Kannapolis, NC - The Charleston RiverDogs allowed eight runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, turning a close game into a one-sided 13-3 loss to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers on Tuesday night at Atrium Health Ballpark. The RiverDogs dropped their fourth straight game and have not scored more than three runs since April 14.
The game started on the wrong foot in the very first inning. Rikuu Nishida won a long battle with starting pitcher Drew Dowd, eventually lining a base hit into left field to start the Kannapolis (8-7) rally. Dowd hit Ryan Galanie with the first pitch of the next at-bat and proceeded to walk the ensuing two hitters to force in the game’s first run. Later in the frame, a sacrifice fly from Arxy Hernandez doubled the lead.
The lead grew to 4-0 in favor of the home team with RBI singles on the ground from both Albertsen Asigen and Luis Pineda in the third. Hernandez tacked on another run with an RBI infield single in the fifth.
The RiverDogs (6-9) made a brief attempt at a comeback in the late stages of the contest. Tre’ Morgan smacked a solo home run to left field in the sixth to get the RiverDogs on the board. In the seventh, Ricardo Gonzalez drove in a run with a fielder’s choice bouncer to first and Noah Myers lifted a sacrifice fly to center field. With the deficit trimmed to 5-3, Narciso Polanco hit a bouncer toward short that was misplayed by Hernandez for an error. However, Carlos Colmenarez slipped rounding third and was caught in a rundown to end the inning.
The wheels fell off in the bottom of the seventh. The first seven batters of the inning all reached safely for Kannapolis against the bullpen combo of Samuel Mejia and Dalton Fowler. Five runs had already crossed the plate when Asigen cleared the bases with a triple that short-hopped off the right field wall. When the dust settled, the Cannon Ballers had put up eight runs on six hits and an error.
Kannapolis registered 13 hits to the RiverDogs four. Asigen closed the night 3-4 with four runs batted in. Hernandez, Pineda and Juan Gonzalez each collected two RBI for the victors. Morgan was the lone Charleston batter with multiple hits, finishing 2-4 with the home run.
Dowd was dealt the loss, surrendering four runs in 3.0 innings. Mejia took the brunt of the eighth inning damage, giving up five runs on six hits in a lone inning of work. The RiverDogs could not figure out Kannapolis starter Drew McDaniel who struck out eight over 6.0 innings on the mound.
The teams will return to the field for game two in just over 12 hours. RHP Gary Gill Hill (0-0, 1.00) will aim to continue his strong start to the season for the RiverDogs against RHP Jake Peppers (1-0, 4.70) of Kannapolis. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.
The RiverDogs continue their hunt for a fourth-consecutive Carolina League championship in 2024. The full schedule of games is available here.
Kannapolis 13, Charleston 3
April 23, 2024
Click here for the box score
Charleston (R-H-E): 3-4-1
Kannapolis (R-H-E): 13-13-3
Win: McDaniel (2-0)
Loss: Dowd (0-1)
Save:
HR: Charleston: Tre' Morgan (2, 6th inning, 0 on base)
HR: Kannapolis: None
