Dash pitching dominates in 11-inning road win

WILMINGTON, Del. (Sept. 2, 2015) - Spencer Adams, Euclides Leyer and Brad Goldberg thrived on the hill, and Adam Engel delivered a game-winning single in the 11th of a 2-1 Dash win at Wilmington's Frawley Stadium on Wednesday night.

Thanks to their second extra-inning victory of 2015, the Dash (41-22, 71-62) dropped their magic number to clinch the Southern Division's second-half title to two. Winston-Salem could wrap up its first division crown since 2012 on Thursday with a sweep-clinching win over the Blue Rocks and a Myrtle Beach loss at Potomac. This would guarantee that the Dash would host Game 1 of the Southern Division Championship Series next Wednesday night.

Wilmington (22-41, 60-73) reliever Evan Beal (0-2) retired the first two men he faced in the deciding 11th, but Nolan Earley coaxed a walk before Michael Danner singled to right. Engel, who had struck out a career-high four times in his first five at-bats, leveled a hanging curveball to left on a 1-2 pitch to bring home Earley.

Goldberg was able to work around a one-out single to earn his team-leading 10th save, which capped off a remarkable evening from Winston-Salem's pitching staff. Goldberg replaced Leyer (4-2), who had ripped off three perfect innings. He whiffed five Blue Rocks, while the other four who faced him grounded out.

In his fourth High-A start, Adams matched a career-best with seven innings, during which he allowed only five hits and punched out five. His lone blemish came in the second, when Wilmington loaded the bases with one out and scored on a Logan Moon sacrifice fly.

One inning later, Adams was able to strand men at the corners with nobody down. From there, Wilmington only amassed three base runners, and the Adams-Leyer-Goldberg trio retired 17 in a row at one point.

The Dash knotted the score with a run in the sixth on an Eddy Alvarez leadoff triple and a Jake Peter sacrifice fly. Winston stranded two in the seventh, ninth and 10th innings before cashing in the game-winning tally in the 11th.

With a win Thursday, Winston-Salem can collect a Dash era-record seventh sweep since the All-Star break. The Dash will send Carson Fulmer (0-0, 2.37 ERA), the White Sox first-round pick in June's MLB Draft, to the bump against fellow righty Alec Mills (7-6, 2.99 ERA). First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m., and pregame coverage begins at 6:20 p.m. on 600 AM-WSJS, wsjs.com and the TuneIn App.

The Dash could host as many as four playoff games at BB&T Ballpark this month, and tickets are on sale now. Fans can purchase their postseason tickets by calling (336) 714-6875 or visiting wsdash.com.