Hickory pitchers combine to shut out Hoppers on 3 hits

GREENSBORO ― Zak Kent and two relievers combined on a three-hit shutout, and Hickory's offense hit four home runs as the Crawdads beat the Greensboro Grasshoppers 7-0 on a Thirsty Thursday at First National Bank Field.

Kent (6-2, 2.83 ERA) struck out 13 batters in seven dominant innings. He gave up two singles, a walk and a hit batsman.

The 23-year-old right-hander from VMI has been Hickory's best pitcher this season, walking 15 and striking out 78 in 60 innings, holding opposing hitters to a .206 batting average.

He got all the run support he needed in the first three innings. Losing pitcher Domingo Gonzalez (0-1, 9.35 ERA) made just his second start in Greensboro since being promoted from Class-A Bradenton, and he gave up all four of Hickory's home runs in the first three innings.

Trey Hair went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer to lead Hickory's offense.

Jared Triolo beat out a slow roller to shortstop for an infield single in the fourth inning for Greensboro's first hit.

Matt Gorski went 1-for-4 with a sharp single to extend his hitting streak to eight games, and Liover Peguero went 1-for-4 as the team's lead-off hitter.

Gorski is 10-for-29 (.345) with three home runs, three doubles and eight runs scored during his hitting streak.

Center fielder Jonah Davis made his season debut for the Hoppers, going 0-for-1 but reaching base twice when he was hit by pitches. Davis also made a diving catch in deep center field in the first inning.

Davis, who starred for the Hoppers in the second half of the 2019 season, was sent down from Class-AA Altoona on Thursday to replace lead-off hitter Matt Fraizer on Greensboro's roster. Fraizer was promoted to Altoona after Wednesday's game.

Davis, 24, batted .211 with eight home runs and 19 RBIs in 60 games for Altoona this season.

The left-handed slugger hit .249 for Greensboro in 2019. He struggled early that season, but he was arguably the Hoppers best player from July 1 through the end of the summer, batting .302 with 16 home runs and 34 RBIs in 53 games in July and August.

Notes

• Greensboro (50-31) remains in second place, seven games behind Bowling Green (57-24) in the High-A East's South Division. The top two teams in the league ― regardless of division ― qualify for the championship series. The Grasshoppers trail North Division leader Hudson Valley (53-28) by three games in the playoff chase. The Hoppers and Renegades play 12 head-to-head games in the final 20 days of the season.
• Greensboro has won nine of its last 13 games and is 22-9 since July 1. Hudson Valley has won five in a row and seven of its last 10.
• Hoppers third baseman Jared Triolo has hit safely in 24 of his last 27 games, batting .357 (40-for-112) with seven doubles, four home runs, 26 RBIs and 12 stolen bases in that span. He ranks fourth in the High-A East with 57 RBIs, and he has raised his batting average from .237 on June 1 to .298 through Aug. 5.
• Lefty-hitting catcher Blake Sabol went 0-for-4, but he has hit safely in 12 of his last 15 games, going 20-for-55 (.364) with four doubles and five home runs during that span.