Four homers, Banks propel Dash to victory

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (May 27, 2017) - Winston-Salem's offense mashed four home runs and Tanner Banks hurled his eighth quality start of the season as the Dash cruised to a 7-3 win on Saturday evening at BB&T Ballpark.
Wood Ducks (20-29) starter Pedro Payano (2-3) was responsible for serving up three of Winston-Salem's long balls on the evening, starting with Johan Cruz's two-run shot in the second. The Dash (15-35) shortstop's homer marked his second in his last three contests and fourth overall this season.

Zack Collins and Keon Barnum each contributed solo bombs in the following frame. Collins crushed his team-leading seventh home run off the roof of the Foothills Brew Pen, measured at 424 feet, while Barnum deposited his 421-foot round-tripper beyond the right-center field fence to make it 4-2 Winston-Salem.
The Dash's two-homer third inning marked the second time in 2017 that the team has registered multiple home runs in the same frame. The other occurrence also came against the Wood Ducks back on April 11, when Cruz and Louis Silverio trotted around the basepaths in the fifth at Grainger Stadium.
Trey Michalczewski capped the long ball scoring with his solo blast in the seventh off Woodies reliever Kelvin Vasquez, his second home run in as many games with Winston-Salem.
Saturday marked the first time the Dash connected for four homers in a contest since July 9, 2016, when Telvin Nash, Mason Robbins, Marcus Davis and Brett Austin accomplished the feat against Frederick.
On the mound, Banks (5-1) spun 7.2 innings on the hill, allowing three earned runs and one walk while striking out five batters on a career-high 101 pitches. The southpaw now has tossed eight quality starts in 10 tries in 2017.
Banks surrendered just two run-scoring blemishes on the evening, a two-run triple by Josh Morgan in the third and an RBI double by Michael O'Neill in the eighth.
Barnum and Luis Basabe each picked up an RBI in the fifth, as Barnum laced a run-scoring single and Basabe scored Danny Mendick on a groundout.
Jack Charleston tossed the final 1.1 innings in relief of Banks and gave up just one walk to seal the victory for Winston-Salem.
The Dash and Wood Ducks continue their four-game series on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. from BB&T Ballpark. Right-hander Zach Thompson (1-5, 6.21 ERA) is on the bump against Woodies southpaw Jeffrey Springs (1-5, 5.55 ERA). My 48 will televise the contest locally in Winston-Salem, while play-by-play coverage is also available online at wsdash.com/broadcast, MiLB.tv and the TuneIn Radio app.
Sunday's matinee matchup marks another Family Sunday at BB&T Ballpark, presented by Lowes Foods. Hot dogs and sodas are available for just $1 until the end of the first inning, plus fans can get autographs from a couple of Dash players on the concourse prior to the game. Additionally, to celebrate National Hamburger Day, fans can purchase hamburgers for just $1 as well until the end of the first frame. For tickets and more information, call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.