Zebulon, NC - The Charleston RiverDogs bounced back from major adversity to earn a hard-fought 6-5 win over the Carolina Mudcats in 11 innings on Friday at Five County Stadium. Carolina’s Eric Bitonti tied the game with a two-out home run in the bottom of the ninth to erase what was once a five-run advantage for Charleston. Luis Hernandez got Yhoswar Garcia to pop out on the infield to end the game with the bases loaded in the bottom of the final frame.
Neither team scored in the first extra frame. In the top of the 11th, with Jhon Diaz starting at second, Angel Mateo worked a leadoff walk. With one out, J.D. Gonzalez bounced a ball toward second that was booted by Daniel Guilarte as a run scored. The Mudcats turned a double play on the next batted ball to end the inning. Hernandez then blanked Carolina to seal the win.
Charleston (20-12, 47-50) struck first against Milwaukee pitching prospect Josh Knoth. Enderson Delgado worked a one-out walk in the second inning but Knoth struck out J.D. Gonzalez for the second out. A two-out rally began with a single by Raudelis Martinez. Carlos Colmenarez followed with another single to give the RiverDogs a 1-0 lead. Before the inning was complete, Jose Perez punched an RBI single to center and it was 2-0.
The RiverDogs did more damage with two outs in the third inning. Delgado worked the count to 3-0 and then pounded a double off the right field wall to score Jhon Diaz, who had doubled earlier in the inning. Gonzalez had begun his time with the RiverDogs 0-13 at the plate, until he connected on a two-run home run to right that expanded the lead to 5-0.
RiverDogs starting pitcher Trevor Harrison put together his best outing since joining the team, tossing 4.2 scoreless innings. The 18-year-old struck out six, walked one and scattered five hits. Lefty Dalton Fowler followed with his longest outing of the season in which he worked 2.1 innings with no damage.
Samuel Mejia took over the shutout bid in the eighth inning and immediately walked Josh Adamczewski to open the frame. Eric Bitonti crushed a two-run home run in the next at-bat to pull Carolina (18-15, 58-39) within 5-2.
Mejia came back out for the ninth and struck out the leadoff hitter. Angel Mateo misplayed a line drive in left that allowed Blayberg Diaz to roll into second with a double. The right-hander retired Yophery Rodriguez with a pop up to third to bring the RiverDogs within an out of victory. Adamczewski hammered an RBI double to bring the tying run to the plate and Bitonti did it again, blasting another two-run home run to right. Carolina eventually loaded the bases, but Hernandez entered and struck out Reece Walling to end the inning and send the game to extras.
Bitonti drove in four runs with his pair of long balls. Guilarte had three hits to pace the Mudcats 13-hit attack. For the RiverDogs, Delgado reached base three times.
Hernandez earned the win by tossing 2.1 scoreless innings at the conclusion of the night.
The penultimate game of the series will take place at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday night. RHP Santiago Suarez (5-5, 4.74) will make the start on the mound for the RiverDogs. Carolina will counter with RHP Bishop Letson (1-4, 2.91).
The RiverDogs continue their hunt for a fourth-consecutive Carolina League championship in 2024. The full schedule of games is available here.
Charleston 6, Carolina 5 (11 Innings)
August 2, 2024
Click here for the box score
Charleston (R-H-E): 6-6-0
Carolina (R-H-E): 5-13-1
Win: Hernandez (4-0)
Loss: Reyes (3-1)
Save:
HR: Charleston: None
HR: Carolina: Eric Bitonti 2 (1, 8th inning, 1 on base) (2, 9th inning, 1 on base)