Buies Creek 6, Winston-Salem 1
W: Hector Perez (5-4)
L: Kyle Kubat (1-3)
S: None
BUIES CREEK, N.C. (July 24, 2017) – Bernardo Flores turned in a strong outing in his fifth High-A start, and Matt Rose collected a pair of hits, but the Buies Creek Astros scored five runs in their final offensive frame to down the Dash 6-1 on Monday evening at Jim Perry Stadium.
With the score deadlocked throughout the middle innings, the Astros broke through against a trio of Winston-Salem (14-16, 38-62) pitchers in the home half of the eighth. Jake Rogers walked to lead off the inning against Kyle Kubat (1-3), and two batters later, Taylor Jones worked his way aboard in the same fashion.
After Victor Diaz replaced Kubat on the slab, he promptly gave up a single to Randy Cesar to load the bases before walking Anthony Hermelyn and Alex De Goti to plate two Astros runs.
Louie Lechich then entered the contest and induced a groundout to Anibal Sierra that brought home Cesar. Myles Straw delivered the final blow, roping a two-run double to right to push Buies Creek’s lead to 6-1.
Hector Perez (5-4) slammed the door from there, completing his fourth scoreless inning of work in the ninth inning. Perez fanned five and only faced two more than the minimum. Astros starter Ryan Hartman also turned in a solid five-inning performance, allowing one run on five hits.
Flores was strong through the first two frames, setting down the first six men he faced. However, Buies Creek (22-9, 59-42) got to the southpaw in the third, as Hermelyn kicked off the frame with a double down the third base line before coming around to score on an RBI single from DeGoti. This run proved to be the lone blemish for Flores, who spun five frames and surrendered three hits over 77 pitches.
Winston-Salem’s only run came via a pair of two-out knocks in the fourth. Rose had the first of those two with a sharply-struck single to left that just missed leaving the yard, and Brandon Dulin stroked a run-scoring double to right to knot the score at one.
The Dash continue their three-game series with the Astros on Tuesday at 7 p.m. from Jim Perry Stadium. Winston-Salem will send right-hander Alec Hansen (1-2, 3.04 ERA) to the slab against Buies Creek right-hander Jorge Alcala (3-3, 2.76 ERA). Play-by-play coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. and is available on wsdash.com/broadcast and the TuneIn Radio App.
The Dash return to BB&T Ballpark on Monday, July 31, to kick off a seven-game home swing against the Salem Red Sox and Potomac Nationals. Monday also marks the second-to-last All-You-Can-Eat for Free Night of the season, where fans can enjoy all the hot dogs, hamburgers and cheeseburgers they can handle for free through the seventh inning. Normal ticket prices apply. For tickets and more information, call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.
