Dustin Beggs shows he has legs, as GSO Hoppers top LWD BlueClaws in a “horse race-pace” game on Monday, at ‘Jersey Downs’/FNB Field(Double-feature, we also have ‘Bill Hass on Baseball’ here)

Dustin Beggs shows he has legs, as GSO Hoppers top LWD BlueClaws in a “horse race-pace” game on Monday, at ‘Jersey Downs’/FNB Field

GSO and LWD combine to pound out 27 hits…..

GSO pitcher Dustin Beggs got knocked down, giving up 5 runs, including 2 home runs in the fifth inning, but he got back up, coming back out to work the 6th and 7th innings, and ended up giving up 6 runs, on 10 hits, with 0 BB’s, 2 K’s and a total of 3 HR’s allowed….Beggs made out like a boxer and got back up for the count and you can not count him out…

The game itself, was like a horse race, as the score was flipping back-and-forth, like horses trading spots/positions, in the fifth race of the day, at ‘Jersey Downs’….

The Hoppers grabbed a nice 4-0 lead after 4 innings and looked to be well on their way to a “Monday Afternoon Shutout”, behind RHP Dustin Beggs…Lakewood flipped the score and went up 5-4, with that five-run fifth inning, and with LWD on top, Dustin Beggs showed us he still had has legs, as he returned to work the sixth and seventh innings…The Hoppers evened the score at 5-5 in the bottom of the fifth and showed they were still alive/in line for the win, with two runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a lead that they would not give back/return…..

Just like in a “horse race” at Jersey Downs, the Grasshoppers were back on top, up 7-6, with two laps/innings to go….The Grasshoppers added two more runs in the bottom of the seventh, after LWD had picked up another run, with a solo HR by Jesus Alastre in the top of the seventh frame….It was 4-0 Hoppers, then 5-4 ‘Claws, the we had the 5-5 tie, before the next flip at 7-5 Hoppers, and then at the end of the race/game, you had the Hoppers claiming the victory at the wire, Hoppers take it, 9-6, over the LWD BlueClaws….

Dustin Beggs(7-5) gives up three home runs in each of his last two outings(3 HR’s on July 3 and again, 3 HR’s today, on July 10), but he came back out and got the win on Monday, at FNB Field….

On the offensive side of the track/field you had Dalton Wheat going 2-3 with 2 Doubles…Justin Twine goes 2-3/Triple, with 3 Runs and 3 RBI…..Corey Bird went 2-3 with a Double/2 Runs and an RBI..Aaron Knapp goes 3-4 with an RBI…James Nelson goes 2-5/Double/2 RBI, now with 40 RBI on the season….Colby Lusignan and Eric Guiterrez were both 1-4 with runs scored….Jarrett Rindfleisch went 1-3 with an RBI and run scored and Luis Pintor finished 1-2, with a run and an RBI….

Kyle Keller with the Hold(1) and Reilly Hovis(Save #2 on the season) were tough horses out of the bullpen, giving up 0 runs on two hits, with Keller and Hovis each working one inning in relief, to close the game for skipper Todd Pratt and pitching coach Mark DeFelice…Keller locked down the 8th inning and Hovis the 9th, to help give the home team the split in the four-game series with LWD, as the Friday-Monday games closed at 2-2/two games a-piece….

The season series now stands at (7-11) for the Hoppers vs. Lakewood and the two teams will see each other again, when LWD heads back to Greensboro for a three-game set, on July 31-August 2….The Hoppers have an off-day on Tuesday/tomorrow and hit the road for three games in Columbia, South Carolina beginning on Wednesday and then it is on to West Virginia, for three games starting on Saturday(July 15)….

MLB Home Derby tonight(Monday) with former Hopper Giancarlo Stanton on to defend his 2016 title and the MLB All-Star Game is coming up on Tuesday/tomorrow, with Marcell Ozuna staring in the OF for the NL and Stanton ready to enter the game and cover the outfield, as a reserve, at the Miami Marlins home field, Marlins Park, in Miami Florida…..

