Dash lead wire-to-wire en route to win at Salem

Heisler triples twice, drives in two runs in victory

By Brian Boesch

April 9, 2014

SALEM, Va. (April 9, 2014) - For the first time this season, the Dash scored the first run of the game. Winston-Salem parlayed that early advantage into a wire-to-wire win at Salem by a score of 4-2 on Wednesday night at LewisGale Field.

After a pair of scoreless innings for both sides, Adam Heisler belted a triple off the right-center field wall with one out in the third, and Tim Anderson drove Heisler home with a double to give Winston-Salem (3-3) an early advantage.

One inning later, Heisler came up with another triple, and this one pushed across two more runs to give the Dash a 3-0 lead. Heisler became the first Winston-Salem hitter to register multiple triples in a game since July 27, 2012, when Kevan Smith tripled twice at Myrtle Beach.

While Winston-Salem's offense was claiming an early lead, starter J.B. Wendelken (1-1) was thriving in the second start of his minor league career. The former Red Sox farmhand retired the first 12 men he faced and earned the second quality start of the season by a Dash hurler.

Salem did plate a pair against the righty in the fifth. David Chester led off the frame with a blast to left field, and Kevin Heller chipped in with an RBI single. Wendelken followed this scoring inning with a quick sixth inning for the victory.

One run was as close as the Red Sox would get. Winston-Salem completed the scoring in the top of the seventh inning thanks to a Courtney Hawkins RBI double. This knock extended Hawkins' hitting streak to six games and his RBI run to five consecutive contests. He leads the CL with 12 RBIs.

Out of the bullpen, Euclides Leyer blanked the Red Sox over two innings, and Jarrett Casey collected the first save by a Dash reliever and the sixth of his minor league career after stranding two runners in the bottom of the ninth.

Winston-Salem ended the Red Sox 11-game winning streak, which dated back to late last season. Salem (5-1) was off to its first 5-0 start in franchise history.

The Dash and Red Sox conclude this three-game series Thursday night at 7:05. Brad Goldberg (0-1, 4.50 ERA) will toe the rubber for Winston-Salem against fellow righty Luis Diaz (1-0, 0.00 ERA). Pregame coverage begins at 6:50 on wsdash.com/broadcast.

All-You-Can-Eat Night kicks off the Dash's next homestand on Tuesday, April 15, at 7 p.m. All fans can enjoy all-you-can-eat hot dogs, hamburgers and cheeseburgers through the seventh inning. Normal ticket prices apply, so visit wsdash.com for your tickets.