Crawdads Slug Way to 8-2 Win
Hickory, NC- Kohl Drake made an impressive LP Frans Stadium debut and the Crawdads offense provided plenty of pop for the southpaw as Hickory took down the Winston-Salem Dash 8-2 on Tuesday night. Drake, fresh off a delightful debut on the road in Greenville last week, was superb for the
Hickory, NC- Kohl Drake made an impressive LP Frans Stadium debut and the Crawdads offense provided plenty of pop for the southpaw as Hickory took down the Winston-Salem Dash 8-2 on Tuesday night.
Drake, fresh off a delightful debut on the road in Greenville last week, was superb for the 'Dads tonight, striking out nine Dash batters and keeping Winston-Salem (4-7,35-42) scoreless in his six innings on the hill.
Marcus Smith, who joined the club last week, got his first start as the leadoff hitter tonight and generated immediate dividends for Chad Comer's club. The outfielder led off the game with a solo blast to right, giving Drake an early 1-0 lead.
In the fourth, Ian Moller tripled to left, scoring Anthony Gutierrez, to stretch the lead to 2-0. The base-hit was part of a three RBI night for the Hickory backstop.
In the sixth, Luis Mieses got into the act with a ringing double to right center field, scoring Sebastian Walcott. Mieses' RBI knock gives him 26 on the season, in just 32 games.
Yosy Galan hit a Burke County bomb in the seventh to make it a 4-0 advantage for Hickory (6-5, 34-43). His seventh dinger of the year was a prodigious blast that quickly disappeared from the summer nightfall in the Unifour.
In the eighth, the Crawdads put the exclamation point on the contest with a four-spot, highlighted by Gleider Figuereo's two-run blast to right, closing out the 'Dads scoring.
Drake earned the win for Hickory, moving his record to 2-0. The lefty has struck out 15 hitters in 11 innings through his first two starts.
Smith and Moller led the Crawdads charge with multi-hit games, as Hickory has now won four straight games and five of their last seven. The win also clinches the brief three-game set against the Dash, with the final game of the homestand taking place tomorrow.
In addition, it was announced today that Crawdads shortstop Sebastian Walcott will be playing in the MLB Futures Game at Globe Life Field ahead of the 2024 All-Star Game.
Mitch Bratt takes the ball tomorrow at 6:30pm against Winston-Salem, seeking his fifth win of 2024. The Crawdads Pregame show takes place at 6:15pm on MiLB.TV, the Ball Live app and hickorycrawdads.com.