Crawdads Take Down Tourists 5-4

Hickory, NC- The Hickory Crawdads broke a tie game in the seventh inning to win their second straight game against the Asheville Tourists 5-4 on Saturday night at LP Frans Stadium.

The Crawdads were able to get off to a quick start in the first inning against Asheville starter Nic Swanson, scoring four times in the opening frame. The first five Hickory batters reached, giving 'Dads starter Winston Santos an early advantage.

Santos was up to the challenge this evening, as the right-hander was effective through five innings, giving up a run on four hits.

In the sixth, Santos ran into some difficulty, loading the bases with two down in the frame. Santos' predicament prompted manager Chad Comer to go to his bullpen, as Damian Mendoza would coax a fly ball from Anthony Sherwin to preserve the lead for the Crawdads.

In the seventh, Austin Deming hit a three-run homer to left center field, tying the game at 4-4.

The Crawdads responded in the bottom half of the frame, as Konner Piotto lifted a fly ball to left field, scoring Ian Moller to retake a 5-4 lead.

Mendoza pitched a scoreless eighth to give the ball to Jackson Kelley, who struck out the side in the ninth, earning his third save of the season in the 5-4 victory. The save for Kelley connects him with three other pitchers for the team lead in saves (Yohanse Morel, Larson Kindreich and Skylar Hales).

Yeison Morrobel led the offense for Hickory, with a multi-hit game and a run scored as part of the first inning outburst.

The Crawdads will now set their sights on a series win versus Asheville, as Aidan Curry gets the ball for Hickory. This Sunday contest will be played at 6:30pm, with Crawdads Pregame airing at 6:15pm on hickorycrawdads.com, MiLB.TV and the Bally Live app.