“Homer-Fest” at First National Bank Field on Thursday night:He who Homers last wins game(Walk-Off Hopper Homer by Chase Murray wins it)

It was all about the home runs on Thursday night at First National Bank Field…It was like a “Homer-Fest” at the ballpark on this evening…

They could have given you a ‘homer-sheet’, instead of a score sheet when you walked into the stadium, and you still wouldn’t have been able to keep….

The balls were leaving the ballyard, like they were being shot out of ‘T-shirt gun…The Winston-Salem Dash grabbed the early lead in this game, going up 2-0 on back-to-back homers, by Lenyn Sosa and Yoelqui Cespedes in the bottom of the third inning…Two-nothing Dash on the two solo HR’s…

The Dash tacked on another solo home run from Alex Destino, and this was his first of a three homer night, and with the Destino shot, Winston-Salem took a 3-zip lead, in the top of the sixth inning…Three homers for the WS Dash already, and they are on their way to a strong offensive night….

But, here come the Greensboro Grasshoppers in the bottom of the sixth frame, with a Hopper Homer of their own, as Liover Peguero connected for his seventh home run of the season, a solo bird to left field…That 3-0 WS Dash lead had been cut to 3-1, as the Hoppers were on the board for the first time tonight….

We hit the top of the seventh inning and here come the Dash(and on this night maybe the Smash), as Alex Destino hooks up for his second home run of the game, this time a two-run blast to left, and that leaves score now at, Dash 5, Hoppers 1…

The Grasshoppers get a little scratch of their own in the bottom of seventh inning, when Andres Alvarez smacks his first Hopper homer of the 2021 season…Scoreboard now shows Dash 5, Hoppers 2….

And this game is just getting started good….Evan Skoug, the Dash’ catcher, says ‘count me in on the Homer-Fest”, as Skoug plows a long-ball into right field and he scores Brandon Bossard right in front of him, so a two-run long ball from Skoug, and the Dash extend their lead to 7-2 over the Greensboro Grasshoppers, with the Dash completing their work, in the top of the eighth inning…

Looks like the Hoppers are dead in the water, but here comes BIG Will Matthiessen, and he lays his big hands on his bat and sends a long hit baseball into the outer reaches of left field for a three-run Hopper Homer, and Will’s work was preceded by a solo homer from the Hops’ Blake Sabol in this wild eighth inning….Wild because the Hoppers had trailed 7-2 entering the bottom of the eighth, and now with the solo HR from Sabol, and the three-run long-goner from BIG Will, the Hoppers ended up scoring five runs in the bottom of the eighth, and this wild and crazy Homer-Fest is now tied at 7-7…..

We go to the top of the ninth inning and the Dash call on their “Mr. Homer” of the evening, Alex Destino, and he comes up with his third HR of the game, this time a solo home run launched over the top of the video scoreboard in right field, and on into the parking deck across the street(Eugene Street)…..Well, with their sixth home run of the “Homer-Fest”, the Dash move back in front in this game, 8-7….

Remember, the Dash won Wednesday night’s game, 9-8….And we are about to see another 9-8 finish….Remember earlier we told you that he that homers last wins the game???

We we take you to the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Greensboro Hoppers are headed to the plate, and remember, they are trailing the WS Dash, 8-7…

Well, like we said, he who homers last will win this game, and after the Grasshoppers were able to come up with a lead-off double by Matt Gorski, up to plate comes reserve outfielder Chase Murray, and he is about to chase the WS Dash pitcher Ryan Williamson(N.C State) from the game, and the whole/entire stadium will really not be able to totally take in what they see next…

Guess what? Murray comes up and does what both teams had been doing best all night, Murray hits one long, and not all that deep, but deep enough to leave the yard at the 315 mark in left field, and with that smooth swing of the bat, Chase Murray has ended this Thursday Night Hopper-Fest, with another Hopper Homer, to win the baseball game….Not an overpowering swing, just a smooth, steady swing, that sent the Game-Winning home run out of the ballyard, and the Hoppers win again, 9-8, over the Winston-Salem Dash…

You remember the old Murphy’s Law from years ago, that said that anything that can go wrong, is going to go wrong, but do you remember the old Murray’s Law??? He who homers last, wins the game…..9-8 Dash on Wednesday, 9-8 Hoppers on Thursday, and now the Greensboro Grasshoppers lead this fifteen game season-series, 8-7….

Just had to write a little something extra about this one, it was one heck of a dramatic game….Not much pitching, but plenty of home run hitting…

Dash’ Homers:Sosa, Cespedes, Skoug, and Destino with 3 HR’s…Grasshoppers’ homers:Peguero, Alvarez, Sabol, Matthiessen, Murray(with the Walk-off Game-Winner)…..

Let’s put the wrap on this one…..
Final:Greensboro Grasshoppers 9, Winston-Salem Dash 8
WP:Will Kobos(5-2)
LP:Ryan Williamson(1-3)

Hoppers(46-29)/Dash(30-45)

Hoppers' line:9-14-1
Dash' line:   8-11-0 

Hoppers’ hitters:Matt Frazier 2-4/BB…Nick Gonzalez 2-4/BB…Jared Triolo 2-5/RBI…Blake Sabol 2-3/2 BB/HR…Liover Peguero 1-5/HR…Matt Gorski 1-4/Double/HBP/2 Runs…Chase Murray 2-5/2 Runs/HR/Game-Winning Walk-off Home Run…Will Matthiessen 1-4/HR/3 RBI…Andres Alvarez 1-4/HR….

Attendance:4,582
Time of Game/TOG-3:15

Next up:WS Dash(30-45) at Greensboro Grasshoppers(46-29) on Friday night, at First National Bank Field, in downtown Greensboro…First pitch at First National, at 6:30pm…Quinn Priester(RHP) for the Hoppers, and Dan Metzdorf(LHP) for the Dash….
If you get a chance you really need to come out, and check out one of these games…There is some good drama and karma developing between the Hoppers and the Dash…If you can’t make out to the game be sure to LISTEN LIVE HERE….Be sure to follow the Hoppers all season long at GSOHoppers.com and look for the Jeff Mills game reports after each and every Hoppers game….