Carolina 4, Winston-Salem 3 (F/7)
W: Marcos Diplan (4-2)
L: Dane Dunning (2-1)
S: Nate Griep (12)
ZEBULON, N.C. (June 6, 2017) – Winston-Salem starter Dane Dunning struck out 11 batters, but he surrendered four unearned runs in a tough-luck 4-3 loss to the Carolina Mudcats in Tuesday’s doubleheader finale at Five County Stadium.
Dunning (2-1) fanned the first nine Mudcats (32-26) he retired before adding a strikeout in both the fourth and fifth innings. The right-hander followed Carlos Rodon’s six-strikeout rehab appearance in Tuesday’s opener by recording his second professional double-digit strikeout performance. The other instance came in his second start of 2017 with Low-A Kannapolis on April 13.
However, Winston-Salem (19-40) committed two key errors that led to all four Carolina runs. After Trent Clark led off the first with a single, Troy Stokes, Jr., reached on a throwing error by Danny Mendick. Three batters later, Lucas Erceg slugged a three-run homer to give the Muddies a 3-1 advantage.
The Dash rallied to tie the game with one in the second and one in the fourth, but Carolina mustered a fifth-inning run without the use of a base hit. Carlos Belonis made his way aboard on a Brady Conlan error at third, and Belonis advanced to second on a Clark sacrifice bunt.
Moments later, Dunning uncorked his third High-A wild pitch, and catcher Daniel Gonzalez was unable to locate it right away. As a result, the speedy Belonis scampered to the plate from second base to give Carolina the lead for good.
Zack Collins propelled the Dash to their only lead with an RBI double in the top of the first. One inning later, Conlan scored on an Isan Diaz error. Landon Lassiter’s fourth-inning RBI triple knotted the score, albiet briefly due to the Muddies’ fifth-inning tally.
However, Winston-Salem went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and had two men thrown out trying to score. In the seventh and final inning, Trey Michalczewski led off with a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, but Nate Griep retired Mendick and Keon Barnum to earn his league-leading 12th save. Griep also protected the victory for starter Marcos Diplan (4-2), who held the Dash to three runs in five innings.
Following an off day on Wednesday, the Dash will return to BB&T Ballpark for the start of a seven-game homestand on Thursday. Winston will entertain the Salem Red Sox for a four-game set before Down East invades the Triad next Monday through Wednesday. In Thursday’s opener, southpaw Tanner Banks (5-2, 3.62 ERA) will take the mound for the Dash, while the Red Sox will counter with right-hander Daniel Gonzalez (2-0, 3.21 ERA). Coverage will be available on 600 AM, 101.3 FM, wsdash.com/broadcast, MiLB.tv and the TuneIn Radio App.
#YourHomeTeam returns to BB&T Ballpark for a Lowes Foods Thirsty Thursday that features $1 Domestic Cans, $1 Carolina Blonde Drafts, along with a 50 percent discount on all other Foothills Drafts. Plus, Winston-Salem will wear commemorative Warthogs jerseys during Thursday’s game. Tickets start as low as $8 and are available by calling (336) 714-2287 or visiting wsdash.com.
