Winston-Salem, N.C. - The Down East Wood Ducks got out to a 3-0 lead early, and added on throughout the night, taking the series opener from the Winston-Salem Dash, 9-2, Friday.
Winston-Salem, N.C. - The Down East Wood Ducks got out to a 3-0 lead early, and added on throughout the night, taking the series opener from the Winston-Salem Dash, 9-2, Friday.
Yonny Hernandez led the way with three hits and two RBI for the Woodies (25-10), and has now reached base in 20 consecutive games.
The Woodies (25-10) second baseman led off the ballgame with a walk, stole second, and advanced to third on a throwing error. He came into score one batter later on a sacrifice fly from Leody Taveras . Later in the inning Ryan Dorow launched a solo homer to left, his fourth of the year, to put the Woodies up 2-0.
Dash (18-15) starter Jake Elliott (loss, 3-1) yielded another run in the third. Yanio Perez reached second on an error, and scored on a Hernandez single, later in the frame. The Woodies, however, stranded the bases loaded as Elliott worked out of trouble. He went two innings in the spot start, giving up three runs (two earned), on two hits, and struck out two.
Winston-Salem answered with a two run second inning against Jason Bahr (win, 2-0). Zach Remillard led off the inning with a single, and then Craig Dedelow belted his sixth home run of the year to right, to make it a 3-2 game. Bahr would settle down after the home run. He went on to work five innings, allowing two runs on four hits, he walked two, and struck out four, and at one point retired 11 in a row.
The Wood Ducks plated three more runs in the fifth against Jorgan Cavanerio . Hernandez led off the inning with a single, advanced to second on an errant pickoff throw, and to third on a groundout, before coming into score on a wild pitch. Later in the inning, Anderson Tejeda and Dorow laced back-to-back singles. They would score on a Diosbel Arias sac fly and a Sam Huff RBI double respectively, making it 6-2.
Down East piled on in the eighth with another three run frame. Huff led it off with a single to right, and Perez followed with a double. Huff would then score on a wild pitch, and two batters later, Eric Jenkins tripled down the first base line to plate Perez. Hernandez followed with an RBI single to left, to push the advantage to 9-2. Hernandez reached base four times in the ballgame.
Josh Advocate took over for Bahr in the sixth and worked 1.2 scoreless innings in relief. Joe Barlow (save, 2) then entered with the tying run in the on deck circle in the seventh, and went on to record the final seven outs of the ballgame, picking up three strikeouts.
The teams return Saturday for the middle game of the three game series. Lefty John King (0-0, -.--) will make his Carolina League debut for the Wood Ducks, and will be opposed by fellow left-hander John Parke (1-2, 4.41) for the Dash. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. and the pregame show will begin at 5:50 p.m. on 960AM The Bull, and online at 960thebull.com as well as on the MiLB First Pitch and TuneIn Radio Apps.
