Lance Beats Lowell on Opening Night for Tigers, 3-2

NORWICH, Ct. - In his return to the Connecticut Tigers (1-0) as Opening Night starter, Carson Lance (Win, 1-0) allowed one run in five innings before three Tigers relievers combined to hold off the Lowell Spinners (0-1) in a 3-2 win to launch the 2018 New York-Penn League season.
Jose King drove in the decisive run for Connecticut in the bottom of the seventh. With a 2-1 lead and the bases loaded, King rolled a grounder to second, but the Spinners failed to turn an inning-ending double play, allowing Sam McMillan to score from third and increase the Tigers lead to 3-1.
Following two scoreless relief innings by Alfredo Silva (Hold, 1), Drew Crosby (Hold, 1) protected the 3-1 lead and handed the torch to closer Billy Lescher in the ninth. Following a fielding error and a passed ball that allowed Spinners shortstop Andre Colon to reach third base, Alan Marrero cut the Lowell deficit to 3-2 with an RBI single to shortstop that deflected into shallow left field.
With the go-ahead run at the plate, Lescher (Save, 1) induced the game-ending double play to give first-year Connecticut manager Gary Cathcart his first New York-Penn League win since 2015 with the Auburn Doubledays.
Lowell starting pitcher Eduard Bazardo (Loss, 0-1) struck out the first three Tigers he faced and retired the first five in a row on his way to 10 strikeouts in four innings of work, but the Tigers tagged him for a 1-0 lead in the third on an RBI single by third baseman Ryan Karstetter to score the speedy Isrrael De La Cruz from second.
Lance struck out the side in the second and stranded a pair in the third after Tyler Dearden singled to right field and tied the game at 1-1. The big, 23-year-old righty finished with five strikeouts, one earned run, six hits, and one walk.
The Tigers regained the lead, 2-1, in the bottom of the fourth on a De La Cruz double to left that allowed Cesar Gonzalez to score from first after a throwing error by the Spinners.
De La Cruz finished 2-for-5 at the plate with a run scored and Karstetter also tallied a multi-hit night with a 2-for-3 showing, an RBI, and a walk.
McMillan caught all nine innings behind the plate in his Norwich debut and the Detroit Tigers top-15 prospect reached base with two walks and scored a run.
A crowd of 5,683 packed into Dodd Stadium for the ninth season opener in Connecticut Tigers franchise history and stayed well after the contest that lasted two hours and 44 minutes to enjoy postgame fireworks. 
The Tigers continue their season-opening homestand with their second of three games against Lowell on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. The first 500 fans through the gate at Dodd will receive a CT Tigers Power Bank Portable Charger compatible with smartphones, tablets, and portable game systems. 
Tune in to the Courtyard by Marriott Connecticut Tigers Radio Network with Kevin Gehl and Elijah Gonzalez on the call beginning at 5:50 p.m. on WICH 1310 AM and CTTigers.com. 
The Connecticut Tigers are the New York-Penn League affiliate of the Detroit Tigers at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Connecticut. Individual tickets for all 2018 home games, season memberships to "The Club," ticket mini plans, and Tigers team merchandise are now by calling 860-887-7962 or visiting CTTigers.com.