Crawdads Race Past Drive 5-3

Hickory, NC- Anthony Gutierrez two-run triple propelled the Hickory Crawdads past the Greenville Drive 5-3 on Tuesday night at LP Frans Stadium.

DJ McCarty was staked to an early lead as Sebastian Walcott doubled home Cam Cauley in the first inning to give the California right-hander a 1-0 lead.

McCarty would parlay the early advantage into a solid effort for the Crawdads( 21-31), going five innings, allowing one hit while striking seven Greenville batters.

Yosy Galan and Alejandro Osuna would add to the Crawdads lead, each scoring in the second frame to stretch the Hickory lead to 3-0. Galan and Osuna would electrify the LP Frans crowd with a thrilling double steal. Galan pilfered home as Greenville attempted to cut down Osuna on an attempted steal of second.

The Hickory lead would stand until the eighth, as Greenville's Jhostynxon Garcia homered to left for his second clout of the year, tying things at 3-3.

Gutierrez would have the final say in the bottom half of the eighth, as his triple to right-center would plate Luis Mieses and Ian Moller, giving the 'Dads the lead for good at 5-3.

Jackson Kelley would finish off Greenville (21-31) in the ninth for his third win of the year, earning the Crawdads the opener in this six-game series.

Tomorrow, Ryan Lobus gets the ball for Hickory, seeking his third win of the year. First pitch is set for 7pm, with Crawdads Pregame beginning at 6:45pm on the Bally Live app, MiLB.TV, and hickorycrawdads.com.