from Bill Hass wth Bill on Baseball(Greensboro Grasshoppers) at www.gsohoppers.com….
No late-inning lightning on Saturday
In the course of a baseball season, every team is going to take a drubbing now and then.
It was the Hoppers’ turn Saturday night, administered courtesy of Lakewood 10-3.
Unlike the first two games of the series, which the Hoppers won back-to-back in the bottom of the ninth inning, there was no miracle rally or late-inning lightning this time. The thing about comeback wins is that you rally from behind. Keep falling behind and you run out of comebacks.
Saturday, Lakewood put four runs on the board in the first inning and six more in the fourth and that was that.
“After awhile, it’s going to catch up with you,” said manager Jorge Hernandez. “I didn’t think the four runs would beat us, but when they scored six it made it hard to come back. We haven’t had one like that in a long time.”
The last lopsided loss the Hoppers took was June 26, when Asheville shellacked them 15-4. They bounced back from that to win six out of eight prior to Saturday.
The BlueClaws pounded Hoppers starter Mason Hope for 10 hits and nine runs in 3 2/3 innings. Beau Wright allowed a two-run homer on the first pitch he threw, then shut out the Claws for three innings. Sean Donatello finished with two shutout innings.
Greensboro recorded 10 hits — two each by Yefri Perez, Jesus Solorzano, Yordy Cabrera, Cody Keefer and Mike Vaughn. Keefer had two RBIs, including his fourth homer, and Perez drove in the other run.
The teams wrap up the series Sunday at 4 p.m. Chad James draws the start for Greensboro.
“We have a chance to come back and win the series,” Hernandez said. “James pitched well (on the road) in Asheville and he should match up good against (Lakewood).”