The Charleston RiverDogs captured a series win, surmounting an early deficit to defeat the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 5-4 on Sunday evening in front of 5,618 fans at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park.
With the victory, the RiverDogs close the series with three consecutive wins and head to Carolina with a 24-27 record.
The game remained a stalemate through two innings, until Kannapolis got things going with back-to-back singles in the third. Arnold Prado reached second base on his single due to a throwing error by starter Jacob Kmatz. Nathan Archer roped his groundball single to right, scoring Prado to put Kannapolis up 1-0 early.
The Cannon Ballers opened the lead further in the fourth. After a Caleb Bonemer walk and a Ronny Hernandez single, Jorge Corona doubled to left and doubled the lead for his team, driving in Bonemer. George Wolkow and Ryan Burrowes followed with line drive singles to score Hernandez and Corona, burgeoning the deficit to 4-0.
Kmatz escaped the inning without further damage, thanks in part to an unassisted double play by Ricardo Gonzalez, who speared a line drive to short and dashed to the second base bag to double off a runner.
The RiverDogs started to claw back in the bottom of the fourth inning. Woo Shin opened the frame with a single, and Gonzalez followed with an opposite-field double into the ‘Dogs bullpen that put Charleston on the board.
In the sixth, the RiverDogs reengaged the loud crowd for the homestretch of the contest. Nathan Flewelling led off the inning with a home run to the right-field pole – his first as a professional.
Shin followed with a triple into the left-field corner and then scored on a Gonzalez stolen base that cued a throwing error, trimming the contest to 4-3.
The RiverDogs snatched the lead in the seventh, as Carlton Perkins issued three straight one out walks to load the bases. Narciso Polanco capitalized with a sac fly to tie the game, and Yirer Garcia poked an RBI single to put Charleston ahead for good.
The drama of the game wasn’t complete, though, as Kannapolis loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth. The RiverDogs tabbed Cade Citelli to escape the jam. The righty preserved the lead with two flyouts and a strikeout.
Andy Rodriguez earned the save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning, capped off by a swinging strikeout.
Ballpark Fun: Today was Charlie’s Not-So-Spooky Halloween, as families were encouraged to wear their favorite Halloween costume to the ballpark and trick-or-treat across the concourse. They were also able to meet various Disney Princesses and Pirates and take pictures with them. A standout addition to today’s fun was a dunk tank with a real-life mermaid, begging participants to hit the target and send her back to the water. The most interesting on-field game was a walk the plank game, where fans competed in a race where they tip-toed through planks of wood to the finish line. Kids ran the bases after the game.
The RiverDogs hit the road to Zebulon, NC to begin a six-game series with the Carolina Mudcats on Tuesday. Charleston returns home on Tuesday, June 10 to host Augusta for a six-game set. Tickets are available online at RiverDogs.com.