Eighth Inning 'Belo Bomb Pushes Dash to 3-2 Victory

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (July 22, 2021) — The Winston-Salem Dash slid past the Jersey Shore BlueClaws on Thursday, taking their third straight victory 3-2 after Luis Curbelo smacked a go-ahead homer in the eighth.

Davis Martin got the start for Winston-Salem and fired five innings of one-run ball, allowing three hits while striking out five and walking none.

The Dash opened the scoring in the fourth as Alex Destino darted home from second on a single up the middle by Luis Curbelo.

Jersey Shore tested Martin in the fifth inning as Jhaylin Ortiz led off with a single. Ortiz took second on a base knock by Jonathan Guzman and was sent home on another single by Sal Gozzo, tying the game at one apiece.

Winston-Salem answered in the sixth inning as Alex Destino cracked a single to score Yoelqui Cespedes and put the Dash back on top 2-1.

The ‘Claws dished back in the seventh as Vito Friscia led off with a single. Jonathan Guzman followed with a triple to the right field corner to bring Friscia home and tie the game once more at two.

The fate of the game was sealed in the eighth inning as Luis Curbelo shot a solo homer—his 14th of the year—well over the grass berm in left—to give the Dash a 3-2 victory.

Cooper Bradford (2-2) collected his second win on the season while Caleb Freeman stashed his sixth save. Tom Sutera (0-2) took the loss for Jersey Shore.

The Dash move ahead 3-0 in the series and look to secure a series victory Friday night in game four. Johan Dominguez will start for Winston-Salem. Ethan Lindow will take the bump for Jersey Shore. First Pitch is slated for 7:00 p.m. with coverage beginning at 6:45 on https://www.milb.com/winston-salem/team/broadcast-corner.