Kannapolis, NC - Enderson Delgado’s pinch-hit single with two outs in the top of the seventh inning gave the Charleston RiverDogs a lead they would not relinquish in a 7-4 win over the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers on Thursday night. The contest was the second in the South Division Championship Series. The victory forces a winner-take-all Game 3 for a spot in the league’s championship series on Friday night.
Starting pitchers Santiago Suarez of the RiverDogs and Mason Moore of Kannapolis dueled over the first 3.0 innings of the game, each working out of several jams to keep the game scoreless. Kannapolis went to the pen in the fourth and Charleston finally broke through in the fifth against reliever Cartlon Perkins. The RiverDogs loaded the bases for the heart of their lineup with a single and two walks. Jhon Diaz then opened the scoring with a deep line drive to center field that worked as a sacrifice fly. Brady Marget followed with a line drive single to left that plated two more and increased the lead to 3-0.
The lead was relatively short-lived. Suarez surrendered a pair of doubles in the bottom of that same inning. The second, provided by George Wolkow, put the Cannon Ballers first run of the game on the scoreboard. Suarez allowed nothing else, working 5.0 strong innings with nine strikeouts.
T.J. Nichols was the first man to enter out of the Dogs bullpen. His outing began with an infield hit by Arxy Hernandez and a walk to Jackson Appel. He rebounded to strikeout Logan Drake, but that turned out to be the only out he would record. Jeral Perez singled to load the bases and Ryan Burrowes hammered a double to center field that tied the game 3-3. Gerlin Rosario entered with two in scoring position and allowed a single to Sam Antonacci that gave Kannapolis the lead on his first pitch. He would strike out the next two hitters to keep Charleston within one.
In the top of the seventh, Frankeli Arias retired the first two batters of the frame without issue. The lefty suddenly lost his command and walked both Angel Mateo and Narciso Polanco. RiverDogs manager Sean Smedley pinch hit for J.D. Gonzalez with fellow catcher Delgado in that spot. The switch-hitter punched a line drive toward the gap in left center that scored two runs and put the Dogs in front 5-4.
Charleston added a pair of insurance runs over the final two innings to reach the final score. Connor Hujsak lifted a sacrifice fly off Connery Peters in the eighth and Delgado came through again with an RBI triple in the ninth.
Rosario earned the win by working 3.2 scoreless innings with two hits allowed. He struck out three.
The RiverDogs were outhit 11-9 by the Cannon Ballers. Adrian Santana, Aidan Smith and Delgado each posted two hits for Charleston. Antonacci, Wolkow and Burrowes did the same for Kannapolis.
The decisive third game of the series is set for Friday at 7:00 p.m. The RiverDogs have not announced their starter for the contest. Kannapolis will turn to RHP Jake Peppers.
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Charleston 7, Kannapolis 4
September 12, 2024
Click here for the box score
Charleston (R-H-E): 7-9-0
Kannapolis (R-H-E): 4-11-0
Win: Rosario (1-0)
Loss: Arias (0-1)
Save:
HR: Charleston: None
HR: Kannapolis: None