Final score from Monday’s South Atlantic League baseball game at First National Bank Field:
Greensboro Grasshoppers 9, Lakewood BlueClaws 6
WP:Dustin Beggs(7-5)/Hold:Kyle Keller(1)/SV:Reilly Hovis(2)/LP:Addison Russ(0-1)
Hoppers’ Line:9-15-0
Claws’ Line:6-10-2
GSO record(45-40/8-9)/LWD record(48-41/8-11)

Box Score courtesy of the South Atlantic League:

            1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9			R	H	E
Lakewood    0	0	0	0	5	0	1	0	0			6	12	1
Greensboro  0	1	1	2	1	2	2	0	X			9	15	0

W: Beggs (7-5, 3.49) ; L: Russ (0-1, 4.50) ; SV: Hovis (2)
HR: LWD: Cabral (2) , Gamboa (2) , Alastre (1) .
Game Story: Lakewood

Lakewood BlueClaws

Player	                Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG*
Arquimedes Gamboa	SS	5	1	1	0	0	1	2	0	0	.222
Raul Rivas	        2B	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.266
Mickey Moniak	        CF	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.267
Darick Hall	        1B	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.273
Edgar Cabral	        C	4	1	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	.255
Henri Lartigue	        DH	4	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.270
David Martinelli	LF	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.244
Luke Williams	        3B	4	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	.229
Jesus Alastre	        RF	4	2	3	1	0	1	3	0	1	.417
Totals	                        37	6	12	2	0	3	6	0	3	.248

BATTING
2B: Williams (12, Beggs); Alastre (2, Beggs).
HR: Cabral (2, 5th inning off Beggs, 0 on, 1 out); Gamboa (2, 5th inning off Beggs, 1 on, 2 out); Alastre (1, 7th inning off Beggs, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Williams 3; Alastre 7; Martinelli; Cabral 5; Rivas; Lartigue 2; Gamboa 4.
RBI: Cabral (14); Alastre 3 (3); Gamboa 2 (11).
2-out RBI: Alastre 2; Gamboa 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Gamboa.
GIDP: Lartigue.
Team RISP: 2-for-3.
Team LOB: 4.

BASERUNNING
PO: Martinelli (1st base by Beggs).

FIELDING
E: Hall (5, pickoff).
Outfield assists: Moniak (Pintor at home); Alastre (Knapp at home).
DP: 3 (Gamboa-Rivas-Hall; Moniak-Cabral; Williams-Rivas-Hall).

Greensboro Grasshoppers

Player	        Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
Corey Bird	LF	3	2	2	1	0	0	1	0	0	.290
Aaron Knapp	CF	4	0	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	.243
James Nelson	3B	5	0	2	1	0	0	2	0	1	.317
Colby Lusignan	1B	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.247
Eric Gutierrez	DH	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.291
Dalton Wheat	RF	3	1	2	2	0	0	0	1	0	.250
Justin Twine	2B	3	2	2	0	1	0	3	0	0	.177
J Rindfleisch	C	3	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	.238
Luis Pintor	SS	2	1	1	0	0	0	1	1	1	.215
Totals	               31	9	15	4	1	0	9	3	4	.249

BATTING
2B: Wheat 2 (6, Falter, Russ); Bird (12, Falter); Nelson (20, Russ).
3B: Twine (4, Hallead).
TB: Pintor; Bird 3; Rindfleisch; Nelson 3; Wheat 4; Twine 4; Lusignan; Knapp 3; Gutierrez.
RBI: Twine 3 (29); Nelson 2 (41); Pintor (34); Bird (27); Knapp (28); Rindfleisch (24).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Lusignan; Wheat; Rindfleisch; Gutierrez.
SAC: Knapp; Bird.
SF: Twine; Bird; Rindfleisch.
GIDP: Nelson; Bird.
Team RISP: 4-for-14.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
SB: Bird (19, 3rd base off Russ/Cabral); Knapp (23, 2nd base off Russ/Cabral).

FIELDING
DP: (Pintor-Lusignan).
Pickoffs: Beggs (Martinelli at 1st base).

