Tensions Rise, Dash Rally Falls Short in 8-6 Defeat 

WINSTON-SALEM, NC - Late fireworks, both in the form of rivalry and offense, were not enough for Winston-Salem (2-3) to even up the series against the Grasshoppers (4-1), as they dropped the second game of the series in 8-6 fashion.

Truist Stadium, the home of the Dash, and First National Bank Field, the home of the Grasshoppers, are separated by about 30 miles on I-40; tonight, however, mere feet separated the two rivals. In a 4-4 affair in the bottom of the seventh, as fans were stretched, and rejuvenated with “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” freshly in their memories, the white jerseys of Winston-Salem and the black jerseys of Greensboro were face-to-face after Grasshopper’s first baseman Maikol Escotto threw a punch at Sam Antonacci, who stood on the first base bag after a pick off attempt.

Immediately after the punch toward the helmet area of Antonacci, the benches and bullpens swarmed the first base cut out, and a stand-off between the two clubs broke out. Luckily, umpires were able to separate the two teams before any other physical altercation ensued. After the dust had settled, Escotto was ejected.

The tension of the game was already high even before the seventh-inning squabble. The Dash had just scored three runs in the sixth to tie the game at 4-4. It started when Greensboro relief pitcher J.P. Massey walked the first two batters of his night. Caden Connor and Jackson Appel, who reached base courtesy of the free passes, would be brought around to score on a Jeral Perez double into left field. Later in the inning, Alec Makarewicz slapped a single up the middle to drive in Perez and knotted the game at four runs a piece.

Fast forward back to the post-brawl. After the tempers boiled over on the field, both teams looked to translate that energy to take them to the finish line. Greensboro struck first and broke the deadlock with a pair of runs thanks to an error by second baseman Antonacci and a sacrifice fly from Geovanny Planchart. The Dash went down in order to follow, and the Grasshoppers took the 6-4 lead to the ninth.

In the final frame, Greensboro’s Omar Alfonzo added to the lead with a leadoff home run. Later, a Castillo RBI single brought around another run of insurance for the visitors who doubled their advantage to 8-4 with just three outs left for Winston-Salem.

With one away in the bottom of the ninth, Drake Logan took a 2-0 pitch from Jarod Bayless over the left-center field fence for his first home run on the year to drive in a pair of runs and cut the deficit in half. The late efforts would fall short, however, as Greensboro was able to hold on for the 8-6 win.

Dash pitcher Mark McLaughlin, who came in as the fourth Winston-Salem arm in the top of the eighth, took the loss for the Dash. Despite the Dash’s ability to get to Massey and Bayless for a combined five runs, both of them factored into the decision with the win and save, respectively.

The Dash will look to snap a two-game skid on Thursday, April 10, against Greensboro.