Lynchburg 4, Winston-Salem 2
W: Juan Mota (2-0)
L: Kade McClure (2-2)
S: Yapson Gomez (5)
LYNCHBURG, Va. (July 27, 2019) – Kade McClure tossed his fifth quality start and Craig Dedelow smacked his team-leading 14th homer on Saturday night, but the Lynchburg Hillcats edged the Dash 4-2 in the middle match at City Stadium.
Making his 10th start as a member of the Dash (17-19, 55-45), McClure (2-2) registered six innings and allowed five hits and three runs while walking one and striking out four. A sixth-round pick out of Louisville in 2017, McClure has now logged five quality starts over his 10 High-A outings.
However, Lynchburg’s (16-19, 48-54) first-inning production proved to be the difference on Saturday. Steven Kwan walked with one out, and, two batters later, Mitch Reeves grounded a single to center to put runners at the corners. Then, Gavin Collins lined a run-scoring double to right-center to make it a 1-0 contest. Oscar Gonzalez followed by lofting a two-run single to right to put the Hillcats up three.
Juan Mota (2-0) cruised though the first five innings, but Dedelow proved the lone production for Winston-Salem in the sixth, After Steele Walker drew a four-pitch walk, Dedelow smashed a two-run shot to right to cut the deficit to one. The former Indiana Hoosier still leads the Carolina League with a .467 slugging percentage.
But, the Hillcats added on a key insurance run in the eighth. With two on and two outs, Collins bounced an RBI single to left against Kevin Escorcia make it a 4-2 game.
Winston-Salem did mount a rally against Yapson Gomez in the ninth. Jameson Fisher singled to lead off the ninth, and he moved to third on a single by Carlos Perez. Gomez recovered, though, striking out Tate Blackman and inducing a double play off the bat of Yeyson Yrizarri to earn his fifth save of the year.
Winston-Salem wraps up its three-game set on Sunday against the Hillcats at 3 p.m. The Dash will send left-hander Konnor Pilkington (2-7, 5.46 ERA) to the hill against Lynchburg southpaw Juan Hillman (3-10, 3.99 ERA). Pregame coverage begins at 2:45 p.m., and fans can catch all of the action on wsdash.com/broadcast and the TuneIn Radio App.
Following their six-game road trip, the Dash return to BB&T Ballpark for a six-game homestand from July 30-August 4 against the Hillcats and the Carolina Mudcats.
The three-game set with Lynchburg begins with $2 tacos on Tuesday. Wednesday’s contest will be the first-ever “Dash Duty Day”. Meanwhile, the series finale will be a Lowes Foods Thirsty Thursday as well a Pups in the Park Night presented by Handy and Handy Orthodontics.
Following the three-game set with Lynchburg, the Dash host the Carolina Mudcats for three games to round out the homestand. Friday’s series opener will be a Fireworks Friday. Saturday’s contest will be the annual Energize the Ballpark Night, with a live concert following the game featuring Two-time Grammy-Award winning Gospel artist Jason Crabb.
The homestand finale on Sunday will be a Lowes Foods Family Sunday. Kids Run the Bases presented by New Balance Winston-Salem will follow each of the weekend’s games. For tickets and more information, call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.
