Another Will Matthiessen walk-off hit lifts Hoppers to win

GREENSBORO ― Will Walk-Off strikes again.

But this time he didn't need extra innings.

Will Matthiessen slapped a 2-2 pitch the opposite way, hitting a single to right field with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to drive in the winning run, lifting the Greensboro Grasshoppers to a 7-6 walk-off victory over the Bowling Green Hot Rods on Friday night at First National Bank Field.

Matthiessen's game-winner came two weeks to the day after he hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 12th inning to beat the Hickory Crawdads in dramatic fashion.

This one snapped a three-game losing streak for the Hoppers (59-35) against the first-place Hot Rods (66-28). Greensboro has won or split all 15 of its six-game series this season, a streak that is in serious jeopardy. The Grasshoppers must win both remaining games against Bowling Green to salvage a split.

The Hoppers have eight walk-off victories this season, with seven different players driving in the winning runs in those games: Matthiessen twice, Chase Murray, Jared Triolo, Matt Fraizer, Matt Gorski, Lolo Sanchez and Nick Gonzales.

Matthiessen went 2-for-5 with his clutch RBI for the Hoppers, and the 6-foot-7 outfielder/first baseman has been a thrown in Bowling Green's side. Matthiessen has played eight games against the Hot Rods, going 14-for-35 (.400) with a home run, five doubles, 10 RBIs and five runs scored.

A .230 hitter this season, Matthiessen has been hot lately. He has hits in 16 of his last 19 games, batting .319 (22-for-69) with five home runs, four doubles and 27 RBIs. Matthiessen has raised his batting average 52 points since July 22.

Right-hander Will Kobos (6-2, 2.16 ERA) picked up the win in relief. Kobos pitched the top of the ninth, striking out three batters. He fanned Erik Ostberg on a 3-2 pitch with runners at second and third to finish it.

Nick Gonzales, a second baseman rated by MLB Pipeline as Pittsburgh's top prospect, went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI for Greensboro. Gonzales doubled leading off the top of the ninth inning, took third on a groundout and scored the winning run on Matthiessen's two-out hit.

Jonah Davis hit a two-run home run, Jared Triolo had a two-run double and Liover Peguero went 2-for-5 with two runs scored for the Hoppers.

Greensboro right-hander Quinn Priester, rated by MLB Pipeline as the Pirates' No. 2 prospect, started and gave up four earned runs in five innings, walking none and striking out six.

Priester and relievers Oliver Garcia, Enmanuel Mejia and Kobos held the Hot Rods' league-leading offense without a home run for the first time this series. Bowling Green had hit 11 homers in the first three games.

The Hoppers have used 13 pitchers in four games, and only two ― Mejia and Kobos ― haven't allowed an earned run.

This series is a matchup of the top two teams in the High-A East's South Division. Bowling Green leads Greensboro by seven games in the standings. The Hoppers are tied with North Division leader Hudson Valley (59-35) in the race for the league's second playoff spot.

The teams with the top two records, regardless of division, qualify for the 12-team league's championship series in September. Greensboro has two more games at home against Bowling Green this week, and the Hoppers play 12 of their last 18 games against Hudson Valley.

Notes

• Greensboro is 31-13 since July 1.
• Hoppers third baseman Triolo has hit safely in 35 of his last 38 games, batting .342 (54-for-158) with nine doubles, eight home runs, 34 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in that span. He ranks third in the High-A East with 65 RBIs and fifth with a .299 batting average.
• Greensboro's Gonzales, who was the seventh overall pick in the 2020 draft, ranks 10th in the league with a .288 batting average. Gonzales, who broke a finger early in the season, was batting just .214 on July 15. In 29 games since then, Gonzales is hitting .361 (43-for-119) with eight doubles, two triples, four home runs and 18 RBIs.
• Hoppers outfielders Matt Gorski and Lolo Sanchez have both been hot in their last 11 games. Gorski, who sat out Friday, is 13-for-38 (.342) with three home runs, three doubles and eight runs in his last 11. Meanwhile, Sanchez is 17-for-42 (.405) with three homers and 13 RBIs in his last 11. Sanchez leads the league with 27 stolen bases.
• Bowling Green first baseman Evan Edwards ― a Greensboro native who starred at Southern Guilford and N.C. State ― went 1-for-5 with a double Friday. It's been a nice homecoming for Edwards, who is 6-for-19 with two home runs, a triple, two doubles and five RBIs in four games at First National Bank Field.