Winston-Salem drops third straight, falls 8-1 to Greensboro

GREENSBORO, NC (June 22, 2023) — The Winston-Salem Dash struck first in Thursday night’s game three matchup with the Greensboro Grasshoppers, but a scoreless ensuing eight innings led to an 8-1 defeat.

After Terrell Tatum, Andy Atwood and DJ Gladney each knocked a single to lead off the first, Wilfred Veras grounded out to drive in 1 run. Hunter Dollander got the start for the Dash, marking his third appearance of the year for Winston-Salem.

He struck out two and retired Greensboro in order in the bottom of the first, and he held the Grasshoppers scoreless in the second, as well. Dollander’s night was concluded after two scoreless innings of one-hit, three-strikeout ball.

Po-Yu Chen settled down on the mound for Greensboro after the first, surrendering 0 runs and just three hits across the following six innings. The Dash bullpen couldn’t keep the Grasshoppers at bay, though, and Jared Kelley took the bulk of the damage.

In the bottom of the third, Mike Jarvis tripled to drive in Tres Gonzalez for the tying run, and Will Matthiessen brought Jarvis home via sacrifice fly to take a 2-1 lead in the next at-bat. The Grasshoppers stayed hot in the fourth, as Ernny Ordonez clubbed a 2-run homer to left center to give Greensboro a 4-1 lead.

Kelley tightened up in the fifth and sixth, and his final line included four innings, four hits, 4 runs and four strikeouts. Ernesto Jaquez came on for the bottom of the seventh, and after he gave up an RBI single to Gonzalez, Jarvis launched a 2-run homer to left center to extend Greensboro’s lead to 7-1.

Taishi Nakawake led off the eighth with a double, but the Dash couldn’t cash in. Grant Ford struck out a pair and made it out of the frame unscathed, and Greensboro continued to pile on the runs in the bottom of the inning.

Bowen knocked a solo shot to left field, giving the Grasshoppers an 8-1 advantage. Bowen had three hits on the night, and three other Grasshoppers tallied multi-hit outings. The Dash couldn’t spark a comeback in the ninth and fell 8-1 for their third consecutive defeat.

Kelley was charged with the loss, his third of the season, and Chen picked up the win for Greensboro. The Dash are back in action against the Grasshoppers Friday night, still seeking their first win of the series. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. from First National Bank Field.