Carolina blanks Winston in doubleheader finale

ZEBULON, N.C. (April 8, 2018) - The Dash's pitching staff held the Mudcats' offense in check throughout game two of Sunday's doubleheader, but Winston-Salem mustered just five hits as Carolina eked out a 2-0 win in the series finale at Five County Stadium. 
After suffering a 5-2 loss in game one of Sunday's twin bill, the Dash turned to right-hander Danny Dopico (0-1), who was making his first outing with Winston-Salem (1-3) since July 11, 2016. While he did not allow an earned run in his spot start, the Mudcats (3-1) were able to push across two tallies in the second inning against the righty.

Following a leadoff walk to Clint Coulter, Ronnie Gideon reached on a fielding error by Yeyson Yrizarri. Dopico retired the next two batters, but Robbie Rojas stroked an RBI single to center, scoring Coulter and giving Carolina a 1-0 edge. With Carlos Belonis batting, Dopico uncorked a wild pitch that brought home Gideon to make it a 2-0 contest.
That would be enough for the Mudcats, who silenced an offense that came into Sunday with a Dash era-best (2009-present) 23 hits through the first two games. Carolina's starter Conor Harber went four innings, allowing two hits and four walks, while Luke Barker (1-0) picked up the victory with two shutout frames of relief. 
Winston-Salem threatened in the seventh after Mitch Roman and Joel Booker  stroked back-to-back singles against Nattino Diplan to begin the inning. However, Diplan recovered to get Alex Call to pop out, and Daniel Brown locked down the save with consecutive strikeouts against Blake Rutherford and Gavin Sheets.
In the defeat, the Dash received strong relief outings from right-handers Blake Hickman and Zach Thompson. Hickman, who was making his High-A debut, struck out three and allowed one hit in two scoreless innings. Meanwhile, Thompson yielded only hit in two shutout frames.
The Dash now travel to Myrtle Beach to square off against the Pelicans in a three-game set starting on Monday. Right-hander Ricardo Pinto  (first start), who pitched in 25 games for the Philadelphia Phillies last year, will take the mound opposite of Myrtle Beach righty Alex Lange (first start). Pregame coverage begins at 6:50 p.m., and fans can catch all of the action on wsdash.com/broadcast, MiLB.tv and the TuneIn Radio App.
The Dash open up their 2018 home slate on Thursday with a four-game series against the Carolina Mudcats. Promotions for Winston-Salem's opening homestand include a Lowes Foods Thirsty Thursday and Family Sunday, a Fireworks Friday (presented by PTI Fly Easy), a Chick-fil-A Four Pack Night on Saturday and much more. For tickets and more information, call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.