Lakewood BlueClaws

Player	                IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA*
Bailey Falter	        4.0	10	4	4	1	1	0	3.53
Addison Russ (L, 0-1)	2.0	4	3	3	1	1	0	4.50
Tyler Hallead	        1.0	1	2	2	1	0	0	5.66
Trevor Bettencourt	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	3.28
Totals	                8.0	15	9	9	3	4	0	3.24

Greensboro Grasshoppers

Player	                IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Dustin Beggs (W, 7-5)	7.0	10	6	6	0	2	3	3.49
Kyle Keller (H, 1)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2.78
Reilly Hovis (S, 2)	1.0	2	0	0	0	0	0	3.29
Totals	                9.0	12	6	6	0	3	3	3.90

Game Scores: Falter 31; Beggs 28.
HBP: Pintor (by Hallead).
Pitches-strikes: Falter 64-42; Russ 31-21; Hallead 18-10; Bettencourt 11-7; Beggs 86-62; Keller 10-7; Hovis 22-13.
Groundouts-flyouts: Falter 5-3; Russ 3-2; Hallead 1-1; Bettencourt 0-1; Beggs 11-6; Keller 1-1; Hovis 3-0.
Batters faced: Falter 21; Russ 11; Hallead 5; Bettencourt 3; Beggs 29; Keller 3; Hovis 5.
Umpires: HP: Sam Burch. 1B: Zach Neff.
Weather: 87 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 5 mph, In from LF.
First pitch: 12:01 PM.
T: 2:31.
Att: 3,781.
Venue: First National Bank Field.
July 10, 2017

Offense carries the day for Hoppers
from Bill Hass with Bill on Baseball at www.gsohoppers.com

Day games typically lead to a lot of hits and runs.

And that scenario played out Monday at First National Bank Field as the Hoppers out-slugged Lakewood 9–6. The teams combined for 27 hits (15 by the Hoppers) to go with their 15 runs.

“It was a typical Greensboro day game, a hitters’ day,” said manager Todd Pratt. “The ball was flying and the hitters must have seen it good.”
(Full disclosure: I wasn’t able to be at the game, so I talked to Pratt by telephone afterwards.)

The Hoppers gained a split in the four-game series. They have the day off Tuesday (pitchers will have a morning workout) and set out for a three-game series at Columbia starting Wednesday and four games at West Virginia after that.

It will be the first and only series of the season against the Fireflies, who are now minus the promoted Tim Tebow. They also had some pitchers called up.

“Neither team knows each other, and that’s refreshing,” Pratt said.

The Hoppers had a heavy dose of Hagerstown and Lakewood to start the second half. Thirteen of the 17 games they have played so far, en route to an 8–9 record, have been against those two teams. They’re through with the Suns for the season but still face the BlueClaws three more games.

The Hoppers rebounded from losing the middle two games of the series, including a 4–0 shutout Sunday.

“We couldn’t get anything going in that game,” Pratt said, “but they weren’t going to lose today.”

After jumping to a 4–0 lead, the Hoppers fell behind when Lakewood scored five runs in the top of the fifth inning. But Greensboro tied it in the bottom of the fifth, took the lead for good in the sixth and tacked on two more runs in the seventh.

Starter Dustin Beggs survived a rough fifth inning and went on to pitch seven innings to pick up his seventh victory.
“His pitch count was still low and we had confidence in him,” Pratt said. “You have to credit (catcher) Jarett Rindfleisch for giving him confidence and picking up his spirits in the dugout.”

Kyle Keller pitched a shutout eighth and Reilly Hovis notched his second save, pitching around a couple of hits in the ninth innings.

On offense, the Hoppers didn’t homer but had four doubles?—?two by Dalton Wheat?—?and a triple. Justin Twine had the two-run triple and along with a single and a sacrifice fly. Aaron Knapp had three hits, James Nelson added two hits with two RBIs and Corey Bird had two hits and scored twice.

The Hoppers return home on July 19 to begin a seven-game home stand against Greenville and Asheville.

NOTES: As expected, left-hander Miguel del Pozo was promoted to Jupiter … Pratt said the Hoppers will get another pitcher when they arrive in Columbia, but he didn’t know who it would be.