kelvis Valerio, but the right-hander was otherwise sharp in what equated to his longest outing of the year. Overall, Valerio yielded just one run and three hits in 4.2 innings of work.
Collins capped the scoring with a mammoth shot in the next half inning. With one out, the Dash backstop drilled a 404-foot home run against Salem southpaw Daniel McGrath towards the Hanes Team Store in right-center. The former first-round pick leads the club with nine homers.
#YourHomeTeam now looks to rebound against Salem on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Winston-Salem sends right-hander Brannon Easterling (3-3, 4.20 ERA) to the bump against Red Sox righty Mike Shawaryn (0-0, 3.60 ERA). Pregame coverage begins at 6:15 p.m., and fans can catch all of the action on wsdash.com/broadcast, MiLB.tv and the TuneIn Radio App.
Throughout Saturday’s contest, the Dash will be celebrating National Iced Tea Day by offering $1 iced tea beverages. Following the game, kids can run the bases, powered by New Balance Winston-Salem. For tickets and more information, call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.
