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Dalfonso Delivers Hurt in Rome's 10-3 Win

June 1, 2011
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CHARLESTON, S.C. - Jakob Dalfonso jolted two two-run home runs to lead the Rome Braves over the Charleston RiverDogs, 10-3, in South Atlantic League action Wednesday night in front of a crowd of 2,429 fans at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.

 

Rome improved to 20-33 with the victory, while Charleston dropped its fourth straight and ninth in its last 11 games to regress to 22-31.

 

Christian Bethancourt gave Rome a 1-0 first inning lead with one swing of the bat off Charleston starter Jose A. Ramirez (2-2). Bethancourt drilled a 3-2 fastball the opposite way, powering it over the right-field fence for his fourth home run of the season.

 

Ramirez was in lockdown mode after the homer, mixing a powerful fastball with a devastating slider and changeup to overwhelm the Braves lineup. The 21-year old Dominican right-hander racked up 10 strikeouts over the contest's first five innings, and fanned the side in both the fourth and fifth frames.

 

Rome entered with the fourth fewest home runs in the circuit, but belted another to push its advantage to 3-0 in the top of the sixth.

 

Dalfonso - the reigning SAL Hitter of the Week - drove a 2-2 pitch clear of the right field wall for his eighth round tripper of the year, and fifth in the last seven games. Robby Hefflinger followed Dalfonso to the plate, and parachuted a double down the right field line to force Ramirez from the mound.

 

Charleston manager Aaron Ledesma summoned Manny Barreda from the bullpen to relieve Ramirez with two outs in the sixth. Barreda had not yielded an earned run in his last ten outings, but could not find the strike zone as Rome extended its lead to 5-0. The 5-11 right-hander walked the first four batters he faced, forcing in two runs along the way.

 

The first of Barreda's free passes charged a fourth run to Ramirez's final line. Rated the No. 24 prospect in the Yankees' system by Baseball America, Ramirez showed why in notching 11 total strikeouts, a career high and the most by any RiverDogs pitcher since May 2010. He permitted the four runs on five hits and a pair of walks.

 

The RiverDogs pieced together a three-run rally off Braves starter Caleb Brewer (3-2) on the strength of three hits and two walks to slice the deficit to 5-3 in the last of the sixth.

 

Jose Toussen started the merry-go-round with a leadoff walk, and crossed to third when J.R. Murphy grounded a double into the left-field corner. Kyle Roller then halted Charleston's 16-inning scoreless drought, lofting a RBI double off the left-center field wall to make the score 5-1.

 

Rob Segedin joined in on the fun next, lacing a RBI single to center field to score Murphy and chase Roller to third. Ramon Flores capped the damage, producing a run with a groundout to Kyle Davis at second base.

 

Brewer picked up a no-decision against the RiverDogs back in April, and was solid once again in 5.1 innings of work. The Hamilton, Georgia native gave up the three runs on five hits and four walks, while striking out three.

 

The Braves got a run back off RiverDogs reliever Nathan Forer in the top of the seventh, as Chris Garcia chopped an RBI single up the middle to drive in Evan Gattis for a 6-3 cushion.

 

Any hope of a Charleston rally was dismissed in the top of the ninth, as Rome added four more scores for a 10-3 lead off Forer and Yobanny Reyes. Dalfonso provided the key blast of the inning, cracking his second tater of the night for a two-run shot over the wall in right field. Hilton Richardson and Christian Bethancourt tacked on RBI singles to account for the final 10-3 margin.

 

--RIVERDOGS--

 

BALLPARK FUN:  The RiverDogs' "Build Your Own Hot Dog" theme satisfied fans palates as Charleston returned home from a seven-game road trip. For $20, one could eat to his/her hearts - or stomachs - content in the comfort of the Ashley View Pub.  All-you-can-eat hot dogs were accompanied by 8-10 toppings, potato salad, baked beans, chips, and all-you-can-drink (beer included). Seniors Eat Free allowed our most senior fans 65 and older to enjoy a free hot dog, chips and Pepsi products all while keeping their wallets fat. It was also Fitness Night at The Joe, as fans were able to work off those hot dogs and find out about local gyms.

 

UP NEXT: Right-hander Mikey O'Brien (3-3, 3.27 ERA) takes the bump for Charleston in game two of the four-game series on Thursday at 7:05 pm. Fellow righty Ryan Weber (1-0, 2.60 ERA) is expected to toe the rubber for Rome.

 

The RiverDogs are proud to honor Charleston's bravest on Firefighter Appreciation Night, presented by ServiceMaster. Lowcountry firefighters will enjoy a pregame picnic in Brittlebank Park and will then be treated to free tickets as Charleston squares off against Rome. Pregame and in-game festivities ensure that the local heroes will get their just due from the crowd, along with the ballplayers themselves.  It's also another Budweiser Thirsty Thursday.  With $1 beers in the Ashley View Pub and fresh music courtesy of the stylings of DJ Natty Heavy, everything one needs to get the extended weekend off to a rollicking start is at The Joe.