Jack Herman's walk-off hit in 10th inning lifts Hoppers

GREENSBORO ― The 10th inning belonged to the Greensboro Grasshoppers.

And, man, did they ever need it.

Jack Herman's one-out, opposite-field single drove home Henry Davis from second base with the game-winning run as the Hoppers snapped a four-game losing streak and beat the Aberdeen IronBirds 8-7 at First National Bank Field on Saturday night.

Herman's walk-off hit in the bottom of the 10th was made possible by Francisco Acuña's scintillating double play to end the top of the inning.

"It's huge. A huge win," Hoppers manager Callix Crabbe said. "Our group has been exciting, and the effort has been there. There's been some back-and-forth games in this series, and that team over there in the other dugout can swing the bat. They're hot right now, too, and everything they hit is in the air. And everyone knows the nature of this ballpark is if you get it in the air, you've got a good chance for the ball to go over the fence."

With the wind blowing out, the Hoppers and IronBirds hit four home runs each in Saturday night's game.

Yoyner Fajardo's 400-foot home run in the sixth inning gave Greensboro a 7-6 lead, but Aberdeen's John Rhodes hit a solo shot in the seventh to tie it, and the game went to extra innings.

Greensboro was 1-5 in one-run games this season before the Hoppers took over that 10th inning for their first walk-off win of 2022.

With one out in the top of the inning, and runners at first and second base, Hoppers left-hander Tyler Samaniego (1-1) coaxed Connor Norby to hit a sharp grounder up the middle. Second baseman Acuña fielded the ball, and he collided with baserunner Billy Cook to get the first out. From the ground, Acuña threw a strike to first baseman Endy Rodriguez to get Norby and complete the double play.

"In that situation, the stars just aligned," Crabbe said. "He was in the right spot, and he made an unbelievably instinctual play. The runner did exactly what you're supposed to do; he went to the ground. Acuña fell to the ground with him and threw the ball at the same time. It was an extremely athletic, good baseball play."

And it set the stage for the game-winner.

With Davis at second base and no outs, Aberdeen reliever Kade Strowd (1-1) struck out lefty-hitting Hudson Head. Herman then hit the first pitch he saw for a sinking line drive past the second baseman. Davis took off on contact and slid head-first into home plate with the winning run, jumped to his feet and chased Herman around the infield as the dugout emptied and the team mobbed them both, tearing Herman's jersey off in the celebration.

"Jack is a well-liked person in this clubhouse," Crabbe said, "and he's been with the Pirates for a few years now. He's one of the guys I trust, quite frankly, to lead this group of young players. He has that infectious personality."

Herman finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Hudson Head was 2-for-4 with a double. Head was 3-for-4 on Friday night, and Crabbe opted against asking him to sacrifice.

"Hudson Head's been swinging the bat well, so there was no reason to bunt," Crabbe said. "Especially when you trust the guy hitting next. If Hudson didn't get it done, I was very confident that Jack would. I'm always going to trust my guys in that situation. And with the offensive nature of that game, there's no real reason to interject my own coaching and mess up the flow of the game with a bunt."

It was definitely an offensive game.

Davis hit a solo home run in his first at-bat. Sammy Siani hit a towering three-run shot that traveling 400 feet to right field. Eli Wilson and Fajardo hit their first homers of the season.

Norby hit two homers for Aberdeen, and Cesar Prieto homered for the third consecutive game and fourth time in the series.

"It's been nice to have all these one-run games for me," Crabbe said, "because I'm getting a little more comfortable in slowing it down as a manager. I obviously still have to grow in that space, but the more experience you have as a group in one-run games, the more you become innoculated to the stress. That can show up down the road. We haven't been very successful so far, but as we move on and play tight games, we'll be better in them."

Samaniego, the only left-hander in Greensboro's bullpen, struck out two in two scoreless innings to pick up the win in relief.

NOTES: Henry Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in last year's amateur draft, raised his batting average to .354. Davis is 9-for-17 and has reached base 14 times against Aberdeen with one game remaining in this series. ... Davis' streak of consecutive games hit by a pitch ended after five in a row. ... Pirates prospect Endy Rodriguez ― a versatile player who has played first base, second base, left field and catcher ― is 16-for-54 (.296) with six multi-hit games in 13 starts. The 21-year-old is rated by MLB Pipeline as the No. 7 prospect in Pittsburgh's farm system. ... Matt Gorski went 0-for-4 with a walk, snapping a six-game hitting streak. Gorski has reached base in all 13 games he's played this season. ... Hudson Head, a 21-year-old outfielder rated by MLB Pipeline as the No. 22 prospect in Pittsburgh's farm system, is 6-for-14 with two doubles in this series and has raised his batting average to .308. ... The Hoppers (5-9) trail Aberdeen (10-4) by five games in the South Atlantic League Northern Division standings.