FREDERICK, Md. (August 25, 2016) – Michael Suiter and Dante Flores hit back-to-back home runs to give Winston-Salem a lead, but a seven-run eighth propelled Frederick to a 12-7 victory over the Dash in the rubber match of a three-game set on Thursday at NYMEO Field.
Tied at five with two outs in the fourth, Suiter put Winston-Salem (25-34, 53-76) ahead with a solo blast to left against Frederick starter Franderlin Romero. The former Kansas Jayhawk, who went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, now has five home runs this season with Winston-Salem.
Flores, making his first start at the High-A level, followed with a mammoth blast beyond the right field wall to make it 7-5.
Thursday marked the third time this season the Dash have hit homers in consecutive at-bats. The last occurrence, coincidentally, came against Romero in the back-to-back-to-back variety from Nick Basto, Marcus Davis and Telvin Nash on July 27 at BB&T Ballpark.
But, down 7-5 in the eighth, the Keys (29-30, 65-64) made their comeback. With runners on second and third and one out, Austin Wynns lofted a sacrifice fly against Brandon Quintero to pull Frederick within one. In his first outing with Winston-Salem, the right-hander yielded two earned runs in 2.2 innings.
Taylore Cherry relieved Quintero and proceeded to yield a game-tying single to Jomar Reyes to make it a 7-7 ballgame. Two batters later, Josh Hart gave Frederick its first lead of the night with a two-run double down the left-field line. The Keys added three more runs against Cherry to make it a 12-7 contest.
Tanner Chleborad (4-3) picked up the win for the Keys, tossing two scoreless innings and striking out four batters. With the loss, the Dash finish their season 7-12 against Frederick.
For the first time in the series, the Dash took a first inning lead. Gerson Montilla smacked a one-out grand slam against Romero to make it 4-0. Romero tossed five frames, allowing eight hits and seven earned runs.
The Keys would respond in the bottom of the frame against Dash starter Tanner Banks. With runners on first and third and nobody out, Aderlin Rodriguez stroked an RBI single to cut the deficit to three. Conor Bierfeldt followed by grounding into a double play, allowing the Keys second run to score. Later in the frame, Yermin Mercedes roped an RBI single to make it a 4-3 ballgame.
In the third, Montilla cranked an RBI double to right-center to give Winston-Salem a 5-3 edge. The 26-year-old ended his night 3-for-5 with 5 RBIs, finishing a triple short of his second cycle this season.
However, the Keys offense once again went to work against Banks. With one out and nobody on, Rodriguez and Bierfeldt hit back-to-back home runs to knot the score at five. The Dash southpaw ultimately went five innings, allowing nine hits and five earned runs.
#YourHomeTeam returns home for its final homestand of the season on Friday at 7 p.m., when the Dash begin a three-game set against the Carolina Mudcats from August 26-28. Winston-Salem sends right-hander Zach Thompson (2-4, 6.48 ERA) to the bump against Mudcats righty Matt Withrow (7-6, 4.00 ERA). The Pregame Dash begins at 6:45 p.m., and fans can tune in at wsdash.com/broadcast and the TuneIn Radio App.
The three-day homestand includes our last Fireworks Friday, presented by PTI Airport, and Lowes Foods Family Sunday. For tickets, call the Baker Roofing Box Office at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.
