Big 8th inning dooms Dash in loss to Hickory

The Hickory Crawdads came from behind in the second game of the season to beat the Winston-Salem Dash 8-4.

Hickory opened up the scoring in the top of the first inning, against Dash starter Matt Thompson. Christian Inoa fell behind 0-2 against Thompson but singled softly into left field, plating Aaron Zavala for the game’s first run.

The Dash pulled ahead in the second inning, when Shawn Goosenberg launched a two-run home run onto the left field hill, with Harvin Mendoza scoring as well. Oscar Colas added two more runs with his line drive double, bringing in Caberea Weaver and Moises Castillo.

The score stayed at 4-1 Dash into the sixth inning. Angel Aponte drove a 1-2 offering from Cooper Bradford into left field, which scored Aaron Zavala and cut the Dash lead to 4-2.

Both pitching staffs kept hitters quiet into the eighth inning, but the Hickory bats came alive quickly. Thomas Saggese stroked a double, Trevor Hauver walked behind him, which brought up Inoa to face Isaiah Carranza**.** Inoa offered on the first pitch he saw from the right-hander and launched it 400 feet onto the concourse in left field, giving Hickory a 5-4 lead.

The damage didn’t stop there, as both Angel Aponte and Jake Guenther reached base in the inning with Evan Carter due up. Carter fell behind 1-2, then laced a ball down the right field line for a bases-clearing triple. One more run came across on a passed ball, and Hickory took a 8-4 lead into the ninth inning.

Marc Church came out of the bullpen for Hickory to close the door, although in a non-save situation. He breezed through the Dash hitters 1-2-3 to lock down an 8-4 victory for the Crawdads. Jesus Linarez earned the official win out of the bullpen, while Fraser Ellard took the loss for Winston-Salem. Both clubs are now 1-1 on the season.