Boiled Peanuts Crack in Ninth, Fall to Greenville

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Down 6-0 after 3 1/2 innings, the Charleston Boiled Peanuts rallied to tie Greenville at seven apiece, but a three-run ninth pushed the Drive past the Nuts, 10-8, in front of 6,239 at Riley Park on Saturday night.
Boiled Peanuts (50-52, 17-17) starter Alex Mauricio (0-2) got shelled for six runs (five earned) on eight hits in four innings. The Norfolk State product has allowed five or more earned runs in each of his first three starts with Charleston, failing to complete five innings each outing.
The Nuts began climbing out of the boiling water in the fourth with a Leonardo Molina single, scoring shortstop Oswaldo Cabrera. The center fielder Molina followed up his first knock with a two-run hit in the sixth, plating Cabrera and catcher Jason Lopez.

Lopez collected a pair of hits and two runs as he extended his hitting streak to a season-high seven games. The Venezuelan catcher is 13-for-26 (.500) during the stretch, coming after a 0-for-19 skid before the homestand.
 
Charleston added a third run in the six after a throwing error on a Chris Hess hit to left allowed left fielder Carlos Vidal to score.
After Greenville added an insurance tally in the seventh, the Boiled Peanuts added a pair on a moonshot from designated hitter Dermis Garcia. The 20-year-old snuck his 11th homer of the campaign around the left field foul pole off Marcos Lantigua, also scoring Lopez to get the Nuts within a run.
Third baseman Welfrin Mateo knotted the score at 7-7 on a groundball to left, allowing Molina to cross for the tying run. After Mateo's hit, the Boiled Peanuts had the bases loaded with nobody out but failed to add anything further.
The Riley Park energy vaporized in the ninth when the Drive tacked on three runs against lefty Anderson Severino (2-3) to take a 10-7 advantage. Charleston got one back in their last at-bat on the strength of a Vidal double that scored Garcia. Devon Fisher struck out the last two Boiled Peanuts to strand the tying run at the plate.
Had Charleston pulled off the comeback victory, it would have been their largest of the season, having overcome a four-run deficit on two occasions. The Boiled Peanuts have now dropped four of their last five series, losing 13 of 18 since their season-best four-game winning streak was snapped on July 9.
Ballpark Fun
The Boiled Peanuts invited local peanut vendors to The Joe, had peanut-themed between-inning games, and poured boiled peanuts on a peanut-clad intern in a steaming kiddie pool behind home plate for every Charleston run. The crowd of 6,000-plus was Riley Park's largest of the year aside from Opening Night and July 4.
Upcoming
The Charleston RiverDogs will return for Sunday's finale in the Spinx Battle of the Palmetto State as RiverDogs 18-year-old Roansy Contreras (0-1, 1.50) takes on right-hander Hildemaro Requena (3-3, 5.40). Sunday's contest can be viewed on MyTV Channel 36. Audio is available on "The Big Talker" 1250 WTMA with audio streaming live at riverdogs.com and the RiverDogs TuneIn radio station.
RiverDogs single-game tickets, including options to the Riley Park Club, are now available for the 2018 campaign, the club's 25th season as the RiverDogs and their "175th season in dog years." Ticket information can be secured by contacting the box office at (843) 577-3647 or online at www.riverdogs.com/tickets.
--BOILED PEANUTS--