Triple Doubles: Hoppers rally to split DH

HICKORY, N.C. (April 25, 2018) -- Three Grasshoppers hitters -- Micah Brown, Marcos Rivera, and Zach Sullivan -- proved hitting to be contageous as three fifth-inning doubles helped edge the Hickory Crawdads, 2-1 in seven innings, on Wednesday afternoon at L.P. Frans Stadium in the second game of a doubleheader. Greensboro (11-7) rode the right arms of Colton Hock and Manny Rodriguez to victory, avoiding a sweep after Hickory won the opening game of the twin bill.
Trailing 1-0 heading into the fith, Brown led off with a line drive double to left field, and Rivera followed suit with his down smash to left, scoring Brown to tie the game. After B.J. López dropped a sacrifice bunt to put the go-ahead run on third base, Sullivan put Greensboro ahead on a ground ball that hugged the third base line and rolled into the corner, scoring Rivera for a 2-1 lead.
Hock (3-1) tossed 5.0 innings, allowing a run on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts en route to the win. He turned the ball over to Rodriguez in the sixth, and the Hoppers closer slammed the door with a pair of perfect innings for the save (3).
Hickory's Tyree Thompson (1-2) took the loss, allowing two runs on four hits over 5.0 innings pitched. Joe Barlow spun the final 2.0 frames for the Crawdads.
Greensboro is back on the diamond on Thursday at L.P. Frans Stadium for a doubleheader beginning at 5:00 p.m. to wrap up this four-games-in-two-days series following back-to-back rainouts to begin the week. The Grasshoppers return to First National Bank Field on Tuesday, May 1, to open a 7-game home stand, and ticket are available online at gsohoppers.com.