Hoppers hit 3 home runs in win over Hickory

Hudson Head has HR and 3 RBIs, and Dariel Lopez hits two long solo shots

Greensboro Grasshoppers center fielder Hudson Head. (Dano Keeney/Greensboro Grasshoppers)

By Jeff Mills

July 23, 2022

GREENSBORO ― Dariel Lopez homered twice, and Hudson Head went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs, leading the Greensboro Grasshoppers to a 12-10 victory over the Hickory Crawdads on a “Christmas in July” night Friday at First National Bank Field. Lopez and Jacob Gonzalez both finished 3-for-5 with

GREENSBORO ― Dariel Lopez homered twice, and Hudson Head went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs, leading the Greensboro Grasshoppers to a 12-10 victory over the Hickory Crawdads on a “Christmas in July” night Friday at First National Bank Field.

Lopez and Jacob Gonzalez both finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs apiece, and Jackson Glenn doubled, singled and drove in three runs.

The victory comes after a 2-4 road trip to Brooklyn, followed by four days off for MLB’s All-Star break.

“Everyone needed the break. I could tell from the conversations I’ve had with our guys,” Hoppers manager Callix Crabbe said. “I’ve been really proud of them. We’ve been playing better baseball. The Brooklyn trip was a weird dynamic ― you’re in New York City and there’s all kinds of distractions. But that series wasn’t indicative of how well we’ve played in the second half. The break gives us all a chance to reset.”

Head’s home run in the third inning, a two-run shot the other way, landed in the left-field corner, broke a 5-5 tie and put the Hoppers ahead for good.

Lopez’s home runs, both solo shots, cleared the center-field fence, one over the WFMY sign to the right of the batter’s eye and the other over the GTCC sign to the left of eye. Lopez ranks sixth in the Sally League with 14 home runs.

The Hoppers (37-49 overall) improved to 10-11 in the second half of the South Atlantic League season and trail North Division leader Hudson Valley by three games in the standings.

“The physical grind is tough, but it isn’t that bad because you get used to it,” Crabbe said. “The psychological grind is much tougher because you don’t always realize how much of a toll it’s taking on you. … We all needed the break.”

Lefty reliever Denny Roman (1-0) worked 2⅓ scoreless innings to pick up the win, facing just one batter over the minimum and striking out three.

Hard-throwing right-hander Oliver Mateo worked a scoreless ninth for his fifth save, wriggling out of a bases-loaded jam when catcher Endy Rodriguez threw out Hickory’s Cristian Inoa at the plate when the runner tried to score on a pitch in the dirt.

In his career at the News & Record, journalist Jeff Mills won 10 national and 12 state writing awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors, the Society for Features Journalism, and the N.C. Press Association.