Rutherford, Adolfo power Dash past Wood Ducks

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (June 21, 2018) - Back-to-back home runs from Blake Rutherford and Micker Adolfo lifted the Dash to a 4-2 win over Down East on Thursday at BB&T Ballpark to open the second half of the season.
Winston-Salem (1-0, 41-29) scored in the bottom of the first inning against Wood Ducks right-hander Steven Bruce (1-4) thanks in part to Luis Robert, who joined the Dash from Low-A Kannapolis on Thursday. Rated the 24th-best prospect in baseball MLB Pipeline, Robert singled in his first High-A at-bat, stole second base and came in to score on an RBI double from Adolfo.

Down East (0-1, 35-35), however, responded in the top of the second against southpaw Tanner Banks (7-2) when Andretty Cordero and Brendon Davis smacked back-to-back doubles to tie the game. From there, Banks retired 12 of the next 13 batters he faced to stifle the Wood Ducks' offense.
Winston-Salem took the lead in the bottom of the fourth with a pair of solo home runs. First, Rutherford blasted a solo homer - his fifth of the year - to right field to give the Dash a 2-1 lead. Then, just four pitches later, Adolfo smacked a long ball over the right-field fence - his eighth of the season - to extend Winston-Salem's advantage. It marks the second time this season that the Dash have hit back-to-back home runs.
Robert helped produce a run again in the bottom of the fifth inning. After Nate Nolan walked to begin the inning, Mitch Roman singled to right, and, on the play, an error by Alex Kowalczyk allowed the runners to advance to second and third for Robert. He drove Bruce's 2-2 pitch into the right-center field gap, deep enough for a sacrifice fly to extend the Dash lead to 4-1.
Robert finished the night 1-for-3 with a single, stolen base, run scored and an RBI. 
The Wood Ducks got a run back in the sixth. After Anderson Tejeda singled up the middle to lead off the frame, Kowalczyk doubled to left field to put runners on second and thirds. An RBI groundout form Chuck Leblanc cut Winston-Salem's lead to 4-2. 
Banks finished his night scattering six hits across seven innings and allowing just two runs to register his seventh quality start in his last eight outings. The southpaw has now also won seven straight decisions. 
Danny Dopico allowed just one baserunner in the eighth inning before handing the ball to Mike Morrison for the ninth. As the inning began, rain started to pour down on BB&T Ballpark, resulting in a brief delay just one pitch into the inning. After the delay, Morrison tossed a scoreless frame to close out the game and earn his fourth save of the year.
The Dash's series against the Wood Ducks continues on Friday at 7 p.m., when right-hander Luis Martinez (3-4, 4.12 ERA) goes for Winston-Salem against Down East right-hander Walter Weickel (1-6, 4.99 ERA). Pregame coverage begins at 6:45 p.m., and fans can catch all of the action on wsdash.com/broadcast, MiLB.tv and the TuneIn Radio App.
Friday's game against Down East will feature postgame fireworks. Also, former ECU star and current Green Bay Packers cornerback Josh Hawkins will join us at BB&T Ballpark. During the seventh inning on Friday's game, fans can meet him on the first-base side concourse, which he will sign autographs. 
On Saturday, fans can enjoy the game against Down East and a postgame Passion Music concert featuring Kristian Stanfill, Melodie Malone and Brett Younker in a postgame concert. Sunday's series finale is a Lowes Foods Family Sunday, a Latin American Jersey Day and a Sippin' Sunday, where for $30, fans can partake in a wine glass painting instructional class and a wine tasting before the game. After Friday, Saturday and Sunday's contests, kids can run the bases powered by New Balance Winston-Salem. For tickets and more information, call the Dash (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.