Allen homers but rally in 9th falls short

GREENSBORO, N.C. (July 12, 2018) -- The Grasshoppers offense came alive in the final inning, but the last-chance rally fell short in a 2-1 loss to the Kannapolis Intimidators on Thursday at First National Bank Field. Greensboro (44-45, 10-10 Second Half) pitchers combined to strikeout 11 batters, including a career-high-tying six by starting pitcher Trevor Rogers. 
Drew Harrington (5-4) earned the win for Kannapolis, tossing 7.0 scoreless innings and working around four hits and two walks while striking out seven. Rogers (0-4) suffered the hard-luck loss, giving up a run on four hits while walking two in 4.0 innings pitched. Intimidators reliever Jose Nin recorded the final two outs of the game for the save (4). 
Kannapolis scored the game's first run in the top of the fourth when Anthony Villa drew a 2-out walk, moved into scoring position on a Tyler Frost base hit, and crossed the plate on a Carlos Perez single for a 1-0 lead.
In the top of the ninth, the Intimidators added an insurance run when Villa singled to score Tate Blackman for a 2-0 advantage.  
Greensboro attempted to rally in the bottom of the ninth, starting with Will Allen's 1-out solo home run (6) that cleared the wall in right field, cutting the Kannapolis lead in half. Isael Soto followed with a single, and Micah Brown walked, prompting the Intimidators to lift Will Kincannon from the game in favor of Nin. Marcos Rivera and Michael Hernandez each rolled grounders for the final two outs as the Hoppers left the tying run on third and the winning run on first.
The Grasshoppers wrap up this 3-game series against the Intimidators on Friday at 7:00 p.m. Gates open at 6:00 p.m., and Friday's game features post-game fireworks presented by Lincoln Financial, Rock 92, and WMFY News 2. Tickets are available online at gsohoppers.com.