Salem 3, Winston-Salem 1
W: Daniel Gonzalez (3-0)
L: Tanner Banks (5-3)
S: Adam Lau (3)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (June 8, 2017) – With Winston-Salem wearing Warthogs jerseys for the first time this season, and the fourth time in BB&T Ballpark history, the Salem Red Sox quelled a late rally to pull out a 3-1 victory on Thursday evening.
The homestand opener was the first of two “Dash of the Past” Nights this season, in which Winston-Salem will honor their former moniker. Before the nickname change to the Dash in 2009, the Warthogs enjoyed an impressive 14-year run in the Triad from 1995-2008.
Trailing 3-0 in the ninth, Winston-Salem (19-41) made a valiant two-out comeback against Red Sox reliever Adam Lau. AfterTrey Michalczewski drew a walk, Keon Barnum roped a single to right to put runners on first and second. Louis Silveriofollowed with an RBI double to cut the deficit to two.
Lau intentionally walked Luis Basabe to load the bases, but the right-hander buckled down to strike out Brady Conlanswinging and seal his third save of the season.
Daniel Gonzalez (3-0) picked up the victory for Salem (37-23), yielding just two hits and two walks in six shutout innings, while striking out three batters.
Winston-Salem is now 2-2 at the downtown facility when donning the Warthogs uniform after winning two of three “Throwback Thursdays” in 2016.
In defeat, Warthogs starter Tanner Banks (5-3) registered his ninth quality start of the season. The southpaw, who entered the night in fourth place in the Carolina League in innings pitched, went seven frames and allowed six hits and three earned runs while striking out seven.
Banks kept the Red Sox off the scoreboard through the first four innings before they broke through in the fifth.
After Trenton Kemp started the frame with a line-drive single off Michalczewski’s glove at third, Jose Sermo delivered an RBI double down the left field line to put Salem ahead 1-0. Following a single by Austin Rei, Jordan Betts drove home the Red Sox second run on a sacrifice fly to right.
Salem added to its advantage in the sixth inning on a solo blast by Michael Chavis, who leads the circuit with 15 home runs.
Despite the loss, Drew Hasler continued his impressive run at BB&T Ballpark, tossing two perfect innings out of the bullpen. A 34th-round selection out of Valparaiso University, Hasler has yielded just one run over 30.2 innings pitched in the Triad, equating to a 0.29 ERA.
Winston-Salem continues its four-game series against the Red Sox on Friday at 7 p.m. The Dash will send right-hander Zach Thompson (1-5, 5.07 ERA) to the hill against Salem righty Roniel Raudes (1-2, 4.93 ERA). Pregame coverage will begin at6:45 p.m., and fans can catch all the action on wsdash.com/broadcast, MiLB.tv and the TuneIn Radio App.
The second contest of this four-game set features a postgame fireworks show. Following Friday’s game, kids can run the bases, powered by New Balance Winston-Salem. For tickets and more information, call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visitwsdash.com.
