Odalys Peguero raced home from third base with the winning run on Carlos Colmenarez’s infield chopper in the bottom of the eighth, handing the Charleston RiverDogs a 4-3 win over the Lynchburg Hillcats on Thursday at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. The contest closed the first half of the 2024 season for both teams. The game was played in front of 4,610 fans.
Peguero initially reached base on a four-pitch walk from Steven Perez. He then advanced to second on a single from Elis Barreat and stole third with Colmenarez at the plate. With the infield in, he broke toward the plate on contact as Colmenarez bounced a ball toward the second baseman. The throw home from Rafael Ramirez Jr. was late and the RiverDogs took the lead for good.
The Hillcats (37-29) opened the scoring with an unearned run in the top of the first. Tommy Hawke worked a leadoff walk against Drew Dowd to start the contest. Hawke was caught breaking for second on a pickoff move from Dowd moments later, but the throw by first baseman Raudelis Martinez hit the runner in the helmet and bounced into left field for an error. With Hawke standing at third, Ralphy Velazquez lofted a sacrifice fly to center field to score the first run of the night.
The RiverDogs (27-38) answered immediately to pull even in the bottom of the first. Jhon Diaz singled with one out and stole both second and third base. Angel Mateo worked a walk and quickly stole second as well to put a pair in scoring position for Enderson Delgado. The catcher tied the game with a sacrifice fly to left field.
Neither team scored again until the sixth inning, when the RiverDogs took their first lead of the game. Woo Shin began that frame with a line drive double off the base of the wall in right field. A groundball to the right side from Ricardo Gonzalez moved him to third with one out and allowed Shin to score on a wild pitch. A single and two more walks, including one with the bases loaded, forced in another run as Charleston grabbed a 3-1 lead.
That lead was short-lived as Lynchburg took advantage of a costly error to even the score again. Dowd came back out for the seventh inning, marking his longest appearance of the season. Ramirez Jr. doubled with one out in the frame and scored on an RBI single from Kevin Rivas. Lexer Saduy was hit by a pitch to move the tying run into scoring position. Nine-hitter Fran Alduey tapped a groundball toward third in the next at-bat, but it rolled under the glove of Colmenarez as the tying run raced home.
Dowd did not factor in the decision despite working a season-high 6.2 innings on the mound. He allowed three runs, one earned, on five hits and struck out five. Adam Boucher earned the win by working the final 2.1 innings without surrendering a run.
The hit column was even at five per team. Shin finished 2-3 with a double and a triple for the RiverDogs. Barreat also added a pair of hits. Rivas was the lone Lynchburg hitter with multiple knocks, closing the night 2-3.
Ballpark Fun
Thirsty Thursday was accentuated with trivia night thanks to Share House. Between innings, fans were challenged to trivia on the video board with Share House providing a variety of prizes to the winners.
The RiverDogs record will reset as the second half of the season gets started on Friday night. A REV Federal Credit Union fireworks show will follow the contest. RHP Gary Gill Hill (1-0, 2.35) will be on the hill for the RiverDogs with LHP Jackson Humphries (0-3, 5.23) opposing him for Lynchburg. The game begins at 7:05 p.m.
The RiverDogs continue their hunt for a fourth-consecutive Carolina League championship in 2024. The full schedule of games is available here.
Charleston 4, Lynchburg 3
June 20, 2024
Click here for the box score
Lynchburg (R-H-E): 3-6-0
Charleston (R-H-E): 4-6-4
Win: Boucher (4-3)
Loss: Perez (1-1)
Save:
HR: Lynchburg: None
HR: Charleston: None
