By: RiverDogs Media
Lynchburg, VA- Starting pitcher Yoniel Curet carved up the Lynchburg Hillcats for 5.0 scoreless innings as the Charleston RiverDogs picked up a 7-3 win on Thursday night at Bank of the James Stadium. The victory was the first of the series of the RiverDogs, who improved to 3-6 on the current road trip.
The RiverDogs (24-36) scored in the first inning for a second night in a row. With one out, Xavier Isaac split the left center field gap with a booming double to spark the offense. Dominic Keegan followed almost immediately with an RBI single to put the RiverDogs in front 1-0.
The quick start carried into the second frame against Lynchburg pitcher Yorman Gomez Christopher Barete provided a solid start with a leadoff double to the right field wall. A groundball from Oneill Manzueta allowed Barete to advance to third. With the infield drawn in on the grass, Angel Galarraga poked an RBI single right back through the middle to double the lead.
The RiverDogs made it three runs in three innings with another tally in the third. Ryan Spikes opened the inning with a triple that caromed off the right field wall. Two batters later, Jhon Diaz drove him in with a groundout bounced softly to second.
Curet was fantastic on the mound for the RiverDogs, working 5.0 scoreless innings with a season-high eight strikeouts. He earned the win by allowing just two hits and departing with a 3-0 lead. Curet has allowed just one run in his last 20.1 innings.
A big eighth inning allowed the RiverDogs to grab what appeared to be a comfortable lead. Two singles and a walk allowed them to load the bases with no outs against reliever Jack Jasiak. Lynchburg (27-33) went to the bullpen for Samuel Vasquez and the right-hander was called for a balk before throwing a pitch. With two in scoring position, Jhon Diaz smacked a double to the left field wall that extended the lead to 6-0.
Jack Hartman turned in 2.0 scoreless innings out of the bullpen without surrendering a hit to take the game to the bottom of the eighth. Junior William entered at that point and quickly ran into trouble. A leadoff walk turned into a run when Bubba Filia followed with an RBI double. Two batters later, Guy Lipscomb drove in Filia with a single to center. William balked the runner to second and Angel Genao drove him in to make it 6-3 with another RBI single. The inning ended with a strikeout of Robert Lopez.
The RiverDogs used two Hillcats errors and a sacrifice fly from Spikes to push the lead back to four. Alex Cook worked a perfect ninth to seal the victory.
Isaac finished the night with a season-high three hits, including his fourth double of the series. Spikes recorded his third straight multi-hit game, going 2-4 with a triple and an RBI. Lynchburg received two hits from Genao as they were limited to six hits on the night. Four of those hits came in the eighth inning.
The RiverDogs will attempt to even the series on Friday when they hand the baseball to LHP Alex Ayala Jr. (0-3, 4.10). Lynchburg will go with RHP Alonzo Richardson (3-3, 4.41). The game will begin at 6:30 p.m.
RiverDogs season tickets, flexible ticket plans, and group tickets, including options to the Segra Club at Riley Park, are available at riverdogs.com/tickets or by contacting the RiverDogs front office at 843-577-3647 (DOGS).
Charleston 7, Lynchburg 3
Click here for the box score
Win: Curet (4-1)
Loss: Gomez (1-4)
HR: Charleston: None
