Crawdads Cruise to 6th Straight Win
Hickory, NC - The Hickory Crawdads gave the 3,223 fans at L.P. Frans Stadium little reason to fret over their game Friday night, as the 'Dads jumped out to an early lead and cruised their 6th straight victory with a 9-1 win over the Kannapolis Intimidators.
The Crawdads exploded in the initial frame for four runs, followed by two tallies in the 4th and three in the 5th to cap their nine run outburst. The 'Dads attack was paced by an outpouring of power, with eight of the teams 11 hits going for extra bases including a season-high seven doubles. The Kannapolis bats meanwhile were unable to get the ball out of the infield, as Hickory hurlers Reed Garrett and Trey Lambert combined to allow only one unearned run on four infield singles and 10 strikeouts.
The 'Dads began the night with the first three batters reaching base, as both Michael De Leon and Travis Demeritte walked before Ronald Guzman singled to load the bases with nobody out. Crawdads catcher Jose Trevino promptly unloaded the bases with a 2-RBI double to right to put the 'Dads on the board. DH Tripp Martin followed two batters later with a 2-RBI double of his own for a 4-0 Hickory advantage.
The Intimidators scratched across their lone run of the night in the top of the fourth on an infield single from Michael Suiter, a throwing error by Hickory third baseman Josh Morgan, and an RBI groundout from Louie Lechich to cut the score to 4-1. The Crawdads quickly responded in the bottom of the frame however, with Demeritte launching a 2-out, 2-run homer to left to push the lead to 6-1. The 'Dads finished off the scoring with three final runs in the 5th, as Eduard Pinto drove in a run with a single before both Morgan and De Leon picked up RBI doubles for the final 9-1 score.
Demeritte finished the night 1-3 with his second long ball of the year, two walks, two RBI, and two runs scored. Trevino's 1-4 game with a double and 2 RBI extended his hitting streak to 12 games, while Guzman went 2-4 with a double to push his hitting streak to 9 straight games.
Garrett (1-1) earned his first win of the season with his best start of the year, as the 6'2" right-hander struck out a season-high seven batters while giving up only one unearned run on two infield singles and two walks. Lambert (1) picked up the save out of the bullpen with four scoreless frames of relief with three punch-outs. Kannapolis starter Yelmison Peralta (0-3) took the loss with six runs allowed on seven hits four walks, and three strikeouts over his four innings pitched.
The Crawdads (12-3) and Intimidators will play again on Saturday in game three of the four-game series, with first pitch scheduled for 6:00 pm.
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