Bill on Baseball: Hoppers' Rally Comes Up Short in 9th
At least the Hoppers didn't let their winning streak get snapped without a fight.Trailing Augusta by six runs going into the bottom of the ninth inning Monday night, they cobbled together a pair of walks and four hits, including three straight infield hits, to score three runs. When Marcos Rivera
At least the Hoppers didn't let their winning streak get snapped without a fight.
Trailing Augusta by six runs going into the bottom of the ninth inning Monday night, they cobbled together a pair of walks and four hits, including three straight infield hits, to score three runs. When
At least the Hoppers didn't let their winning streak get snapped without a fight.
Trailing Augusta by six runs going into the bottom of the ninth inning Monday night, they cobbled together a pair of walks and four hits, including three straight infield hits, to score three runs. When
That forced the GreenJackets to bring in their second pitcher of the inning.
"We kept battling and we were one swing away from winning the game," said Hoppers manager Todd Pratt. "I was proud of the guys. They hustled to get those infield hits."
It was Greensboro's first loss after opening the season with three straight wins over Hickory.
The game began ominously for the Hoppers when Augusta's
Three batters later, they had their second homer when
"Braley throws a two-seam fastball that was flat tonight," said pitching coach Mark DiFelice.
Two Hoppers errors contributed to Augusta adding a pair of unearned runs in the third inning, and
All that added up to a 7-1 lead and it looked as if Augusta would cruise from there, but the Hoppers made the Jackets sweat in the ninth on a night when the temperature fell to 47 by game's end.
The game had its strange moments. With Augusta's
In the eighth, as Augusta pitcher
The teams combined for 23 strikeouts, 13 by Hoppers pitching. The two left-handers on the roster, Nelson Bautista and
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