Greensboro Wins Second Straight; Opens Eight-Game Road Trip with 7-6 Victory
Hickory, N.C. – A ninth-inning leadoff home run by Mike Stanton proved to be the difference Monday as Greensboro held on for a 7-6 victory in the series opener against Hickory.
Stanton’s solo shot in the ninth was his second of the contest and drove his league-leading home run total to 32. The Sunland, Calif., native also homered in the third inning to give the Hoppers their first lead of the night.
Greensboro starter Brett Durand was credited with the win and improved to 9-5 after allowing only three runs on seven hits in five innings of work. Durand gave up his 22nd home run of the season, but left the game with a 4-3 lead after fanning five batters.
Four relievers combined to pitch the final four frames. Jay Voss, Steven Cishek and Peter Andrelczyk were credited with holds while Nick McCurdy earned his second save in as many nights to preserve the victory.
Stanton’s two home runs pulled him out of a tie with for Bats slugger Jason Kinchen and put him atop Greensboro’s South Atlantic League single-season home runs list. Kinched hit 30 long balls in 2001 and Stanton matched that mark on Sunday before collecting his third multiple home run game of the season against the Crawdads.
Matt Dominguez also added a home run off of Hickory’s pitching staff with a two-run, two-out blast in the sixth inning.
Five of the eight Greensboro batters to collect a hit in the game finished with two hits including both Stanton and Dominguez. Ryan Curry, Hunter Mense and Torre Langley also had a pair of hits in the contest.
The win, Greensboro’s second in a row, marked the first time since July 21-22 that the Hoppers recorded back-to-back victories.
The Hoppers will look to make it three straight Tuesday when they take on Hickory in game two of the four-game set.
Postgame Quick Stats
Win – Brett Durand (9-5); Loss – Bryan Morris (0-1); Save – Nick McCurdy (2)
Time – 2:53; Attendance – 1,272
*****from gsohoppers.com*****