Late Dash rally falls short against Woodpeckers on Saturday

Blackman's ninth inning homer pulled Winston-Salem within a run

Tate Blackman crushed a three-run homer on Saturday night. (Scott Kinser)

August 10, 2019

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Aug. 10, 2019) - The Dash pulled within a run in the bottom of the ninth inning on Saturday, but Winston-Salem's rally ultimately fell short as the Fayetteville Woodpeckers held on for a 5-4 victory at BB&T Ballpark. Facing Fayetteville (26-23, 57-61) reliever Austin Hansen, the Winston-Salem (22-26, 60-52)

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Aug. 10, 2019) - The Dash pulled within a run in the bottom of the ninth inning on Saturday, but Winston-Salem's rally ultimately fell short as the Fayetteville Woodpeckers held on for a 5-4 victory at BB&T Ballpark.
Facing Fayetteville (26-23, 57-61) reliever Austin Hansen, the Winston-Salem (22-26, 60-52) rally began with one out. Carlos Perez got things started by drawing a walk. Following a Jameson Fisher strikeout, Mitch Roman drew the second walk of the inning to put runners at first and second with two outs. Then, Tate Blackman belted a three-run homer over the left field wall to make it 5-4.

Following the home run, Hansen issued the third walk of the inning to JJ Muno. However, Hansen was replaced by Riley Cabral, who promptly induced a groundout from Steele Walker to end the ballgame and earn the save.
After Woodpeckers starter Cody Deason (2-2) tossed three scoreless frames, the Dash got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. With one out Craig Dedelow bounced a ball down the right-field line near the Winston-Salem bullpen for a triple. Two batters later, Fisher hit a check-swing double down the left-field line, scoring Dedelow to make it 1-0.
Fayetteville took the lead in the top of the sixth. Chandler Taylor led off the frame by drawing a walk from Dash reliever Bennett Sousa (1-2) before Michael Papierski doubled to put runners at second and third. Then, Enmanuel Valdez lined a single off the glove of Sousa on the infield to load the bases.
Following the hit by Valdez, Sousa was replaced by Jake Elliott, who promptly induced a foul popout from Miguelangel Sierra. The next batter, David Hensley hit a sacrifice fly to center field to tie the contest at one. Following the sacrifice fly, Ruben Castro singled into center field to bring home Papierski and give Fayetteville the lead.
The Woodpeckers added three more in the top of the seventh. To lead off the frame, Cal Stevenson reached on an error by shortstop Johan Cruz before Ross Adolph singled and Corey Julks walked to load the bases. The next batter, Chandler Taylor, hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Stevenson to push the lead to 3-1. Meanwhile, Adolph advanced to third on the play.
After the sacrifice fly, Elliott fired a wild pitch to score Adolph and make it 4-1. Later in the frame, Valdez singled into right field to score Corey Julks and give the Woodpeckers a four-run lead.
Winston-Salem concludes its series with Fayetteville on Sunday afternoon. Right-hander Zach Lewis (5-6, 6.38 ERA) will get the ball for the Dash against fellow righty Jojanse Torres (5-0, 2.25 ERA). First pitch is set for 2 p.m., and fans can catch all the action on wsdash.com/broadcast, MiLB.tv and the TuneIn Radio App.
The series finale against the Woodpeckers is a Lowes Foods Family Sunday. Kids Run the Bases presented by New Balance Winston-Salem will take place following the game. For tickets and more information, call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.