Kannapolis, N.C. – Despite entering the bottom of the ninth with a six-run lead, the Charleston RiverDogs could not hold on, falling 8-7 to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers on Tuesday night at Atrium Health Ballpark.
Alex Wallace was dominant on the hill, tossing six innings of one-run ball while fanning a career-high eight hitters. He became the second pitcher in Single-A this season to complete six frames twice.
Charleston’s night started strong early on when Cooper Flemming grounded an RBI single to left that put them ahead 1-0.
The RiverDogs extended their lead to 2-0 when Taitn Gray rolled an single to center, that led to an errant throw back to the infield allowing Flemming to score.
In the top of the sixth, the RiverDogs added on two more when Brailer Guerrero RBI single and Alberth Palma groundout to push their lead to four runs.
Kannapolis jumped on the board for the first time when Abraham Nunez blasted a solo shot to right to make it 4-1.
The RiverDogs responded with one more in the seventh before adding on two more in the ninth when Dean Moss sent a two-run single to center.
In the bottom of the ninth, the flood gates opened for the Cannon Ballers as they sent eleven to the plate and scored seven runs on seven hits.
After the first out of the inning was recorded, eight of the next nine Cannon Ballers hitters reached, capped by Javier Mogolin, who delivered the final blow with a walk-off single to left that won the game.
With the loss, Charleston fell to 8-8 while Kannapolis moved to 5-11. The two return to the ballpark tomorrow for game two of series with first pitch slated for 11:00 a.m. Coverage begins at 10:45 a.m. on the RiverDogs Broadcast Network.