Pascal Lifts Suns to 4-3 Victory in Ninth

Charleston, SC - Juan Pascal drove in two runs in the ninth inning to lift the Hagerstown Suns to a 4-3 victory over the Charleston RiverDogs in the series finale on Monday night at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. The Suns won their third-straight while improving to 46-69 overall and 19-28 in the second half. Tuesday is a league-wide off day, but The Suns return to Historic Municipal Stadium on Wednesday to begin a three-game series against the Lexington Legends.
Hagerstown took a one-run lead after loading the bases in the second against RiverDogs starter Nolan Martinez. Omar Meregildo led off with a walk and Alex Flores singled to center, moving Meregildo up a base. With two outs, Juan Pascal walked to load the bases and Nick Choruby took a walk to plate Meregildo and give the Suns a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third, Charleston overtook the Suns with Tomas Alastre on the mound. With one out, Welfrin Mateo and Carlos Vidal walked to put runners at first and second. Dermis Garcia doubled to left with two outs to score both runners and give Charleston a 2-1 lead.
The RiverDogs extended their lead in the seventh as Jorge Pantoja entered the game out of the bullpen. Eduardo Navas singled to left with one out and went to second on a wild pitch. Frederick Cuevas and Mateo both walked to load the bases and Vidal grounded into a fielder's choice, scoring Navas to give Charleston a 3-1 advantage.
Hagerstown answered back with a run of their own in the eighth against Charleston reliever Dalton Higgins. With two outs, Jake Scudder blasted his seventh home run of the season to make it a 3-2 game. Scudder's homer traveled over the right-field fence and was the first long ball hit by Hagerstown in the series.
The Suns took the lead in the ninth against Higgins and the RiverDogs. Flores was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame and went to third when Kameron Esthay doubled to left. With one out, Pascal singled to left, plating both runners to give the Suns a 4-3 come-from-behind victory.
Alastre lasted three innings in a no decision, allowing two runs on two hits with four walks and two strikeouts. Pantoja threw three spotless innings with a strikeout. Jhonatan German (1-1) spun three innings in relief, allowing one run on a hit with two walks and two strikeouts in his first win of the season.
Notes: Alastre's three innings ties a personal season-low… His four walks tie a career-high from August 9, 2017 against the GCL Astros… It's the first time since May 12 Alastre failed to throw at least five innings in a start… That game was also against Charleston… Scudder extended his hit streak to six games… It was also his 15^th multi-hit game of the year… He's driven in a run in four-straight games… Monday is the fourth time Hagerstown won trailing after eight innings… It was the seventh time they've won after trailing through seven innings… The three-game winning streak ties the Suns season long… The Suns elimination number from the 2018 playoffs is down to six games despite the win… Tuesday is a league-wide off day… The Suns begin a seven-game homestand on Wednesday as they welcome in the Lexington Legends… First pitch for the series opener will be at 7:05 PM… Wednesday is Bark in the Park presented by Pet Valu… It's also Antietam Broadband night, where fans can bring their Antietam Broadband bill to the box office and receive up to four free general admission tickets courtesy of Antietam Broadband… The broadcast can be heard, starting with the pregame show at 6:55 PM on www.hagerstownsuns.com by going to multimedia tab and clicking on "Listen Live"... The broadcast is also available on the Hagerstown Suns Radio Network in the Tune-In Radio and MiLB First Pitch apps.
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