Lillie Lillie! Starter Dominates With 7.0 Scoreless

GREENSBORO, N.C. (April 19, 2018) - Ryan Lillie turned in one of the best pitching performances of the young season and the Grasshoppers scored a walk-off win against the Charleston RiverDogs, 3-2, on a Thirsty Thursday presented by Natty Greene's and 107.5 KZL at First National Bank Field. With the game tied, 2-2, in the bottom of the ninth, Eric Gutierrez laced a two-out line-drive single to left field, scoring Zach Sullivan for the game-winner.  
Greensboro (8-5) opened the ninth inning with a Sullivan bunt-single, and he moved into scoring position on a Garvis Lara sacrifice bunt. Aaron Knapp walked, and Isael Soto was hit by a pitch to the load the bases with two outs, bringing Gutierrez to the plate.  
R.J. Peace (1-0) earned the win, and RiverDogs reliever Greg Weissert took the loss (0-1).
Lillie, the Marlins fifth round pick in the June 2017 First-Year Player Draft, faced the minimum through 6 and 2/3 innings en route but took no decision as the RiverDogs homered in the eighth inning to tie the game.  
Lillie faced little resistance over the game's first five innings, facing the minimum while throwing just 42 pitches, 30 for strikes. He worked around two hits and a walk over that span and induced three double plays behind him to erase the early-game base runners. 
Lillie sandwiched his sixth strikeout of the game between a pair of groundouts in a perfect sixth innings and fanned two more batters in the seventh. He finished with 7.0 innings pitch, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out eight and throwing 74 pitches, 50 strikes.  
With Greensboro ahead 2-0 in the eighth, Peace gave up a one-out double to Leonardo Molina, and Dalton Blaser moved him to third on a groundout. Jason Lopez belted a 2-run home run (1) with two outs to even the game, eventually setting up Gutierrez's late-game heroics.  
Weissert kept the Grasshoppers off the board with a hitless seventh, and he struck out the side in a perfect eighth before getting into trouble in the ninth.
Greensboro broke a scoreless tie in the home half of the fourth on the strength of back-to-back two-out doubles. Micah Brown slapped the ball past RiverDogs third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera for a down-the-line double, and Michael Hernandez double to deep right field to cash Brown for a 1-0 lead.  
The Hoppers doubled their lead one inning later. Aaron Knapp led off the fifth with a walk, and the speedster went first-to-third on a Jose Devers base hit. Knapp scored two batters later on a Gutierrez groundout for a 2-0 advantage over the RiverDogs.  
The Grasshoppers continue this 4-game series on Friday as RHP Taylor Braley (0-1, 5.40 ERA) takes the mound against Charleston's LHP Dalton Lehnen (1-0, 2.45 ERA) at 7:00 p.m. Friday's game features FANomenal Friday Fireworks presented by Lincoln Financial and Rock 92.  Tickets are available online at gsohoppers.com.