Kannapolis, N.C. – Shutdown pitching and late-inning life led the way as the Charleston RiverDogs beat the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 6-1 on Sunday afternoon at Atrium Health Ballpark.
The result earned the RiverDogs their second series win of the season and their fifth victory in their last seven games.
Charleston native Trey Pooser set the tone out of the gate, tossing four strong innings while limiting Kannapolis to one run. In the process, the right hander fanned five while allowing just five base runners.
Trailing 1-0 with two outs in the top of the sixth, Alberth Palma rolled an RBI infield single to third that tied the game. Palma finished with three-hits, matching a career high for the fifth time in his career.
Reliever Dominic Niman was stellar in relief, blanking Kannapolis hitters over three innings. Throughout the outing, he punched out five of the eleven hitters he faced.
In the top of the eighth, Marshall Toole singled to center ahead of Taitn Gray who demolished a two-run homer to right that gave Charleston a 3-1 lead. He is now tied with Daniel Pierce, Cooper Flemming and Brendan Summerhill for the team lead with three homers. He also leads the club with 15 runs batted in.
Nicandro Aybar tacked on another, sending a sacrifice fly to left to push the lead to 4-1.
The RiverDogs added on two more runs in the top of the ninth when Toole lined an RBI triple to left and later scored on a wild pitch to cap scoring at 6-1.
Riley Stanford slammed the door with two shutout innings to earn his first professional save.
With the win, Charleston moved to 12-9 while Kannapolis fell to 6-15. After a day off on Monday, the RiverDogs return home to begin a six-game series versus the Fayetteville Woodpeckers on Tuesday night. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. with coverage beginning at 6:50 p.m. on the RiverDogs Broadcast Network.