Winston-Salem 5, Carolina 3
W: Mike Morrison (1-0)
L: Conor Harber (1-6)
S: Jack Charleston (7)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (July 7, 2017) – Behind three RBIs from Seby Zavala and a quality start from Brannon Easterling, the Dash outlasted the Carolina Mudcats 5-3 on Friday evening at BB&T Ballpark.
Tied at two in the bottom of the seventh, Brandon Dulin, who was called up to Winston-Salem (7-9, 31-55) from Low-A Kannapolis on Friday afternoon, began the inning with a triple to right that snuck under the glove of Mudcats (8-8, 44-40) outfielder Brandon Diaz. Zavala immediately followed with an RBI double off Carolina reliever Conor Harber (1-6) to plate Dulin and give the Dash a 3-2 advantage.
Zavala capped off his impressive 3-for-3 effort by plating a pair of runs in the eighth. With the bases loaded and two down, the Yorba Linda, Calif., native stroked a two-run single to right that scored Joel Booker and Jameson Fisher.
Easterling, who turned in his fifth quality start of the season on Friday, allowed two runs on a pair of solo shots to Trent Clark and Troy Stokes, Jr. Besides the two round-trippers, however, the College Station, Texas, resident excelled on the mound, spinning six strong innings and striking out a career-high eight batters.
Following Easterling, Mike Morrison (1-0) and Louie Lechich each tossed an inning of scoreless relief before Jack Charleston worked through a one-run ninth to finish off his seventh save in nine opportunities.
Muddies starter Jordan Yamamoto held Winston-Salem in check through the first four innings, surrendering just two hits. Danny Mendick finally broke through against the right-hander in the fifth, as the Midseason Carolina League All-Star crushed his seventh home run of the season beyond the Nature’s Select Knoll to give the Dash a 2-1 lead.
The former UMass Lowell star is batting .426 (20-for-47) in the second half after sporting a .283 first-half average.
Mendick’s blast would be the lone blemish Winston would notch against Yamamoto, who turned in a quality start over six innings of work while fanning eight batters, tying a season-high.
The Dash continue their four-game series against the Carolina Mudcats on Saturday at BB&T Ballpark. Right-hander Dane Dunning (3-4, 2.67 ERA) gets the ball for Winston-Salem against Carolina southpaw Kodi Medeiros (3-6, 5.00 ERA). Play-by-play coverage will be available online at wsdash.com/broadcast, MiLB.tv and via the TuneIn Radio App, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m.
Saturday also marks the next Chick-fil-A Four Pack Night at BB&T Ballpark. For as low as $32, fans will receive four tickets, four Dash hats and four chicken sandwich vouchers, redeemable at the Chick-fil-A at Thruway Shopping Center. This deal must be purchased in advance, so call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 to get your tickets before coming out to the ballpark. Kids are also invited to run the bases following Saturday’s contest, powered by New Balance Winston-Salem. For tickets and more information, contact the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.
