Ballers Ride Timely Hitting and Pitching to Fifth Win

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Backed by Chase Krogman’s 4-4 night at the plate and solid situational pitching, the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers knocked off the Carolina Mudcats in their Wednesday night showdown by a final score of 5-1 at Atrium Health Ballpark.

RHP Angel Acevedo got the start for the Ballers on the mound, providing a quality outing filled with action. The former Padres farmhand threw three innings, allowing three hits and one run, while striking out three. RHP Yoelvin Silven (W, 1-4) entered in relief in the fourth inning, following up Acevedo with more impressive pitching of his own, going 3.2 innings, striking out five, and allowing four hits.

Carolina opened the scoring in the top of the first on a Joe Gray Jr. RBI triple to center field that brought home Felix Valerio. Gray Jr.’s 37th RBI of the year gave the Mudcats an early 1-0 advantage.

Kannapolis got on the board in the bottom of the third inning, tying the game at 1-1 on a Bryan Ramos ground out that allowed Victor Torres to cross the plate.

The lead shifted hands in the bottom of the fifth inning when Ramos tallied his second and third RBIs of the year on a line drive RBI double to center field off LHP Brandon Knarr (L, 1-1), scoring Jose Rodriguez and Krogman, giving the Ballers a 3-1 lead. The very next batter Luis Mieses notched the first sacrifice hit of the season for Kannapolis, flying out to center field, letting Ramos cross the plate after he advanced to third on the throw in the same play as his RBI double, expanding the Ballers lead to 4-1.

D.J. Gladney added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth, doubling on a hard-hit fly ball to center field that scored the speedy Caberea Weaver from second, growing the lead to 5-1, advantage Kannapolis.

Highly effective pitching ultimately sealed the deal for the Ballers after solid performances from RHP Jordan Mikel and RHP McKinley Moore. After Mikel walked three batters, an outstanding pickoff play by Torres and Harvin Mendoza ended the bases-loaded threat by the Mudcats in the top of the eighth. In the ninth inning, Moore settled in after a two-out walk to get the final out, securing the victory.

The Ballers will look to continue their winning ways in the third of six matchups with the Carolina Mudcats. The Thirsty Thursday matchup is slated for a 7:00 p.m. first pitch start. RHP Andrew Dalquist (0-2, 7.07 ERA) is scheduled to get the start on the mound for Kannapolis, while Carolina will send out RHP Jhoan Cruz (2-2, 6.08 ERA) to begin the evening on the bump.

Fans can purchase tickets for any of the remaining home games including any of the matchups the rest of the week versus the Mudcats at kcballers.com or at the F&M Bank Box Office located at Atrium Health Ballpark.