Down East 4, Winston-Salem 3 (F/10)
W: Ricardo Rodriguez (2-0)
L: Ian Hamilton (0-1)
S: None
Full box score attached.
KINSTON, N.C. (April 10, 2017) – Winston-Salem forced extra innings with a two-run eighth, but Down East scored an unearned run in the bottom of the 10th to claim its home opener 4-3 on Monday at Grainger Stadium.
Down 3-1 in the eighth, Winston-Salem (0-5) put two runners on for Louis Silverio, who fell behind 0-2 in the count. However, he bounced back to rope a game-tying double to left-center field.
Strong relief pitching propelled the Dash into extra innings. Southpaw Aaron Bummer spun two flawless innings before Ian Hamilton (0-1) faced the minimum in the ninth. This great work set the stage for a potential surge from the Dash, who loaded the bases with one down in the top of the 10th. However, Ricardo Rodriguez (2-0) induced an inning-ending double play off the bat of Aaron Schnurbusch to maintain the tie.
In the home half of the 10th, Hamilton retired the first man he faced before surrendering a double to Josh Altmann. Luis La O followed with a weak grounder to short, but Johan Cruz’s errant throw allowed Altmann to score the walk-off tally in the first Minor League game at Grainger Stadium since September 15, 2011.
Winston-Salem has started the season 0-5 for the first time since 2004, while the Dash remain the only team in the Carolina League without a victory.
The Dash did strike first with some two-out magic in the third. Jake Fincher reached on an infield single, stole second and scored on an Alex Call single, one of his three hits in the contest.
Down East (4-1) immediately responded with a run in the bottom of the third thanks to three straight two-out singles, the last of which came from Eduard Pinto. The Wood Ducks seized the lead in the fifth with a pair of unearned runs due to a Silverio dropped fly ball in left field.
The quartet of Aron McRee, Kelvis Valerio, Bummer and Hamilton combined to permit just one earned run. In his High-A debut, McRee needed just 51 pitches to spin four innings, during which he gave up one run on four hits. Valerio followed with two innings and was tagged for the Woodies’ two runs in the fifth.
The middle match of this three-game series is Tuesday at 7 p.m. from Kinston. Winston-Salem will send southpaw Tanner Banks (0-0, 1.50 ERA) to the bump against right-hander Peter Fairbanks, who will make his 2017 debut. The Pregame Dash begins at 6:45 p.m. on wsdash.com/broadcast and the TuneIn Radio App.
#YourHomeTeam will return to BB&T Ballpark for a seven-game homestand that starts Thursday and features a different promotion every night. Highlights include a pair of fireworks shows and three Kids Run the Bases games, powered by New Balance Winston-Salem. For tickets, call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.
