Bill Hass on Baseball:Sand Gnats lay 9-0 whipping on Hoppers

Sand Gnats lay 9-0 whipping on Hoppers

Game No. 100 for the Hoppers in the South Atlantic League season was one of the most forgettable.

Savannah dominated on the pitching and hitting ends and put a 9-0 whipping on the Hoppers Monday night. The outcome left Greensboro 9-22 in the second half and 38-62 overall.

The Hoppers never solved 6-foot-10 right-hander Martires Arias, who held them to three hits over six innings while striking out six. Alberto Baldonado earned a three-inning save, allowing just two hits and adding four more strikeouts.

Greensboro starter Michael Mader pitched three shutout innings before giving up a run in the fourth and a two-run homer in the fifth, which would be plenty of cushion. The Sand Gnats tagged James Buckelew for two runs in the sixth and Nick Fuller for four more in the ninth.

Savannah pounded out 14 hits, with six hitters getting two apiece, and three home runs. One of those was by Michael Katz, who homered for the third straight game in NewBridge Bank Park.

NOTES: The teams wrap up the series with a game at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday … The Hoppers starter is to be determined after scheduled starter Ben Holmes was sent to Jupiter … Ryan Hafner was the only effective Hoppers pitcher, throwing a pair of shutout innings … Thirty-nine games are left in the season (the Hoppers had one cancelled in the first half).