Winston-Salem 6, Myrtle Beach 5
W: Andre Wheeler (1-0)
L: Jordan Minch (0-1)
S: None
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (April 19, 2016) – The Dash secured their first home win of the season in dramatic fashion. Toby Thomas rocketed a walk-off RBI single to left field, propelling Winston-Salem to a 6-5 victory over the Pelicans at BB&T Ballpark on Tuesday night.
Through seven innings, the Dash were in some trouble. Down 5-2, Winston-Salem (4-9) clawed back against Myrtle Beach left-hander Jordan Minch (0-1). After Hunter Jones and Toby Thomas singled with one out, Gerson Montilla stroked an RBI single into center field to cut the lead to two. Nick Basto followed with an RBI double to make it 5-4. With runners on second and third, Marcus Davis drove in the tying run with a sacrifice fly.
With runners on first and second and two out in the ninth, Thomas delivered the knockout blow against Minch, who allowed four runs and six hits over two and two-thirds frames. Thomas finished the night 2-for-5 and now has a five-game hitting streak, including back-to-back multi-hit games.
Winston-Salem, who entered the night 0-5 at home to start the season, had not led since the third inning of their April 15 contest against Salem before Thomas’ walk-off hit. The victory prevented the Dash from extending their home losing streak to what would have been a BB&T Ballpark-record six games.
Thanks to the Dash’s late rally, Andre Wheeler (1-0) picked up his first win of the season by throwing one and a third innings allowing only one unearned run. His ERA now sits at 1.17 on the season.
The game started similar to other contests during this homestand, with the opposing team scoring first. Gleyber Torres, the top-rated prospect in the Cubs system per MLB Pipeline, smacked his first home run of the season to right-center field to make it 1-0.
After the home run, Dash starter Thad Lowry cruised through the second, third and fourth innings before running into trouble in the fifth. A pair of RBI singles from Gioskar Amaya and Charcer Burks pushed the Pelicans lead to 3-0. Lowry went five and a third innings pitched and allowed three runs, two of which were earned.
Myrtle Beach starter Jonathan Martinez held the Dash hitless through the first four innings, but Winston-Salem finally broke through in the fifth. After Basto reached second on a single and an error to start the inning, Marcus Davis plated Winston-Salem’s first run of the contest with an RBI single. Later in the frame, Mason Robbins added an RBI single to make it 3-2.
Connor Walsh relieved Lowry with runners on first and second with one away. After Brett Austin caught Yasiel Balaguert stealing third, Walsh induced a inning-ending lineout from Jeffrey Baez. The righty cruised until giving up a two-out home run to Balaguert in the eight to make it 4-2. Wheeler entered and gave up the aforementioned unearned run before the Dash’s comeback commenced.
Davis extended his hitting streak to seven games with a 1-for-3 night, while Basto extended his on-base streak to 12 contests.
The Dash’s opening homestand wraps up Wednesday at 7 p.m. against the Pelicans. Winston-Salem sends right-hander Jordan Stephens (0-1, 2.25 ERA) to the bump against Pelicans right-hander Zach Hedges (0-2, 3.00 ERA) in the rubber match of this series. Fans can catch the game online at wsdash.com/broadcast, MiLB.tv or the TuneIn Radio App. The Pregame Dash starts at 6:45 p.m.
Tickets are still available for the Dash’s Wednesday contest against the Pelicans, and fans can purchase them by calling (336) 714-2287 or visiting wsdash.com.
