Jhon Diaz completed a furious comeback in the final inning for the Charleston RiverDogs with a walk-off single to right, as they beat the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 8-7 in game one of a doubleheader at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park on Saturday. The Cannon Ballers rebounded with a 3-1 in in the nightcap to split the twin bill in front of 3,957 fans.
The RiverDogs (17-10, 44-48) put together a fierce rally in the bottom of the seventh inning to claim game one in walk-off fashion. Trailing 7-4 when the frame began, Angel Mateo struck out against Jesus Mendez to begin the inning. From that point forward, only one of the next eight batters was retired. Noah Myers walked and Enderson Delgado followed by driving a double off the center field wall. Carlos Colmenarez and Enzo Paulino added consecutive RBI singles to pull the home team within one. Pinch-hitter Raudelis Martinez tied the game by lining a base hit into left field on the first pitch he saw off the bench. Narciso Polanco moved the winning run to third base with a fly ball to deep right and Adrian Santana walked, setting the stage for Diaz to win it with a fly ball out of George Wolkow’s reach.
The RiverDogs initially took the lead in the third inning. That frame began with a double by Narciso Polanco, who was joined on base by Adrian Santana following a Kannapolis error. Jhon Diaz walked to load the bases with still no outs. Aldrin Batista came back to strike out Angel Mateo for the first out, but Noah Myers drove in the game’s first run with a fielder’s choice groundout to second.
That lead stayed in place until Kannapolis (13-15, 54-40) produced a two-out rally off Trevor Harrison in the fourth. Drake Logan doubled to put runners at second and third and Ryan Burrowes came through with a two-run single up the middle to make it 2-1 Cannon Ballers.
This was the point in the game where a back-and-forth affair began. The RiverDogs tied the score with Santana’s RBI single in the bottom of the frame. Paulino was thrown out at the plate trying to score on Polanco’s base hit one batter prior.
Each club scored a pair of runs in the fifth inning. Ronny Hernandez provided the damage for Kannapolis with a two-run single. For Charleston, it was a two-out, two-run triple from Paulino. The Cannon Ballers appeared to take the momentum for good in the top of the sixth. That inning began with an error Colmenarez and was followed by a two-out walk to Javier Mora. Rikuu Nishida then connected on a line drive over the right field wall for his first home run as a professional. The long ball gave Kannapolis a 7-4 lead.
The RiverDogs doubled Kannapolis in the hit column 14-7. Paulino went a perfect 4-4 with three RBI at the plate. Polanco and Santana each had a pair of hits.
Will Stevens earned the win by working a scoreless top of the seventh. Harrison surrendered four runs on five hits in 4.2 innings. He struck out four and walked three.
In game two, Kannapolis came out of the gate firing against Drew Dowd. Nishida worked a base on balls to open the game and was replaced on base by Wilber Sanchez who grounded into a fielder’s choice. Arxy Hernandez and Luis Pineda each responded with an RBI double on an 0-2 pitch by Dowd to give the visitors a 2-0 head start.
An extra-base hit put another run on the board in the second. Mason Dineson reached base with a one-out walk from the RiverDogs starter. Nishida continued his big day by driving a triple to the wall in right that pushed the margin to 3-0. Dowd took the loss, despite never allowing another run. He worked 4.0 innings and collected four strikeouts.
The bullpen duo of Gerlin Rosario and Seth Chavez combined for 3.0 shutout innings down the stretch. However, the offense was limited to a single tally in the third. Santana doubled with two outs and scored on an RBI single by Diaz. Mateo singled in the next at-bat, but Diaz was cut down at the plate to end the inning.
Kannapolis outhit the RiverDogs 6-5 in the game. Pineda provided two hits for the Cannon Ballers. Santana was the lone player with multiple hits for the RiverDogs. Jake Peppers earned the win on the mound by allowing one run over 5.0 strong innings.
Ballpark Fun
The RiverDogs celebrated the start of the Olympic Games in Paris by hosting the RiverDogs Summer Game son Saturday at The Joe. The team wore special red, white and blue jerseys with CHS emblazoned on the chest. Between innings, fans took part in several challenges inspired by Olympic events.
The series will come to a close on Sunday evening at 5:05 p.m. RHP Santiago Suarez (5-5, 4.04) will toe the rubber for the RiverDogs. LHP Frankeli Arias (2-3, 4.60) will oppose him on the mound for Kannapolis. Parking is free and kids can run the bases after the game on MUSC Health Family Sunday.
The RiverDogs continue their hunt for a fourth-consecutive Carolina League championship in 2024. The full schedule of games is available here.
Game 1
Charleston 8, Kannapolis 7
July 27, 2024
Click here for the box score
Kannapolis (R-H-E): 7-7-1
Charleston (R-H-E): 8-14-1
Win: Stevens (2-3)
Loss: Mendez (2-4)
Save:
HR: Kannapolis: Rikuu Nishida (1, 6th inning, 2 on base)
HR: Charleston: None
Game 2
Kannapolis 3, Charleston 1
Click here for the box score
Kannapolis (R-H-E): 3-6-0
Charleston (R-H-E): 1-5-0
Win: Peppers (4-5)
Loss: Dowd (3-5)
Save: Peters (1)
HR: Kannapolis: None
HR: Charleston: None
