Deglan's Late Homer Lifts 'Dads to Win

Hickory, NC - In a game dominated by pitching it was a pair of late home runs that provided the drama Wednesday night, as the Hickory Crawdads shook off a game-tying homer in the top of the 8^th with a go-ahead dinger by Kellin Deglan in the bottom of the frame for a 3-2 win over the West Virginia Power at L.P. Frans Stadium.

The 'Dads entered the 8^th carrying a 2-1 lead they had established in the 4^th, but Power third baseman Erich Weiss led off the frame with an opposite field, game-tying solo homer to left to deadlock the score at 2-2. Undeterred, Crawdads catcher Kellin Deglan came through with a go-ahead, solo blast to right to push Hickory back ahead 3-2. With the win, Hickory maintains its perfect record against West Virginia this season, which now stands at 8-0.

Offense was at a premium for most of the night, with the Power's lone tally prior to the 8^th coming in the 2^nd on a single from Reese McGuire, a throwing error by 'Dads pitcher Ricardo Rodriguez, and a sacrifice fly from Kawika Emsley-Pai for an unearned run and a 1-0 lead.

The Crawdads responded with a pair of runs on four hits in the 4^th to take a 2-1 advantage. Deglan, Jairo Beras, and Joe Jackson all led off the frame with singles to load the bases, before Travis Demeritte drew a RBI walk for the first tally. Ronald Guzman followed next with a RBI single to right that plated Beras for a 2-1 lead, but also saw Jackson thrown out at home trying to score.

The pitching took over again from there, keeping the score at 2-1 until the 8^th inning homers. Deglan finished the game 2-4 with his game-winning big fly, while Demeriite went 1-2 with a pair of walks and a RBI.

No Power player reached base safely more than once on the night, as Rodriguez, Patrick Kaminska, and Jose Valdespina held West Virginia to just two runs, one earned, on four hits. Rodriguez finished with a no-decision after allowing only an unearned run on two hits, a walk, and two strikeouts over five innings pitched. Kaminska (1-0) earned his first win of the year with one run allowed on one hit, no walks, and 3 Ks over three innings on the mound, while Valdepsina picked up his first save with a scoreless 9^th. Power reliever Brett McKinney (2-3) took the loss after giving up Deglan's game-winning blast in the 8^th.

The Crawdads (18-15) will battle the Power (15-18) again on Thursday in game two of the three game series at 7:00 pm.

 

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