The Will call on Hoppers Saturday afternoon win over Intimidators

from Will Cornelius(NWG/Guilford College) Hoppers’ media

HOPPERS SLUG THEIR WAY TO 13-4 WIN OVER KANNAPOLIS

GREENSBORO, NC – The hits just kept coming in the Grasshoppers’ Saturday afternoon contest, seeing all nine starters hit safely to down the Intimidators 13-4.

The hit parade began in the opening frame when the Grasshoppers lead things off with three consecutive hits. Isaac Galloway and Paul Gran reached on singles before Jake Smolinski brought them both home on a double to deep centerfield.

The next inning unfolded in a similar fashion, seeing the Hoppers’ plate three more runs after the first three batters reached safely.

The Hoppers’ went down in order in the third for the only time all afternoon, but continued their offensive display in the fourth inning by tacking on two more runs. Justin Jacobs laced a double to left-center field before scoring on Torre Langley’s third home run of the season.

Three more runs in the fifth followed by one run in each the sixth and seventh innings helped the Hoppers past the Intimidators by scoring in all but two innings. Eight hitters in the home lineup registered multiple hits, tabbing 17 combined hits for the contest.

The Grasshoppers hitting frenzy took care of most of the run production on the day, as every Hopper’s run in the contest was earned. Smolinski, Lasater, Synan, Langley, and Daniel Pertusati drove in two runs each to account for 10 of the Hoppers’ 13 total runs.

Timely hitting thanks to a lineup that went 9-14 with runners in scoring position helped starter Johnny Dorn (7-5) settle in and carve up a Kannapolis team that had previously enjoyed a three game winning streak.

Dorn tossed a career-best eight innings to hold down the Intimidators, surrendering just four runs on 10 hits. His team-high seventh win ended a streak of four consecutive losses, and marked his first home victory in over a month.

Lefty reliever Andrew Loomis closed the contest out for Dorn, striking out the side in the Intimidators final at-bat to conclude the front end of the Hoppers’ day-night doubleheader.

The Hoppers’ (35-33) are back in action tonight for the second half of their inaugural day-night doubleheader. They square off with the Kannapolis Intimidators again in the back half of the double-dip, as they look to even the current series at two games apiece.

First pitch of tonight’s contest is slated for 7:05 p.m.

Will Cornelius
Media Relations, Intern
Greensboro Grasshoppers Baseball