Strong Pitching Nets Dash Game One Victory
Both teams got off to a quick start in the first inning. Bo Greenwell led off the game with a ground rule double and later scored on a Chun Chen double to make it 1-0 Kinston. Dash starter Terry Doyle set the tone for the night, however, stranding men on second and third base to end the inning.
Winston-Salem immediately responded to the Indians' opening volley in the bottom of the first against T.J. McFarland. Jose Martinez reached on an error with one out and moved to third base when Jon Gilmore doubled. Seth Loman then tied the game with an RBI fielder's choice before Ozzie Lewis gave the Dash a lead with an RBI single.
It stayed 2-1 until the sixth inning. Karexon Sanchez hit a broken bat single off Doyle to lead off the inning and got to second on a sacrifice bunt. After Doug Pickens lined out to left field, Donnie Webb tied the game with an RBI single to right. That knocked Doyle out of the game, as Joe McEwing called upon Hector Santiago to face Bo Greenwell. Santiago fell behind in the count 3-0, but came back to strike out Greenwell in a foreshadowing of their later match-up.
Once again, the Dash quickly responded to a Kinston score. Ozzie Lewis led off the inning with a double and got to third base on a groundout. Indians manager Aaron Holbert then brought in Travis Turek. He was greeted by a Jason Bour base hit to left field that scored Lewis and gave Winston back its one-run lead. Bour tried to stretch his hit into a double, but was thrown out at second base by Donnie Webb.
With two outs and the bases clear, the Dash continued to hit Turek hard. Drew Garcia doubled off the wall in centerfield and Greg Paiml followed with a single to center. Garcia tried to score from second base, but Abner Abreu gunned him out at the plate to end the inning.
Kinston's best chance to tie the game came in the top of the eighth. After Santiago (1-0) retired the first two batters, he gave up a single and a double to put two men into scoring position. With the tying run at third and the go-ahead run at second, Santiago struck out Greenwell looking to escape the jam and keep Winston ahead by one.
Seth Loman led off with a double in the bottom of the eighth and was replaced by pinch runner Trayce Thompson. Lewis then softly lined into a 3-6 double play to take away a scoring opportunity for the Dash.
Tyson Corley came in to pitch the ninth and worked a 1-2-3 inning. He struck out Chen on a breaking ball to finish off the K-Tribe and deliver a game one victory to Winston-Salem, picking up a save in the process.
Santiago got the win, giving up three hits over 2.1 scoreless innings. McFarland (0-1) was the loser, allowing all three runs on six hits in 5.1 innings.
The Dash will try to take a 2-0 series lead on Thursday night at BB&T Ballpark. RHP Dylan Axelrod opposes RHP Austin Adams in a 7 p.m. start. The audio broadcast begins at 6:45 on www.wsdash.com.
Fans may purchase tickets for every Dash game this season by calling the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visiting www.wsdash.com.