The Will call on Hoppers’ Monday at NewBridge Bank Park

from Will Cornelius Hoppers’ media:

HOPPERS FALL IN GAME ONE, WALK OFF WITH SPLIT

GREENSBORO, NC – The Grasshoppers struggled offensively in game one of Monday’s double-header, falling to the Hickory Crawdads before a walk off home run gave the Hoppers a win in game two.

Johnny Dorn (6-5) took the tough loss in game one, tossing a seven-inning complete game while striking out five. Dorn reached the seventh inning for his second straight outing, but has been on the receiving end of losses for both his efforts. With the tough-luck loss, Dorn has now dropped his last four decisions after a previous stretch of five consecutive wins.

Dorn’s gem, however, was overshadowed by another strong performance by Yoon-Hee Nam and the Crawdads pitching staff. Nam and the rest of the Hickory staff combined to scatter five hits over seven innings while surrendering just two runs.

The Hoppers failed to get anything going offensively, fanning 11 times and stranding five runners in the contest. Brandon Turner singled home a run in the first to get the Hoppers on the board early. Catcher Torre Langley responded to hit a towering home run to right-center to scratch another run in the second, but the Hoppers fell short in the duel to drop game one of the double header 3-2.

The Grasshoppers mounted an impressive comeback in the back half of the double header, as late inning heroics by local outfielders Jeremy Synan and Kevin Mattison surged the rallying Hoppers by the Crawdads 8-7 in thrilling fashion

Despite a quick run in the first thanks to back-to-back singles by Synan and Ben Lasater, the Crawdads tagged Hopper’s starter Brian Evans for five runs in the top of the third inning. A leadoff walk coupled with a pair of singles and two errors proved costly for the Hoppers, allowing the Crawdads to take a 5-1 advantage.

The Hoppers would strike again in the fifth to square things up at five, piecing together four hits to plate four runs. Synan capped off the rally with an RBI single up the middle to drive home the speedy Kevin Mattison.

The Crawdads battled to take the lead in the top of the seventh, but couldn’t fend off the Hoppers’ sluggers, as Mattison and Synan each connected on long balls in the final frame. Mattison’s two-run shot tied things up before Synan lined the game-winner over the right field wall.

Synan’s walk off blast, the Hopper’s first since opening day, helped the Hoppers to salvage split for the day and remain a half game ahead of the Crawdads for fourth place in the Northern Division.

With the split, the Hoppers improve to 32-31 overall, and linger one game above .500 for the entire season.

The Hoppers are back in action tomorrow, as they host the Hickory Crawdads again for game three of the four-game set. The first pitch of tomorrow’s contest is slated for 7:05 p.m., with gates opening at 6:00 p.m.

Will Cornelius
Media Relations, Intern
Greensboro Grasshoppers Baseball