Coffey Slams Door on Mudcats Late to Seal 4-3 Victory for Ballers Thursday over Mudcats

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Even through multiple attempts by the Carolina Mudcats to tie or take the lead late, the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers outworked their opponents Thursday night at Atrium Health Ballpark, winning 4-3 despite being outhit.

RHP Dylan Burns set the tone early for the Ballers on the mound, tossing five shutout innings, walking two and striking out four while allowing just two hits. With the solid five innings of work, Burns lowers his season ERA to 0.90. RHP Bowen Plagge (W, 2-4) earned his second win of the season, tossing two innings, walking three, striking out one, and allowing two runs on four hits.

Troy Claunch initiated the night of offense in the bottom of the first inning with an RBI single, scoring Jordan Sprinkle to put the Ballers ahead 1-0.

It took some time, but Carolina answered with a lead change in the top of the sixth inning, tying the game on an Eduarqui Fernandez RBI single and taking the lead on a single from the next batter, Jadher Areinamo. The back-to-back base hits drove in key runs, putting the Mudcats up 2-1.

The Mudcats did not hold the lead for long, allowing the tying run to cross the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning. Ballers INF Tim Elko grounded a ball towards third base, where Branlyn Jaraba committed a fielding error, allowing Brooks Baldwin to hurry home and make it 2-2. Later in the inning, Benyamin Bailey put Kannapolis ahead 4-2 on an RBI double to left field, scoring Claunch and Elko.

Jose Sibrian cut into the Kannapolis lead in the top of the eighth, adding an RBI double for the Mudcats. The tying run was on base for Carolina, but a beautiful relay play from Bailey and Wilber Sanchez enabled a tag to be applied on a play at the plate, keeping the Ballers ahead 4-3 entering the ninth inning.

Hendry Mendez and the Mudcats did not give up in the ninth with Kannapolis RHP Adisyn Coffey (S, 7) on the mound. Mendez added a leadoff double in the top of the ninth inning, but Coffey stayed composed on the mound, striking out the final two batters of the night to earn his team-leading seventh save of the year. Coffey has now not allowed a run on the mound since mid-June, proving to be a shutdown arm out of the bullpen late in games.

The Ballers will look to build on their winning ways in the fourth of six matchups this week against the Carolina Mudcats on Friday night at Atrium Health Ballpark. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m., with RHP Noah Owen slated for the start for Kannapolis.

Fans can purchase tickets for any upcoming home games at kcballers.com or at the F&M Bank Box Office located at Atrium Health Ballpark.