Kannapolis, NC - The Charleston RiverDogs continued their stretch of dominant work on the mound, blanking the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 2-0 on Tuesday at Atrium Health Ballpark. The RiverDogs earned their fourth straight victory in which they were outhit by the opposition. In this contest, the Dogs mustered only two singles in the third inning.
The RiverDogs (25-15, 52-53) took advantage of a costly error to score a first inning run. Emilien Pitre worked a four-pitch walk to begin the game and moved to second on a fielder’s choice groundout to first by Adrian Santana. In the next at-bat, Aidan smith hit a high pop-up to the right side of the infield that clanged off the glove of catcher Ronny Hernandez for a two-base error. The Dogs turned that into a run when Connor Hujsak bounced to short as Pitre raced home.
That run was enough thanks to the work of three pitchers on the mound. Drew Dowd did not pitch in last week’s series against Augusta and looked ready to go to work after the break. The southpaw spun 6.0 scoreless innings, scattering five hits along the way. He struck out three. Fellow lefthander Dalton Fowler struck out the side in the seventh and Gerlin Rosario put the finishing touches on his eighth save with 2.0 perfect innings to close it out.
The RiverDogs lead doubled in the third inning when Adrian Santana singled with two outs and quickly stole second base. He was on the move toward third when Aidan Smith ripped a groundball through the left side to drive him in. The hit was the first in a RiverDogs uniform for Smith.
One more run came across in unearned fashion in the top of the ninth for a little extra padding. Narciso Polanco worked a walk with two outs off lefty Daniel Gonzalez. He then raced all the way to third when third baseman Arxy Hernandez misplayed a soft roller by Jhon Diaz. Those 90 feet turned out to be important, as they allowed him to score on a wild pitch in the next at-bat.
Kannapolis (17-25, 58-50) outhit the RiverDogs 5-2 in the game. No player for either team was responsible for more than one knock.
The second game of the series is set for Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. RHP Jose Urbina will make his RiverDogs debut on the mound as the starting pitcher. He will be opposed by Kannapolis RHP Carlton Perkins (1-2, 18.69).
The RiverDogs continue their hunt for a fourth-consecutive Carolina League championship in 2024. The full schedule of games is available here.
Charleston 3, Kannapolis 0
August 13, 2024
Click here for the box score
Charleston (R-H-E): 3-2-0
Kannapolis (R-H-E): 0-5-2
Win: Dowd (4-6)
Loss: McDougal (0-2)
Save: Rosario (8)
HR: Charleston: None
HR: Kannapolis: None
