Dash Rally Late to Take Series Against Brooklyn 6-4

WINSTON-SALEM, NC (April 15, 2023) – For the first six innings, the Winston-Salem Dash were searching for timely hits. Trailing 4-1 in the seventh inning, the Dash finally found the big hits when they needed it most. A pair of two-run jacks pushed the Dash past the Cyclones, 6-4, Saturday night at Truist Stadium in front of 5,542 fans.

For the first five innings, runs were hard to come by. Winston-Salem (4-2) starter Brooks Gosswein shoved over five innings allowing only one run on a solo homer in the second by Stanley Consuegra and punching out seven.

On the other side, Brooklyn (3-5) starter Tyler Stuart was impressive in his four innings of work. Like Gosswein, the one run he gave up was a leadoff home run by Shawn Goosenberg in the bottom of the second that tied it up at one.

After both starters were out after five, the bullpens took over in a 1-1 game.

Winston-Salem manager Guillermo Quiroz turned the ball over to the right-hander Dylan Burns, who found himself in a jam quickly. The Cyclones loaded the bases with only one out and Consuegra coming to the plate. Burns froze Consuegra for a strikeout looking for the second out, but on a 2-2 pitch to the next batter Jaylen Palmer, he laced a bases-clearing double down the left field line to give Brooklyn its second lead of the night, 4-1.

The Dash could not find anything in the sixth, and in the top of the seventh, with Burns still on the mound, Joe Suozzi ripped a single to right with Warren Saunders on second. Saunders got the green light to head for home. Right fielder Wilfred Veras came up firing and delivered a strike to catcher Ivan Gonzalez beating Saunders by a few steps, keeping the deficit at three.

That’s when the momentum started to shift. Burns got the final out of the seventh and Brooklyn went to the bullpen again bringing in Joshua Cornielly.

The first Dash hitter to greet him was Taishi Nakawake. The nine-hitter reached on a bunt down the third base line. Nakawake took second on a passed ball and was sent to third on a Ben Norman groundout. Alsander Womack lined a single to center plating Nakawake to cut the lead to two, 4-2.

Next batter DJ Gladney tied it up with one swing of the bat. On the first pitch he saw, the left fielder demolished a ball to left center, his second home run in as many days, knotting it up at four.

Veras singled two pitches later, putting the go ahead run aboard. The next to bat was Wes Kath, who only had one hit through his first 17 at-bats, searching for the hit to spark his 2023 season.

Cornielly attacked Kath with a fastball belt high, and the lefty did not miss it. Kath watched the ball fly over the stands in right, sending the ballpark and the Dash into a frenzy, 6-4.

The job was not finished. Winston-Salem turned to Adisyn Coffey in the eighth. After walking leadoff man Kevin Parada, he retired the next three, striking out Palmer to bring the Dash back up to bat.

The Dash threatened again in the eighth after Gladney banged a two-out triple off the wall in center, but Quinn Brodey stranded him at third, keeping the difference at two.

Jake Palisch was tabbed with the responsibility to close out the win and series. Justin Guerrera singled to lead off the ninth bringing the tying run to the plate.

Palisch wasn’t fazed. He punched out Saunders and induced a ground out by Chase Estep for the first two outs. Suozzi reached on an error putting the tying run on base, but the southpaw buckled down, getting Kevin Kendall to fly out to right closing out the ballgame with a 6-4 victory.

After the big seventh inning from the offense, Burns picked up his first win on the year as Palisch recorded his first save of the campaign.

For the offense, Gladney continued his tear going 3-for-5 with two RBI finishing a double shy of the cycle. The power-bat has nine RBI in the series and two home runs. Womack had an impressive night at the plate also finishing 3-for-5 with an RBI, and Kath picked up his first home run on the year with the decider.

The Dash try to take five-of-six from the Cyclones Sunday afternoon in the series finale. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. from Truist Stadium.