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Long helps Hogs romp
Winston-Salem gets 8-2 victory over Lynchburg
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Published: July 29, 2008
The Winston-Salem Warthogs got it all last night -- pitching, defense and hitting -- for a well-rounded 8-2 romp against the Lynchburg Hillcats at Ernie Shore Field.
Matt Long capped a strong month with his third win in July, seven of the Warthogs' 12 hits were for extra bases and among the defensive highlights were three inning-ending double plays.
"Pitching was great tonight, and we got timely hits and some timely double plays," said second baseman Dale Mollenhauer, one of four Warthogs with multiple hits. "It was one of those nights."
Long, a 6-5, 225-pound right-hander, capped a string of strong performances this month. In his five appearances in July, Long, a second-round draft pick by the Chicago White Sox in 2006, has a 1.82 earned-run average, has struck out 31 and walked six.
Last night, Long (6-9) allowed two runs in seven innings. He gave up nine hits and a walk, struck out two and turned in the defensive gem of the night with a backhanded, off-balance flip to first base to get the leadoff batter in the fourth inning. Michael Dubee allowed one hit in two scoreless innings of relief.
"Matt took the pressure off the bullpen needing to go out there and be spectacular," Manager Tim Blackwell of the Warthogs said. "Then Dubee did exactly what we needed him to do."
In Long's previous outing, last Wednesday, he allowed two hits and struck out seven in five shutout innings in a win against Salem. Twelve days earlier, he allowed one hit and struck out eight in seven shutout innings in a win against Frederick
"He's doing good and still working hard even though we only have a month to go," pitching coach Brian Drahman said of Long, who began the season as a reliever. "He's made the adjustment and has been in a groove lately.
"He's using all his pitches. His fastball was working, all locations, and his curveball was pretty decent at times and his changeup has been really outstanding his last few outings and he's using it a lot more. He's keeping them off balance."
Catcher Francisco Hernandez led the offensive charge with a season-high three hits -- including an eighth-inning, two-out, two-run homer off reliever Eric Krebs. Hernandez also set the tone on defense, throwing out leadoff hitter Jose De Los Santos and then James Barksdale on first-inning steal attempts.
"Those are one of the two faster guys in the league," Hernandez said. "They want to put some pressure on the defense. You enjoy that as a catcher when you're successful taking care of that."
Mollenhauer entered last night's game batting .107 through seven games since being called up from low Class A Kannapolis. He had two hits, including a two-run triple in the fifth inning.
"I've just been trying to stay comfortable and get into a groove," Mollenhauer said. "I've started out slow before and that's part of the game.
"I can't let a few at-bats affect my next at-bats."
Blackwell said of Mollenhauer: "He put up some good numbers in Kannapolis. He just needs to play and not press. You're not going to come here and just hit great numbers instantly. The good thing is that hitting can be contagious. You get going and everything starts falling in."
Paulo Orlando and Estee Harris also had two hits each for the Warthogs. Harris had a double and triple. Greg Paiml extended his team-leading hitting streak to 10 games.
The Warthogs pulled even with Kinston in the second-half standings of the Carolina League's Southern Division and stayed 3½ games behind leader Myrtle Beach.
Michael Crotta (8-8) was charged with the loss for Lynchburg. He gave up 10 hits and six earned runs in six innings.
John Ely (4-11) is scheduled to start tonight for the Warthogs against fellow right-hander Brad Lincoln (1-1).
■ Tommy Bowman can be reached at 727-7320 or at tbowman@wsjournal.com.
LYNCH. ab r h bi W-S ab r h bi
DLSnts ss 3 0 1 1 Orlndo cf 4 1 2 1
Brksdle cf 4 0 1 0 Mlnhr 2b 3 0 2 2
Ngrych 2b 4 0 1 0 Shlby dh 4 0 0 0
Romak 1b 4 0 0 0 Rthrfrd 3b 4 0 0 0
Skmoto dh 4 0 3 0 Harris lf 4 2 2 0
Drham rf 3 0 0 0 Snchz rf 4 1 1 0
Watts c 4 1 2 0 Thon 1b 4 1 1 2
Keel lf 3 1 1 0 Paiml ss 4 1 1 0
Prsch 3b 3 0 1 1 Hrndz c 3 2 3 3
Totals 32 2 10 2 Totals 34 8 12 8
Lynchburg 000 020 000 -- 2
Win.-Salem 010 032 02x -- 8
DP--Winston-Salem 2. LOB--Lynchburg 5, Winston-Salem 5. 2B--Sakamoto, Watts, Paiml, Hernandez, Harris, Sanchez. 3B--Harris, Mollenhauer. HR--Hernandez. SAC--Mollenhauer. SB--Negrych. CS--Barksdale, De Los Santos.
Lynchburg IP H R ER BB SO
Crotta L,8-8 6 10 6 6 1 6
Krebs 2 2 2 2 0 4
Winston-Salem IP H R ER BB SO
Long W,6-9 7 9 2 2 1 2
Dubee 2 1 0 0 1 1
WP--Krebs. HBP--by Crotta (Orlando). T--2:21. A--2,270.
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