Late Rally Falls Short as Rome Takes Series Finale
The Winston-Salem Dash (28-21) mounted a late comeback attempt but could not complete it, falling to the Rome Emperors (27-22) by a 3-2 final on Friday night at Truist Stadium. For much of the night, runs were hard to come by as both pitching staffs traded zeros through the first
The Winston-Salem Dash (28-21) mounted a late comeback attempt but could not complete it, falling to the Rome Emperors (27-22) by a 3-2 final on Friday night at Truist Stadium.
For much of the night, runs were hard to come by as both pitching staffs traded zeros through the first five innings.
Rome finally broke through in the sixth. After loading the bases with a pair of walks and a hit batter, Mason Guerra lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to score the game's first run and give the Emperors a 1-0 lead.
The decisive inning came in the seventh.
After a walk and a catcher’s interference put two runners aboard, Dixon Williams ripped a two-run double to right field, extending Rome’s advantage to 3-0.
The Dash finally answered in the eighth despite not recording a hit.
Kyle Lodise and Caleb Bonemer opened the inning with walks before advancing on a wild pitch. George Wolkow lifted a sacrifice fly to score Lodise, and Bonemer later crossed the plate on a balk to trim the deficit to 3-2.
Winston-Salem threatened again in the ninth.
Arxy Hernandez opened the inning with a double, bringing the tying run into scoring position. However, Rome's bullpen recorded the next two outs and stranded the potential tying run to secure the victory.
Despite the loss, Dash pitching held Rome to just four hits on the night. The difference came from Rome capitalizing on free baserunners, while Winston-Salem was unable to deliver the timely hit needed to complete its comeback.