Crawdads Continue the Legends' Losing Ways
The 'Dads got a run in the second on three singles against starter Polin Trinidad. Wanell Macia hit a line drive to right field for an RBI single, but Kent Sakomoto was nailed at the plate trying to score from second to end the inning. Jordan Parraz made the throw to pick him off.
Lexington took its only lead of the game in the next inning. Drew Holder walked with one out, and the Legends staged a two-out rally after Cesar Quintero's fly out. Greg Buchanan lined a single to center to put two on for Chris Johnson. He hit a hard fly off the wall in left. Holder scored and Buchanan went to third, but Johnson stayed at first when Macia played the carom well and hurled the ball back to the infield. Parraz then legged out an infield hit to score Buchanan, giving the home team a one-run advantage.
The lead was short-lived. The Crawdads rallied for four their next time up, making the score 5-2. A line drive single by Eric Ambrose put a cap on the rally, which saw eight batters come to the plate for the visitors.
A Sakamoto triple leading off the sixth allowed the 'Dads to tack on another run when Kristopher Watts singled him home. That ended Trinidad's (1-3) night, and Chad Wagler induced a double play from the first batter he faced. He went on to pitch the game's final four innings, facing only 11 batters in the process of getting 12 outs.
The Legends couldn't do anything against Hickory pitching for the rest of the evening. They managed to put two on with two out in the seventh, but Buchanan grounded into a fielder's choice to end the threat. Henry Cabrera (2-2) started and got the win for the 'Dads, going six innings and lowering his ERA by a full run.
The homestand ends tomorrow with a Mother's Day matchup that will feature Casey Hudspeth (1-3, 6.49) and Cuban defector Serguey Linares (0-0, 0.00). The first pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.