Crawdads Take Opener vs Greenville 10-6

*Hickory, NC- *The Crawdads took Tuesday’s series opener against the Greenville Drive by a score of 10-6. The win, coupled with Bowling Green’s loss, puts the ‘Dads just a half game out of first place with eight games to play in the first half.

The Crawdads scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the third inning. Jayce Easley led things off with a hit by pitch and promptly stole his eighth base of the season to get into scoring position. A passed ball moved Easley up once again. Evan Carter brought him in with a sacrifice fly to center.

Greenville put two runs on the board in the fifth to pull ahead 2-1.

The ‘Dads rallied for two in the bottom half of the inning to retake the lead. Aaron Zavala’s single and Luisangel Acuña’s double put two runners aboard. A wild pitch allowed the first runner to score and advanced Acuña to third. Cody Freeman drove in the run with a ground out.

In the top of the sixth, the Drive got a run across to even the score at three.

Once again, the Crawdads didn’t stay down for long, putting up six in the home half of the inning. The rally kicked off with a single by Chris Seise and Scott Kapers getting hit by a pitch. Another wild pitch let both Seise and Kapers advance. Easley singled in Seise and took second on the play. Zavala followed up with another base hit and brought in Kapers. Acuña delivered the third straight hit to score Easley. Acuña’s eleventh steal of the season put him in scoring position with Zavala already on third. Carter and Trevor Hauver both drew walks to bring in a run. Freeman singled for the Crawdads’ fifth run of the inning. Frainyer Chavez capped off the rally by hitting into a double play, but Carter came in on the play.

Greenville scored twice in the seventh but still trailed 9-5.

The ‘Dads pushed their lead back to five in the seventh. Easley singled to left and took second as the third baseman dropped a throw in. Easley moved to third on a ground out by Zavala. The ‘Dads benefitted from another wild pitch as Easley scored.

In the top of the eighth, Greenville scored another run to bring the score to its final of 10-6.

On the mound for the ‘Dads, Tekoah Roby pitched five innings, yielding two earned runs and striking out six. Leury Tejada came into the game for two frames and allowed three earned runs but was credited with the win. Eudrys Manon got the ball for the eighth inning and gave up a run. Destin Dotson closed the door in the ninth with a scoreless inning.

The series continues tomorrow evening with a 7pm matchup. It will be Ladies Night and Wine and Design will be on the ServPro Picnic Pavilion for an in-game class. It is also a wine Wednesday presented by Catawba Farms and Carolina Vines and fans can enjoy discounted wine. Of course, it is also Kids Win Wednesday, brought to you by Arby’s, and kids 12 and under can get a free ticket, meal voucher, and pass for the amusements.