The Charleston RiverDogs used a six-run fifth inning to pull away from the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers and win 7-4 on Wednesday night in front of 2,902 fans at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park.
With the win, the RiverDogs improve to 21-26 on the season and knot the series at a game apiece.
The game opened as a scoreless pitcher's duel between Charleston’s Trevor Harrison and Kannapolis’ Seth Keener through four and a half innings.
Kenner faced one over the minimum through his first four innings before Charleston broke through in a big way in the bottom of the fifth.
The RiverDogs’ first nine batters of the inning reached base to break up the shutout and eventually chase Keener.
Consecutive singles by Angel Mateo and Larry Martinez put runners on the corners for Narciso Polanco, who delivered a groundball in the four-hole that put Charleston up 1-0. A walk then loaded the bases for Jose Perez, who singled to right to make it 2-0. Another walk to Theo Gillen and a hit-by-pitch to Brailer Guerrero’s foot pushed across two more runs, extending the lead to 4-0.
Connor Hujsak capped the six-run, five-hit onslaught with a two-RBI single that grew the lead to 6-0.
Harrison returned for the top of the sixth inning and came within a strike of finishing the frame three times, but three straight batters reached with two outs to load the bases.
Andy Rodriguez inherited the jam and let up just one run on a bases-loaded hit by pitch, which cut the lead to 6-1.
Harrison earned the win, striking out five in 5.2 innings with just one earned run on his line.
Charleston tallied another run in the bottom of the sixth on a Guerrero RBI groundout, which pushed the lead back to six runs.
Kannapolis attempted a comeback in the late stages, tallying a run in the seventh and two with two outs in the ninth, but the RiverDogs hung on to even the series.
Ballpark Fun: Tonight's Wild Card Wednesday promotion was a sequel to the ever-popular Minecraft Movie Night. The first 250 kids through the front gates received a special edition RiverDogs Minecraft hat featuring a “Creeper” on the front. A “Chicken Jockey” made an appearance on the dugout during an inning break, and as confetti and popcorn rained down from above, the crowd cheered with great delight.
The series continues Thursday night at 7:05. Fans can get beers for just a buck on Budweiser Thirsty Thursday and get Spooked by Southern Screams as part of a scary Summer Halloween experience (recommended for fans 18+). Tickets are available at RiverDogs.com.