By: Riverdogs Media
Diego Infante went 4-4 with two home runs and four runs batted in to power the Charleston RiverDogs to a 7-2 win over the Down East Wood Ducks on Friday night at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. The RiverDogs victory evened the series at 2-2. The contest was played in front of a season-high 4,447 fans.
Infante drew blood for the first time in the bottom of the first inning. Moments after Curtis Mead put the RiverDogs on top with a booming double off of the wall, the right fielder drove him in with a single to right that gave the home team a 2-0 advantage.
Infante was also responsible for the next three runs scored by the RiverDogs, all via the home run. In the third inning, with Alika Williams on base, Down East went to the bullpen to get right-hander Nick Laio. Infante greeted the reliever with a towering drive to left center for his third home run of the season and a 4-0 lead. Three innings later, Infante took Laio deep once again, this time with a line drive to right field that sailed over the wall near the video board. Infante has hit three home runs in the last two games.
The native of Venezuela was also a factor in the final two runs scored by the RiverDogs in the eighth inning. He opened the frame with a sharp single to right off of Marc Church for his fourth hit of the game. Jonathan Embry followed with his first home run of the season, a two-run blast to right that capped the scoring.
Down East (11-5) scored two runs on five hits against John Doxakis, Hector Figueroa and Andrew Gross. Doxakis earned the win after working 5.0 innings and allowing one run on two hits with eight strikeouts. Keithron Moss hit a solo home run with two outs in the fifth for the only damage against him. Figueroa allowed one run over 2.2 innings before Gross picked up the save by tossing 1.1 scoreless innings to close the night out.
Both Infante and Mead extended their hitting streaks to seven games. Abiezel Ramirez and Embry joined Infante with multiple hits in the RiverDogs 10-hit effort. Xavier Valentin was responsible for two of Down East’s hits with a pair of doubles.
Ballpark Fun
The RiverDogs will have RHP Cole Wilcox (0-0, 2.25) on the mound Saturday night for game five of the series. Down East will turn to RHP Nick Krauth (0-0, 0.93). First pitch is slated for 6:05 p.m. The contest will mark the start of Perros Santos Weekend presented by Berkeley Electric Cooperative and MUSC Health. Following the game, fans will enjoy the first helicopter ball drop the season.
All RiverDogs games are broadcast worldwide on riverdogs.com. A television broadcast of all 60 home games during the 2021 season will also be available via MiLB.TV. Games are also available on the MiLB First Pitch app.
RiverDogs season tickets, flexible ticket plans, and group tickets, including options to the Segra Club at Riley Park, are now available for the 2021 campaign at riverdogs.com/tickets or by contacting the RiverDogs front office at 843-577-3647 (DOGS). A full schedule for the 2021 season is available at riverdogs.com.
