Suns walk-off with win in final home game
HAGERSTOWN, MD - The Hagerstown Suns (31-34, 66-67) walked-off with a 10-9 win over the Kannapolis Intimidators (28-36, 63-70) on Wednesday afternoon in the final game at Municipal Stadium this season. It was the third walk-off win this year for the Suns, as Hagerstown finishes with a home record of 35-33 this season.
The Suns entered the bottom of the ninth trailing by a run in a back-and-forth ballgame. Left fielder Wilman Rodriguez led off the inning by hitting a ground ball double down the left field line. It was Rodriguez's fifth hit of the game, making him the first Suns hitter this season to collect five hits in a game. Two batters later CF Andrew Stevenson singled to left, driving in Rodriguez to tie the game at 9-9. Second baseman Osvaldo Abreu then drew a walk, and both Abreu and Stevenson advanced a base on a throwing error on a pickoff attempt of Stevenson at second. First baseman Jose Marmolejos drew an intentional walk to load the bases, and that's when RF Dale Carey came to the plate. Carey, the team's leader in walks this season, drew his 61st free pass of the year, pushing Stevenson across the plate to give the Suns the win.
Hagerstown had led by one entering the top of the ninth, but 2B John Ziznewski began the frame with a triple for Kannapolis. Left fielder Michael Suiter was then hit by a pitch, putting runners on the corners with no one out. Suiter moved to second on a wild pitch with CF Hunter Jones at the plate. Jones wound up hitting a sacrifice fly to center field to bring Ziznewski home and tie the game at 8-8. Designated hitter Louie Lechich was next to the plate for the Intimidators, and he lined a single to right to give Kannapolis its one run cushion heading to the bottom of the ninth.
Those were the first two runs for Kannapolis since the sixth, when they plated four unearned runs to erase a 5-3 deficit. The top of the sixth inning should have ended on a ground ball hit to SS Bryan Mejia with two outs, but he couldn't field the ball cleanly, allowing RF Mason Robbins to reach first and 1B Alexander Simon to head to second. Then the flood gates opened as the Intimidators collected three hits in a row, including a double and a triple, putting Kannapolis on top 7-5.
The Suns responded with a run in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI double by Mejia, and then they pushed two more across the plate in the seventh. RBI singles by Stevenson and Marmolejos in the inning did the damage, giving Hagerstown the lead until the ninth.
Hagerstown had an initial 2-0 lead after the first inning, and the Suns were able to stretch the lead to 3-0 in the third on an RBI double by DH Matthew Page. The Intimidators tied the game for the first time with three runs of their own in the top of the fifth. However, Hagerstown answered right back with a two-run frame in the bottom of the fifth to make it 5-3. In total the teams combined for 31 hits in the game and four errors.
LHP David Napoli (7-5) wound up getting the win for the Suns despite blowing a save opportunity. He threw one inning and gave up two earned runs on two hits. RHP David Trexler (0-3), the reigning South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week, suffered the loss for the Intimidators. He threw 1.2 innings and allowed two earned runs on two hits and three walks. Both teams used three pitchers in the game.
The Suns now head out on the road to Lexington, Kentucky to play their final series of the season. They will begin a five-game series against the Lexington Legends (24-38, 55-77) on Thursday, September 3. The Suns will send RHP Jefry Rodriguez (1-5) to the mound for his 10th start and appearance with the Suns this season. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm.