Crawdads Strikeout 12 but Fall to Grasshoppers

Hickory, NC- The Crawdads dropped Thursday night’s contest to the Greensboro Grasshoppers by a score of 8-2.

The evening was originally scheduled to be a doubleheader beginning at 5pm but storms pushed the start time to 7:45pm. Rather than start two seven inning games, the teams elected to play one nine inning game and move the second game to tomorrow evening.

The ‘Dads got on the board early, taking a 1-0 lead in the third inning. The rally started with two outs in the inning on a double off the right field wall by Frainyer Chavez. Jose Acosta drew a walk and Chavez took third on a wild pitch. Jonathan Ornelas drove the run in on a double to left.

Crawdads starting pitcher Cole Ragans departed after 4.1 innings. Fresh off being named the High-A Pitcher of the Week, he struck out 6 while allowing 4 hits and 3 walks on 92 pitches. He left with two runners on who both came in to score. Grant Anderson came into the game in relief of Ragans and gave up three more runs of his own to make the score 5-1 in favor of the Grasshoppers.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Crawdads got another run across. Ornelas singled to center and came around to score on a single by Kellen Strahm and an error by the second baseman on the play.

Greensboro broke out for three more runs in the seventh to put the ‘Dads behind 8-2.

The ‘Dads finished the evening with five hits. Ornelas and Strahm each picked up two while Chavez had one.

The first game of tomorrow’s doubleheader will begin at 4pm and the second will start no earlier than 7pm. The same ticket will be good for both games, which will both be seven innings. The meet and greet with the Heroic Ventures Heroes will still take place at the scheduled time of 5:45-6:45pm. Following the game, the Crawdads