Pro Sports
Email
Print
Tweaking Things:Dash starts fast, finishes strong in win
Journal Photo by Amanda Muschlitz
Shortstop Greg Paiml heads to third base during the Dash's six-run first inning.
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: August 31, 2009
With the Carolina League playoffs on the horizon, the Winston-Salem Dash is hoping for some much-needed momentum.
Seth Loman provided some of that yesterday in a 7-4 win over the Lynchburg Hillcats at Wake Forest Baseball Park.
"That's what you want to do," said Loman, who hit the first pitch he saw for a three-run homer in the first inning. "We want to be a hot team when the playoffs get here."
Loman's homer, his 13th of the season, came off Lynchburg starter Nate Adcock. The Dash scored six runs in the first inning, then rode the strong pitching of starter Justin Edwards for 61/3 innings.
The Dash broke out the bats early against Adcock, who lasted one inning, threw 28 pitches and allowed six runs on five hits and two walks.
After Loman hit his homer, Justin Greene singled, stole second and scored on a base hit from John Curtis. Joe Persichina, who has been hot at the plate during the last several games, singled and Kent Gerst's two-run, two-out double made it 6-0.
Manager Joe McEwing, whose team is in the playoffs thanks to winning the first-half title in the Southern Division, said he has changed a few things in preparation of the playoffs.
"We've altered some things as far as pitching to try and get guys out of there a little earlier," McEwing said. "As far as the position players, we don't change much. We just want to get some momentum going into the playoffs."
Edwards, a crafty left-hander who mixed speeds well yesterday, picked up the victory, improving to 6-2. After getting the lead he threw strikes, worked quickly and at one point retired 11 straight batters.
"Justin had some breathing room and he went out there and did a nice job," McEwing said.
The Hillcats scratched out an unearned run in the seventh off Edwards after an error by Gerst, the left fielder. Edwards allowed two runs in the seventh, and reliever Hector Santiago allowed one more to make it 6-4.
In the seventh Salvador Sanchez added some insurance with a solo homer, his 15th of the season, to make it 7-4.
Loman said that hitting the first pitch is nothing new for him.
"I'm a pretty aggressive guy, even if the pitch isn't there I sometimes swing at the first one I see," Loman said. "But it was there and up a little bit and I got a good swing on it."
The Dash broke out of its offensive funk in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, winning 9-7. That seemed to carry over to yesterday as the Dash, who had 10 hits, won the three-game series against the Hillcats.
"You know we've been struggling a little bit offensively," McEwing said. "Today we came today and had key hits in big situations and they did a good job."
McEwing said that the Dash has avoided sustained droughts offensively for the most part, but that this most recent one did concern him.
"You go through a stretch like this during the season," McEwing said. "But really this has been our first stretch like this all year and you're going to have peaks and valleys and it's how you deal with it."
One advantage that the Dash has is it already knows that it is in the playoffs. But Loman said it isn't that big of an advantage.
"We're trying to get momentum, and it sometimes is tough when you win the first half and the team who wins the second half kind of comes in hot," Loman said. "So we're trying to avoid that and get hot ourselves. We are just trying to play hard every day."
Notes: The Dash will have a day off today before starting its final home series of the season Tuesday against Salem. Tuesday is a doubleheader starting at 6 p.m. with another game Wednesday and the final game of the series on Thursday. ... The Dash will play host to a first-round playoff game Sept. 9 and 10th against either Salem or Kinston. ... The last day of the regular-season is Sept. 7 and the Dash will play at Myrtle Beach.
LYNCH ab r h bi W-S ab r h bi
D'arnd 2b 4 1 2 1 Mllhrer 2b 5 0 0 0
Hrrson 3b 5 0 0 0 Paiml ss 3 0 0 0
Mercer ss 3 0 0 1 Snchz rf 3 2 2 1
Romak dh 3 0 1 0 Morel 3b 4 1 1 0
Hague 1b 3 1 2 0 Loman 1b 4 1 2 3
Keel lf 4 0 0 0 Greene cf 3 1 1 0
Fryer c 4 1 2 1 Curtis c 3 1 1 1
Huber rf 4 0 0 0 Pschna dh 4 1 1 0
DeLsSts cf 4 1 1 1 Gerst lf 4 0 2 2
Totals 34 4 8 4 Totals 33 7 10 7
Lynchburg 000 001 300 -- 4
Winston-Salem 600 000 10x -- 7
E--Gerst. DP--Winston-Salem 1, Lynchburg 0. LOB--Winston-Salem 6, Lynchburg 7. 2B--Hague, Fryer, D'Arnaud, Gerst. HR--Loman, Sanchez. SB--D'Arnaud, Greene. PB--Curtis.
Lynchburg IP H R ER BB SO
Adcock (3-2) 1 6 6 6 2 0
Robles 3 0 0 0 0 3
Uviedo 4 4 1 1 2 3
Winston-Salem IP H R ER BB SO
Edwards (6-2) 61/3 5 3 2 1 1
Santiago 1 3 1 1 1 0
Corley 12/3 0 0 0 1 1
T--2:27. A--751.
Email
Print
