Winston-Salem Sweeps Doubleheader over Hickory

WINSTON-SALEM, NC (July 5^th, 2024) – After dropping the first three games of a six-game series, the Winston-Salem Dash responded, sweeping a doubleheader against the Hickory Crawdads, taking game one, 7-2, and game two, 4-3, on Friday evening at Truist Stadium.

In game one, Winston-Salem (37-43) saw southpaw Tommy Vail make his High-A debut, and after allowing a run in the first inning, he settled in. Vail cruised through the second and third innings, and in the bottom of the third, the Dash offense woke up.

Hickory (35-45) starter Ryan Lobus faced the minimum over the first two frames but in the third, with two runners on, Eddie Park tied the game on a RBI single before Mario Camilletti doubled home a pair of runs, giving the Dash a 3-1 lead.

Now with a lead, Vail continued to dominate. The Seattle, Washington native struck out the side in the fourth, and Winston-Salem added a pair of runs in the fourth building the lead to four, 5-1. Vail returned for the fifth and worked a clean frame getting through five innings in his debut punching out ten while allowing only one run. Peyton Pallette took over for Vail in the sixth after the Dash added two more insurance runs in the fifth, and got the final six outs, allowing only one run, finishing off a 7-2 victory for Winston-Salem in seven innings.

In game two, the Dash gave Juan Carela the ball opposed by Hickory starter, Alejandro Rosario, and both shined early. Carela allowed a run in the top of the first but threw up zeroes across the next four innings while Rosario allowed only two base runners across the first three frames.

Trailing 1-0 in the fourth, the Dash got to Rosario. After the first two hitters reached in the frame, Shawn Goosenberg tied the game at one on a single. After the next two batters were retired, Bryce Willits delivered a two-RBI double putting the Dash in front, 3-1. The lead was short lived as the Crawdads responded with two in the top of the fifth, tying the game at three.

With the game tied in the sixth, Samuel Zavala doubled to lead off the bottom of the frame, and next batter, Goosenberg pushed the Dash back in front on a RBI double, giving Winston-Salem a 4-3 lead going to the seventh. Zach Franklin entered trying to pick up his third save of the season and sat down Hickory in order, giving Winston-Salem a 4-3 victory in game two.

With the Dash sweeping the Crawdads, Winston-Salem has a chance to split the six-game series. Winston-Salem sees Hickory for the series finale on Saturday night. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m. from Truist Stadium.