Winston-Salem 12, Salem 3
W: Konnor Pilkington (4-9)
L: Daniel Gonzalez (5-10)
S: None
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Aug. 28, 2019) – Thanks to four home runs and 15 hits from the Dash offense, Winston-Salem crushed the Salem Red Sox in a 12-3 romp on Tuesday night at BB&T Ballpark.
Sporting its retro Warthogs jerseys, Winston-Salem (31-33, 69-59) teed off on Salem (37-28, 62-70) pitching throughout the night. Craig Dedelow, Andrew Vaughn, Steele Walker and Yeyson Yrizarri combined to blast the four homers that drove in eight of the Warthogs’ 12 runs. The four home runs tied a team single-game high for the season.
Meanwhile, on the mound, Konnor Pilkington (4-9) earned a quality start by allowing just two runs on seven hits across seven innings. The left-hander struck out five compared to just one walk.
The Warthogs struck quickly against Red Sox starter Daniel Gonzalez (5-10) in the top of the first. With one out, Johan Cruz and Vaughn hit back-to-back singles. Following a Dedelow flyout, Jameson Fisher blooped a single into right field, scoring Cruz to make it 1-0.
Winston-Salem padded its lead in the bottom of the fourth. Dedelow led off the frame by launching a solo homer into the right field seats. It was Dedelow’s 17th home run of the season. Following the home run, Fisher doubled into right-center field and later came in to score as Tate Blackman reached on an error to make it 3-0.
The Red Sox cut into the Warthogs lead in the top of the fifth. To lead off the frame, Michael Osinski doubled into right field. The next batter, Elih Marrero, hooked a home run inside the left field foul pole to bring Salem within a run.
However, Winston-Salem responded in the bottom half of the fifth. After Cruz singled to lead off the inning, Vaughn blasted a two-run homer to left-center field to make it 5-2.
In the bottom of the sixth, Walker joined the homer parade. With Blackman at first base, Walker crushed a two-run homer onto the concourse in right field to give the Warthogs a 7-2 edge. It was Walker’s 10th home run of the season.
After Walker’s home run, Cruz lined a double over the head of left fielder Devlin Granberg before advancing to third on a wild pitch. Then, Vaughn hit a ground ball that was misplayed by third baseman Michael Osinski, allowing Cruz to score and make it 8-2.
The hit parade continued in the top of the seventh. Fisher led off the inning by hitting a triple into right field. Following a Mitch Roman walk, Blackman hit a sacrifice fly to score Fisher. Evan Skoug then ripped a double into right field to put runners second and third. Then, Yrizarri launched a three-run homer into left-center field, giving the Warthogs a 12-2 lead.
In relief of Pilkington, Luis Ledo and Kevin Escorcia combined to allow one earned run over the final two frames.
Winston-Salem concludes its series with Salem on Thursday night in the final regular season home game of the 2019 season. Right-hander Jonathan Stiever (6-3, 2.22 ERA) will take the hill for the Dash against left-hander Enmanuel DeJesus (7-8, 3.75 ERA). First pitch is set for 7 p.m., and fans can catch all of the action on the Sports Hub Triad (101.5 FM and 600 AM), MiLB.tv and the TuneIn Radio App. Pregame coverage commences at 6:45 p.m.
The home finale is a Lowes Foods Thirsty Thursday and a Pups in the Park Night presented by Handy and Handy Orthodontics. Additionally, there will be a Food Truck Festival prior to the game. For tickets and more information, call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.
