Torrid Torres Leads Crawdads to Win

Hickory, NC- Marcos Torres led a 19-hit attack on Thursday evening as the Hickory Crawdads cruised to an 18-2 win over Columbia at LP Frans Stadium.

Torres, who came into the contest 1-for-7 in the series, collected five hits, including an eighth inning double that closed out a perfect five-for-five night. The outfielder raised his average forty-six points to finish the night batting .271.

Torres was one of five players with a multi-hit game, as Ben Hartl picked up three knocks to boost his average twenty-four points.

Daniel Flames made his Hickory debut tonight, reaching base four times on a walk, two singles and a double, delighting the 1,140 fans at the Frans.

Rafe Perich added a trio of hits for the Crawdads (28-25), while Maxton Martin drove home six runs in the rout.

The Crawdads reached a high-water mark on the season with the 18 runs and 19 hits. The team's performance moved them up four spots in the Carolina League with a .228 team average, good for fifth on the circuit.

As for pitching, J'Briell Easley earned the win for Hickory. The right-hander teamed with three pitchers to move his record to 3-2 on the season. Dalton Pence opened with a scoreless stanza, while Brock Porter tossed two scoreless frames.

Thomas Ireland pitched the final four frames to pick up a seldom seen four-inning save. The save for Ireland was his first of the year.

Columbia (27-27) was led by Derlin Figueroa's two safeties, as Jordan Woods (2-3) suffered the loss for the Fireflies.

In other Carolina League action, Kannapolis drilled Myrtle Beach 12-1 while Augusta lost for a third straight night to Fayetteville, leaving the two clubs in a virtual first-place tie. The win for Hickory places three teams within a half-game of each other for the first-half crown in the South Division.

Tomorrow, Caden Scarborough takes the hill for Hickory, opposing Columbia's Blake Wolters at 7pm.