Carolina 9, Winston-Salem 3
W: Cody Ponce (7-5)
L: Jimmy Lambert (1-1)
S: Nate Griep (16)
ZEBULON, N.C. (June 30, 2017) – Jameson Fisher opened the contest with a solo home run, but the Dash’s offense was mostly stymied for the rest of the evening as the Mudcats cruised to a 9-3 win on Friday evening at Five County Stadium.
Fisher launched his blast on the fourth pitch he saw from Muddies (5-4, 41-36) starter Cody Ponce (7-5), planting it over the right-field fence for his first home run at the High-A level.
In the home half of the first, however, Lucas Erceg blasted a two-run shot to the same spot Fisher did on the first pitch Winston-Salem (5-4, 29-50) right-hander Jimmy Lambert (1-1) offered him, giving Carolina an early 2-1 lead that it would not relinquish.
Overall, the former Fresno State Bulldog surrendered six runs (five earned) on eight hits with two strikeouts over five innings in the loss.
Erceg added his third RBI of the contest two frames later, driving in Corey Ray on a fielder’s choice to extend the Mudcats lead to 3-1 after three.
Carolina continued to flex its power in the fourth, as Trent Clark slugged a solo homer, his seventh of the season, to left-center field to push the Muddies lead to 4-1.
The Mudcats would tally five additional runs over their final three offensive frames, with three of them coming home on wild pitches by Zach Thompson. Max McDowell provided the other two runs for Carolina on a sacrifice fly in the sixth and an RBI double in the eighth.
Winston would cut into Carolina’s lead in the top of the seventh on a two-out, run-scoring single from Toby Thomas and a wild pitch from Mudcats reliever Scott Grist that plated Seby Zavala to cut the deficit to 6-3.
The Dash threatened again in the eighth, putting runners on first and second with two down, but Nate Griep nailed down the final four outs to secure his 16th save in 18 tries this season.
Winston-Salem has lost all seven games at Five County Stadium in 2017 after dropping its final four games there in 2016. Overall this season, Carolina has claimed 10 of the 11 battles between these two division rivals.
The Dash and Mudcats square off again on Saturday at Five County Stadium, with first pitch set for 5 p.m. Right-hander Alec Hansen (0-0, 0.00 ERA) gets the ball for his second High-A start. He will contend with Carolina righty Marcos Diplan (4-4, 5.77 ERA). Pregame coverage begins at 4:45 p.m. and will be available online at wsdash.com/broadcast, MiLB.tv and the TuneIn Radio App.
Winston-Salem’s next home game is its annual Fourth of July Extravaganza, which is set for Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. against the Wood Ducks. The festivities begin with a free pregame party from 4-6:30 p.m. on First Street. Tickets for the game start as low as $9 in advance, but seats will sell out. To guarantee your seat for the only Fourth of July Fireworks Show in Winston-Salem, call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.
