Crawdads' Akins wins game twice
HICKORY, N.C. (May 23, 2013) -- The only people more upset than fans that left the game early were in the visiting dugout on Thursday night.
The Hickory Crawdads overcame a four-run deficit in the 12th inning after seeing a ninth inning walk-off home run overturned. Hickory defeated the Kannapolis Intimidators, 7-6, in 12 innings at L.P. Frans Stadium on a night where the Crawdads celebrated twice.
With the game tied 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Crawdads center fielder Jordan Akins appeared to hit the game-winning home run to left field. As Crawdads players celebrated and began heading for the clubhouse, the umpires conferred and overturned the call, saying the ball traveled foul of the pole. Hickory manager Corey Ragsdale was ejected arguing the call.
Akins came through three innings later with a game-tying triple in the 12th inning before scoring the winning run on a wild pitch, sending the Crawdads into their second swarming of Akins on the night.
After the Crawdads came up empty-handed in the ninth, Hickory and Kannapolis played scoreless baseball until the 12th inning, where the Intimidators surged ahead with a four-run frame. With runners in scoring position and one out, Kale Kiser beat the throw home on a Jean Almanzar fielder's choice to take the lead, 3-2. Brent Tanner followed with a base hit to plate Micah Johnson. Later in the inning, Ryan Rua committed a throwing error that allowed two more runs to score.
Intimidators reliever Adam Lopez walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the 12th, and Zach Isler came on in relief to face the tying run -- represented by Rua, the South Atlantic League home run leader -- with Kannapolis ahead 6-2. Rua pulled the 'Dads within two with a base hit, and two batters later Akins stepped to the plate representing the winning run. His triple to right-center field evened the score, 6-6, and with Joe Maloney at the plate, Isler's wild pitch allowed Akins to score the winning run, ostensibly for the second time.
Hickory's Nick Vickerson (1-0), who started the game in left field but moved to the mound to record the final out in the top of the 12th, earned the win. Isler (2-2) suffered the loss.
In the seventh inning Kannapolis manager Tommy Thompson was ejected by base umpire Brian Peterson who ruled Kale Kiser had been hit by a Micah Johnson ground ball while on the base paths. Thompson disagreed with the ruling. At the time, Kiser appeared to go first-to-third on a Micah Johnson hit that would have put the go-ahead run on third base with one out. Instead, Kannapolis was left with two outs and Micah Johnson representing the go-ahead run on first base.
Micah Johnson stolen second base, his Minor League-leading 43rd this season, and Michael Johnson came through with a go-ahead single, 2-1, in the top of the seventh. Michael Johnson went 2-for-5, extending his on-base streak to 17 straight games.
The Crawdads seemed poised to take the lead in the eighth as they loaded the bases with no outs against reliever Braulio Ortiz, but the Intimidators right-hander battled back to get out of the inning allowing just one run to score. Ortiz, who then appeared to serve up the game-ender to Akins in the ninth, bounced back to work a scoreless frame, completing his third inning of work.
Starting pitcher Kyle Hansen struck out a career-high seven batters over a career-long six innings in a no decision. He allowed a run on five hits with no walks in his third career start.
The Intimidators broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning. Brent Tanner led off with a double and moved to third on a Michael Marjama base hit. Tanner scored when Eric Grabe grounded into a double play.
The Crawdads tied the game, 1-1, in the fifth inning when Joe Maloney doubled with one out, and two batters later Luis Marte doubled him home.
The Intimidators and Crawdads play Game 2 of this 4-game series in Hickory on Friday at 7 p.m. The game will not be broadcast on IntimidatorsBaseball.com but can be heard through the Crawdads broadcast at HickoryCrawdads.com. Games Saturday and Sunday will be broadcast with Josh Feldman on IntimidatorsBaseball.com.
The team returns to CMC-NorthEast Stadium on Thursday, May 30, to open at five-game series with Savannah. For ticket information, call the F&M Bank Box Office at (704) 932-3267 or visit IntimidatorsBaseball.com.