Hummel and Orimoloye Lead Mudcats to 3-2 Win

ZEBULON, NC - Cooper Hummel went 2-for-3 with both a game tying home run in the third and a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh and Demi Orimoloye went 2-for-4 with a go-ahead home run in the fourth as the Mudcats defeated the Astros 3-2 on Monday night at Five County Stadium.

The home win came in the first game of a seven game home stand for the Mudcats (6-5, 40-41) and in game three of a split, away/home, four game series with the Astros (9-3, 46-35). It also snapped Carolina's three game losing streak and brought them back to a game above .500 in the second half standings.
Braden Webb started for Carolina and ended up working through a scoreless first and second before allowing a leadoff home run to ninth place hitter Jacob Meyers in the third. It was the first home run of the season for Meyers and just the second of only three hits allowed by Webb in his five inning start.
Carolina was down 1-0 in the third until Hummel brought them right back with his solo home run off starter Hector Perez in the bottom of that same inning. The homer was Hummel's fourth of the season and the first of two home runs allowed by Perez in the game.
Tweet from @CarolinaMudcats: The Mudcats take a 2-1 lead to the fifth inning in Zebulon thanks to this solo blast off the bat of @DemiOrimoloye16. #MudcatsFUNWATCH: pic.twitter.com/4FxbcmXdE6
Orimoloye followed Hummel's solo shot in the third with a solo blast of his own in the fourth while giving the Mudcats a 2-1 lead. It was Orimoloye's first home run with the Mudcats and his sixth overall between Low-A and High-A this season. Orimoloye also singled later in the sixth while collecting two hits in the game.
Carolina led 2-1 when Webb left before the sixth and before the Astros came back with a run in the seventh to tie the game, In all, Webb struck out three, walked five and allowed just one run on three hits over five innings. 
Reliever Alec Kenilvort was in the game in place of Webb when the Astros came back to tie it up. Kenilvort (BS, 4) originally struck out the side in the sixth before then giving up a run and a hit in the seventh. Nattino Diplan eventually came in for the rest of the seventh after Kenilvort allowed the tying run in on a run scoring groundout to first. Diplan (3-1, 4.32) finished the eighth and later also pitched a scoreless ninth while earning with the win after working through an inning and a 1/3 with one walk.
The Astros lost their freshly obtained 2-2 tie in the last of the seventh after Ryan Aguilar tripled and scored on a one-out double off the right-field wall from Hummel. Aguilar's triple came off reliever Cristian Javier and was the second of three hits allowed by Javier (3-1, 0.89) in the loss. He also allowed Hummel's go-ahead double and finished with three hits, one run, one walk and three strikeouts in the loss.
Carolina turned its 3-2 lead over to Luke Barker for the ninth and Barker (S, 9) would go on to earn his ninth save after holding the Astros scoreless in the final frame. He also stranded two runners on base in the ninth while finishing out the save. 
The split, away/home, series will conclude on Tuesday night in Zebulon for the first night of Carolina's "Mudcats for America" series at Five County Stadium. The game will air on the Mudcats Radio Network, the Big Dawg 98.5 FM and via TuneIn Radio at carolinamudcats.com. It will also stream via live video on MiLB.tv.
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