Dash fall to Wood Ducks 6-2 on Sunday afternoon

KINSTON, N.C. (Sept. 2, 2018) - Despite a late home run from Ti'Quan Forbes, Winston-Salem dropped the penultimate game of the regular season 6-2 to Down East on Sunday afternoon at Grainger Stadium.
Winston-Salem (42-25, 83-54) plated the game's first run in the second inning against Down East (24-45, 59-80) starter Tyler Phillips (1-0). After Blake Rutherford drew a leadoff walk, Forbes lined a double to right-field to put runners on second and third. Gavin Sheets brought home Rutherford with an RBI groundout to make it 1-0. 

But, the Wood Ducks took the lead in the bottom of the third against Alec Hansen (0-1). After striking out four and allowing just one hit through the first two inning, Hansen surrendered three straight singles to start the third. Following base knocks from Melvin Novoa and Eric Jenkins, Leody Taveras tied the game with an RBI single. Three batters later, Brendon Davis lofted a two-run single to right-center field to bring home Jenkins and Taveras to put the Wood Ducks ahead 3-1. 
Down East added a run in the fourth. After Novoa walked with one out, he moved to second on a wild pitch. Then, Jenkins laced a double to right-center to plate Novoa and extend the Wood Ducks lead to 4-1.
Hansen allowed four runs on six hits in his 3.2 innings, issuing three walks and tying a season-high with seven strikeouts in his fifth start with Winston-Salem.
Three innings later, the Wood Ducks tacked on with a two-run homer from Yanio Perez to make it 6-1, ending the Dash bullpen's scoreless streak at 14.2 innings.  
The Dash did not score again until the ninth inning, when Forbes blasted a solo home run over the left-field fence for his sixth home run of the season. Forbes finished the afternoon 2-for-4 with a double and a home run. 
Sal Mendez threw the last four innings for the Wood Ducks, allowing one run en route to earning his first save of the year.
The Dash's series against the Wood Ducks finishes on Saturday, when left-hander John Parke (5-4, 4.16 ERA) is scheduled to face right-hander Emerson Martinez (5-11, 4.08 ERA) First pitch is at 12:05 p.m., and pregame coverage begins at 11:50 a.m. Fans can catch all of the action on wsdash.com/broadcast and the TuneIn Radio App. 
Following the end of the regular season, the Dash begin their chase for a Mills Cup Championship. Winston-Salem's playoff run, presented by Pepsi and NCDOT, begins with a matchup against the Buies Creek Astros in the Southern Division Championship Series. After the first two games of the series in Buies Creek, Winston-Salem returns to BB&T Ballpark for Game 3 on Friday, September 7, with first pitch at 7 p.m.
Prior to game three, a Food Truck Festival will take place at BB&T Ballpark starting at 5 p.m. If necessary, Games 4 and 5 of the Southern Division Championship Series will be hosted at the downtown facility. Game three will mark the first postseason contest at BB&T Ballpark since 2015. For tickets and more information, call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.