Yeison Answers the Bell, Crawdads Walk Off Rome in Extras

Hickory, NC- Yeison Morrobel hit a three-run walk off homer in the 10th inning to lift the Hickory Crawdads to a 9-6 win over the Rome Emperors on Saturday night at LP Frans Stadium.

D.J. McCarty got the start for the 'Dads and cruised through the first four innings against Rome lefty Mitch Farris.

Farris was equally up to the task, matching McCarty's early stretch to keep the game scoreless going to the fifth.

The Emperors scored two runs in the fifth, chasing McCarty from the game with three two-out hits, giving Farris the 2-0 advantage.

In the Crawdads' fifth, the home team responded with a five-run frame, running Farris off the mound with only one out recorded in the fifth. Six Crawdads batters reached in the fifth to give reliever Jacob Maton a three-run cushion heading to his first full inning of work.

Rome would retaliate with three runs in the sixth to level the game at 5-5.

Damian Mendoza pitched two shutdown frames for Hickory to take the game to the ninth tied at 5-5.

In the ninth, it would become a battle between a pair of right handers: Gavin Collyer for Hickory and Cory Wall for Rome. Both pitchers blanked the opposition, taking the game to extra innings.

In the top of the tenth, Rome's Jace Grady scored on an RBI single from Drew Compton to break the tie at 6-5.

Hickory began the tenth with Sebastian Walcott at second, as Malcolm Moore singled to left-center, moving Walcott to third.

Walcott scored with Quincy Scott at the plate on a balk from Wall to tie the game at 6-6.

After Quincy Scott walked, Yeison Morrobel forced the count to 3-2 when he elevated Wall's offering to right center field, driving the ball over the fence for the walk-off homer. The homer was Morrobel's ninth of the season.

Collyer took the win for Hickory, growing his record to 3-3. Wall was saddled with the loss for Rome, falling to 3-5.

David Davalillo will get the start in the final game of the year, as the Crawdads seek to split their final series against Rome. Tomorrow's 2pm contest will also mark the final game in the South Atlantic League. The Crawdads will play their first game as a member of the Carolina League in April 2025 against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers. The Hickory Crawdads Pregame Show will air at 1:45pm on MiLB.TV, the Bally Live app and hickorycrawdads.com.