Upshaw Caps Off Four-Hit Night with Walk-Off Single

HAGERSTOWN, MD (July 19, 2019) - Armond Upshaw played hero, with a four-hit performance, ending with a walk-off single to score Cole Daily and pull the Suns to victory 9-8 over the Crawdads Friday night at Municipal Stadium.
Upshaw finished the evening driving in four RBI for the second time this season, leading the charge on the Suns' 17-hit evening.

Ryan Williamson was trying to hold on to a 7-6 lead in the ninth, but the Crawdads (61-33, 20-8) but together three consecutive singles with one away. The third one off the bat of Jonathan Ornelas tied the game. The next batter was Josh Jung, and his RBI groundout scored Matt Whatley and gave Hickory an 8-7 lead.
Christian Vann (W, 2-1) came on with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth and retired Melvin Novoa to keep the Suns (41-57, 11-17) within one.
The Suns used good hustle to take the lead in the eighth inning. With Armond Upshaw at second and two outs in a tie game in the eighth, Justin Connell hit a dribbler to second that turned into an infield single. Upshaw never stopped running and came in to score to give the Suns the late lead against Snyder. 
Hagerstown rallied to tie the game in the seventh with two runs in the frame. After back-to-back singles from Jacob Rhinesmith and Israel Pineda, Kyle Marinconz came through with an RBI double against Grant Anderson to make it a 6-5 game. Nick Snyder then entered on the mound for Hickory, and a Cole Daily grounder scored Pineda to tie the game. 
The Suns had a 3-1 lead heading into the fith, but the frame started with a solo home run from Pedro Gonzalez, his team-best 18th of the season. Miguel Aparicio then followed with a long ball of his own as the Crawdads went back-to-back to tie the game. A Jonathan Ornelas RBI double later in the frame gave Hickory the lead, and then a two-out bunt RBI single from Jax Biggers made it 5-3 and chased Schaller from the game. 
The Suns starter allowed an unearned run on an Aparicio sacrifice fly in the second inning and was rolling along until the fifth. Schaller ended up going 4.2 innings and allowing four earned runs on six hits.
Matt Cronin relieved Schaller and got the final out of the fifth, and then allowed another unearned run in the sixth. After reaching on an error to start the innings, Gonzalez came around to score on a Ryan Anderson RBI double. 
Hagerstown had an early lead for the second straight night, but again let it slip. Rhinesmith's RBI double in the third inning tied the game at three. Then, in the fourth, Armond Upshaw came through with a two-run triple to give the Suns a 3-1 lead against Hickory starter Ronny Henriquez. 
The Suns ended Henriquez's day in the sixth, and Upshaw delivered another big hit, this one an RBI single against Anderson, to make it a 6-4 game. Henriquez went 5.2 innings and allowed four runs on nine hits. 
Tomorrow, Hagerstown continues its four-game set against the Hickory Crawdads at 6:05 p.m. The Suns toss RHP Joan Adon (7-3, 4.48 ERA), while Hickory will send RHP Cole Winn (1-3, 5.50 ERA) to the mound. 
The Suns are in the midst of a four-game series with the Hickory Crawdads July 18-21. The homestand is littered with promotions including Wrestling Night, with an appearance from Bob Backlund Saturday before we wrap up the homestand with a Kids Sunday Funday.