Struggling to get its offense going in the first game of a doubleheader last night, the Winston-Salem Dash took a little batting practice in the third inning of the second game.
The extra time at the plate reaped a harvest -- the Dash batted around and then some in a six-run third inning -- and salvaged a split with the Lynchburg Hillcats at Wake Forest Baseball Park.
The Hillcats won the first game 2-1. The Dash hung on after its offensive outburst in the second game for a 9-7 victory.
The nine runs in the second game were the most scored by the Dash since July 28.
The second-game victory kept the Dash in the driver's seat of the second-half pennant race in the Carolina League's Southern Division. The Dash, which won the first half, leads the Kinston Indians by a half game and the Salem Red Sox by one game with nine days left in the regular season.
The Dash is locked into a playoff spot as result of its first-half title. Kinston and Salem are battling for a playoff spot.
Joe Persichina, who has been on a tear the past five games with 10 hits in 17 at-bats, led the Dash's second-game charge with a 3 for 3, two RBI performance.
Seth Loman went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and a solo home run.
The Hillcats jumped to a 3-0 lead in the second inning of the second game, getting a towering three-run homer by Eric Fryer off starter Anthony Carter.
Greg Paiml doubled and scored on a single by Salvador Sanchez. Loman followed with an RBI single. Walks issued by the Hillcats' Bryan Morris then led to the go-ahead runs by the Dash. Two runs scored on Persichina's double to right field, and a third scored on a bobble by right fielder Jamie Romak.
Persichina capped the third-inning outburst by scoring on a throwing error by shortstop Jordy Mercer.
The Hillcats closed the gap to 8-7 in the fifth inning -- getting two-run homers by Chase d'Arnaud and Mercer off Carter -- but Dash relievers preserved the lead. Charlis Burdie (3-1) picked up the win after 12/3 innings, and Santo Luis closed in the seventh and got his 14th save.
Joe McEwing, the Dash manager, was ejected in the fifth inning by base umpire Mike Goebel after voicing protest over a checked-swing call, when Kris Watts of the Hillcats was ruled not to have swung at a pitch.
In the first game, starter Dylan Axelrod of the Dash spent five innings pitching out of jams.
The effort -- keeping the score tied at 1 despite threats by the Hillcats -- went for naught in the seventh inning.
D'Arnuad of the Hillcats led off with a double to right field against reliever Nate Jones. He advanced to second on a ground ball by Alex Presley and scored the tiebreaking run on Mercer's sacrifice fly.
D'Arnuad was 4 for 4 in the second game.
Axelrod gave up nine hits but just one earned run, on a tough break in the second inning. Matt Hague of the Hillcats was ruled to have checked his swing on what would have been a third strike, then ripped a solo home run to left field for the only run against Axelrod.
The Hillcats left eight runners stranded against Axelrod, who worked his way out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth.
The Hillcats used three pitchers – starter Rudy Owens was limited to two innings in an effort to rest his arm for the Carolina League playoffs – which will begin in 10 days.
The Dash scored its only run in the first inning. Tyler Kuhn led off with a double and wound up scoring on Brent Morel's single. Kuhn and Morel combined for four of five hits by the Dash, which entered last night with a league-low .226 batting average in August.
The victory snapped a four-game losing streak by the Hillcats.
A three-game set will conclude at 5 p.m. today. Justin Edwards (5-2) is scheduled to start for the Dash. He'll face Nate Adcock (3-1).
■ Tommy Bowman can be reached at 727-7320 or at
tbowman@wsjournal.com
.
First game
LYNCH. ab r h bi W-S ab r h bi
d'Arnaud ss 4 1 4 0 Kuhn lf 3 1 2 0
Presley cf 3 0 1 0 Paiml ss 2 0 1 0
Mercer 3b 3 0 1 1 Sanchez rf 3 0 0 0
Romak rf 4 0 1 0 Morel 3b 3 0 2 1
Hague 1b 3 1 2 1 Loman dh 2 0 0 0
Watts c 3 0 0 0 Greene cf 3 0 0 0
Keel lf 3 0 1 0 Prschna 1b 2 0 0 0
Skmto dh 3 0 0 0 Curtis c 3 0 0 0
DLs Sts 2b 3 0 0 0 Lang 2b 2 0 0 0
Totals 30 2 10 2 Totals 23 1 5 1
Lynchburg 010 000 1 -- 2
Winston-Salem 100 000 0 -- 1
E--Persichina 2. DP--Lynchburg 1. LOB--Lynchburg 8, Winston-Salem 4. 2B--Keel, d'Arnaud, Kuhn. CS--d'Arnaud.
Lynchburg IP H R ER BB SO
Owens 2 2 1 1 0 3
McSwain, W (11-8) 4 2 0 0 0 1
Rodriguez, S, 27 1 0 0 0 1 0
Winston-Salem IP H R ER BB SO
Axelrod 5 9 1 1 0 2
Jones, L (1-1) 2 1 1 1 0 0
WP--McSwain. T--1:57. A--n/a
Second game
LYNCH. ab r h bi W-S ab r h bi
d'Arnaud 3 1 1 2 Mllnhr 2b 4 1 1 2
Hrrsn 3b 3 1 1 0 Paiml ss 3 1 1 0
Mercer ss 4 1 1 2 Sanchez rf 3 1 1 1
Romak rf 4 1 2 0 Morel 3b 4 0 0 0
Hague 1b 3 1 0 0 Loman 1b 4 2 3 2
Watts dh 3 0 0 0 Johnson c 3 1 0 0
Huber lf 3 0 0 0 Greene cf 2 1 1 0
Fryer c 2 2 1 3 Prschna dh 3 2 3 2
DLs Sts cf 3 0 1 0 Gerst lf 2 0 1 0
Totals 28 7 7 7 Totals 37 2 8 2
Lynchburg 030 040 0 -- 7
Winston-Salem 106 110 x -- 9
E--d'Arnaud, Romak, Harrison, Johnson. DP--Lynchburg 2. LOB--Lynchburg 4, Winston-Salem 6. 2B--Romak 2, Paiml, Persichina. HR--Fryer, d'Arnaud, Mercer, Loman. SB--De Los Santos, Persichina.
Lynchburg IP H R ER BB SO
Morris, L (4-8) 22/3 7 7 4 4 3
Cullen 11/3 1 1 1 0 0
Boleska 2 3 1 1 0 1
Winston-Salem IP H R ER BB SO
Carter 41/3 5 7 7 1 3
Burdie, W (3-1) 12/3 2 0 0 0 1
Luis, S, 14 1 0 0 0 0 1
HBP--by Boleska (Sanchez), by Carter (Hague), by Carter (Harrison), by Burdie (d'Arnaud). T--2:24. A--2,019
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