Ballers Unable to Complete Comeback in Loss to Hickory Saturday

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers failed to overcome a tumultuous fourth inning in a, 6-5, loss to the Hickory Crawdads Saturday night at Atrium Health Ballpark.

With Saturday’s defeat, the Ballers now fall to 2-6 on the season, stuck in the basement of the Carolina League South division in last place. The Crawdads won yet another one-run ballgame this week to move to 6-2 on the young season, sitting alone in first place in the South division.

RHP Blaine Wynk walked four Crawdads in 2.2 frames, allowing one run on two hits in his second start of the season. RHP Anthony Patterson (L, 0-1) scuffled in relief, allowing three runners to cross on a season-high five walks, all consecutive, in the fourth inning. LHP Jackson Nove tossed the most notable night in the bullpen, allowing just two hits and a season-high six strikeouts in two innings.

Hickory scored first for the third game in a row, going ahead, 1-0, on a Marcos Torres RBI single in the top of the first.

Abraham Nunez helped the Ballers break through against Crawdads starter RHP AJ Russell, the No. 3 prospect in the Texas Rangers organization. Nunez drew a 2-2 fastball and singled up the middle with the bases loaded to give the Ballers a, 2-1, lead after one.

Wady Mendez, Esteban Mejia and Yolfran Castillo drew bases-loaded walks in the top of the fourth to earn back the lead for Hickory, while Josh Springer notched an RBI single and Mendez compiled an RBI double in the top of the fifth to push the Crawdads in front, 6-2.

Kannapolis fought back with their fourth game in their last five with a three-run inning. In the bottom of the fifth, Javier Mogollon drew a hit-by-pitch on his arm with the bases loaded, allowing Bryce Eblin to cross the plate. One batter later, Boston Smith made it, 6-4, with an RBI groundout to score D’Angelo Tejada. Rylan Galvan then quickly trailed with an RBI single to bring in Jaden Fauske and make it a, 6-5, game in favor of Hickory.

The Crawdads left a whopping 14 runners on base but still held on late with some efficient bullpen pitching against a Ballers offense that went cold over the late frames.

RHP Caedmon Parker takes the hill for Kannapolis for the second time this week in Sunday’s series finale against the Hickory Crawdads. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. from Atrium Health Ballpark.

The 2026 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers season is underway at Atrium Health Ballpark! Single-game tickets, season ticket packages, group experiences and 10-game mini plans for the 2026 season are available for purchase now. Call the Cannon Ballers ticket office at (704) 932-3267 or visit kcballers.com for more information.