Upshaw Has Four Hits, Three RBIs in Suns 10-9 Loss

Kannapolis, NC - Armond Upshaw had four hits and three RBIs in the Hagerstown Suns 10-9 loss to the Kannapolis Intimidators on Tuesday afternoon at Intimidators Stadium in the series finale. Hagerstown falls to 35-58 overall with an 8-16 record in the second half. Wednesday is a league wide off-day.

Kannapolis took an early lead by scoring in the opening frame against Suns starter Andrew Lee. Nolan Brown, Luis Curbelo, and Nick Madrigal all walked to load the bases to start the inning, but Lee struck out the next two hitters. With two outs, Tyler Frost walked to force home Brown and give the Intimidators a 1-0 lead.
Hagerstown took a three-run lead in the second, plating four against Intimidators starter Drew Harrington. Jake Scudder led off with a double to right on the first pitch of the inning, and Omar Meregildo picked up his 11^th RBI of the season by singling to center to tie the game. Alex Flores grounded into a force play that retired Scudder at second, and Kameron Esthay was hit by a pitch to move Flores to second. Juan Pascal walked to load the bases and Upshaw singled to left to score Flores and give Hagerstown a 2-1 advantage while keeping the bases full. Pascal scored on a wild pitch to make it a 3-1 ballgame, with Esthay going to third and Upshaw to second. Yasel Antuna reached on an error at third to re-load the bases and Cole Freeman grounded into a force, but Esthay scored to give the Suns 4-1 advantage.
The Intimidators got to Lee and Suns reliever Sam Held in the third inning to take the lead. Madrigal singled to right and scored when Craig Dedelow tripled to right. Tate Blackman and Frost walked to load the bases with Evan Skoug driving both home on a one-out triple to right, giving Kannapolis a one-run lead with a score of 5-4. Held entered from the bullpen and got Johan Cruz to ground out to third, but Skoug scored on the play to extend Kannapolis' lead to 6-4.
Hagerstown tied the game in the fourth on a pair of runs with Harrington still on the bump for Kannapolis. Pascal was hit by a pitch, but Esthay grounded into a force out that retired Pascal at second. Upshaw doubled to center and Esthay scored from first, cutting Kannapolis' lead to one. With two outs, Freeman singled to center, scoring Upshaw to tie the game, 6-6.
Kannapolis extended their advantage with three runs in the fifth and a run in the sixth to take a 10-6 lead, but the Suns plated a pair in the seventh against Kannapolis reliever Andrew Perez to narrow the margin. Freeman led off with a single to center, going to second when Gage Canning reached on a throwing error. Meregildo doubled to left with one out, clearing the bases and making it a 10-8 game.
Hagerstown attempted a comeback in the ninth inning against Kannapolis reliever Will Kincanon. Meregildo led off the frame with his third hit of the game but was retired at second when Pascal grounded into a force play for the second out of the inning. Pascal stole second and went to third on a wild pitch that also walked Esthay to put runners at the corners. Upshaw singled to left, scoring Pascal and moving Esthay to third. Antuna grounded out to second, ending the rally and the game with the Suns losing by a run for the second-straight night to close out the series.
Lee threw two and one-third innings while allowing six runs on three hits with six walks and three strikeouts. Held (2-5) lasted two and two-thirds in relief, allowing three runs on four hits with three strikeouts in a loss. Jared Brasher worked one inning out of the bullpen while allowing one hit and a run with three walks and a strikeout. Jared Johnson threw two scoreless innings while holding Kannapolis to one hit with a walk and a strikeout.
Notes: Antuna has a six-game hitting streak… Freeman has a five-game streak… He had his 14^th multi-hit game of the season and his fifth multi-RBI game of the year… Meregildo's three hits tied a season-high… His three RBIs sets a new season-high, eclipsing his previous personal mark of two on June 16 against Columbia… It ties his career-high that was set on July 5, 2017 against Batavia in the New York-Penn League… Upshaw's four hits set a season-high (previous was two) and tied his career high from June 30, 2016… The last Suns player to have four hits in a game was Luis Garcia on July 1 which was his third four-hit game of the year… Upshaw's three RBIs also ties a career-high which he set on May 15 against Charleston… Upshaw extended his hitting streak to six games… The Suns out-hit Kannapolis 13-9… The loss is just the fifth of the season when Hagerstown out-hits their opponent… Hagerstown is 9-10 in day games this season… Lee's six walks tie a career-high… The six earned runs Kannapolis scored against him are a new season-high… Wednesday is a league-wide off day… The Suns return to Historic Municipal Stadium on Thursday to begin a four-game series with the Lakewood Blue Claws… First pitch will be at 7:05 PM… It's Thirsty Thursday at the ballpark, with beer special beginning at just $2… The broadcast can be heard, starting with the pregame show at 6:50 PM on www.hagerstownsuns.com by going to the multimedia tab and clicking on "Listen Live"... The broadcast is also available on the Hagerstown Suns Radio Network in the Tune-In Radio and MiLB First Pitch apps.
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