In one inning, Greensboro Grasshopper Will Matthiessen becomes a Greensboro Baseball Legend:Hoppers over ‘Dads, 15-14, in 12 Innings on Friday night

Will Matthiessen, a first baseman for the Greensboro Grasshoppers became a Greensboro baseball legend on Friday night, and he did it in just one inning of action…How many times in a minor league baseball game, have you seen the pitcher hit a Walk-Off Grand Slam Home Run to win the baseball game???

That’s what Will Matthiessen did late Friday night, at First National Bank Field…”Big” Will came on to pitch for the Hoppers in the top of inning number twelve on Friday night/nearly early Saturday morning, and he proceeded to give up six runs to the Hickory Crawdads, to allow the ‘Dads to grab a 14-8 lead over the Grasshoppers, as the game moved to the bottom of the 12th inning….Matthiessen, a regular first baseman, was called on by the team, as the Hoppers were running out of pitching..Infielder Andres Alvarez had thrown/pitched the 11th inning, and did all he could to limit the Hickory hitters, but he gave up three runs, and Hickory had moved in front, 8-5, after ten and a half-innings, but the Hoppers tied the game up 8-8, in the bottom of the 11th inning…

And then “Big” Will Matthiessen gets the call/ball to work/pitch the 12th inning for the Grasshoppers…Matthiessen gave up those 6 Hickory runs to push the ‘Dads in front, 14-8….The ‘Dads scored six runs on four hits vs. Will Matthiessen, and he also walked one batter…Ezequiel Duran crushed a three-run homer of of Matthiessen..

It was 14-8 Hickory, going to the bottom of the 12th inning…..In the bottom of the 12th, it looked to be over for the Hoppers, down by six big runs…But, there was some magic left in the house, that First National Bank built…Liover Peguero starts out as the runner at second base for the Hoppers….The first Hopper batter up, Nick Gonzales, pops up to the ‘Dads first baseman, and there’s one out…Jared Triolo singles on a line drive to center field, and Peguero scores…HIC 14, GSO 9…The next batter, Chase Murray, is called out on strikes, and now there are two outs..Down 14-9, in the bottom of the 12th inning, and two outs…
(It must be over.)

But, that’s when the fun really begins…Aaron Shackleford singles on a line drive to right field…Blake Sabol singles on a ground ball to left field, that scores Jared Triolo, and now the score reads, HIC 14, GSO 10…Aaron Shackleford has moved to second base, with Sabol at first…On his first base hit of the season for the Hoppers, Jonah Davis sends a line drive into right/center field, and that will score Shackleford, making the score, HIC 14, GSO 11…Next up for the Hoppers, Grant Koch walks, to load the bases….Sabol, at third base, Jonah Davis at second, and Koch on at first base…

Now up to the plate comes the new ‘Greensboro Baseball Legend’….Will Matthiessen is up at the plate with the bases loaded, and there are two outs, in the bottom of the 12th inning…And what does “Big” Will do???? He falls behind in the count, and he is one out away from walking out of the stadium as the losing pitcher, and the man that did not come through in the clutch…

But then, “Big” Will turns on a Nic Laio 1-2 pitch, and drills the ball to deep right field, and it is going LONG GONE…Another Hopper homer, and a new Hopper hero….A Grand Slam HR, with two outs, and the count at 1-2, and Matthiessen turns this into a Walk-Off home run, that sends the Hopper players and the crowd into pure pandemonium…

A Grand Slam Walk-Off home run, by the pitcher, creating one of the wildest and craziest baseball game endings, in Greensboro Baseball History….This will be talked about for many seasons, and years to come…I have never seen one like that before, with the Winning Pitcher, getting a Walk-Off Grand Slam to end the game….You don’t, and you won’t see that every day…

Some kind of crazy finish on Friday night, at First National Bank Field…

Final score:
Greensboro Grasshoppers 15, Hickory Crawdads 14 12 Innings
WP:Will Matthiessen(1-0)
LP:Nic Laio(0-1)

Hoppers(51-31)/’Dads(37-45)

Hoppers' line: 15-11-3
Crawdads' line:14-17-0

Attendance:5,150
Time of Game/TOG-5:04

The Hickory Crawdads’ catcher, David Garcia, was injured while catching for the ‘Dads on Friday night….He took hard ball to his body, and he was laid out the ground for around 10-15 minutes….It looked like he was in severe pain…..He was finally able to sit up, and he was taken off of the field on a stretcher…Hope he is doing OK, and our thoughts and prayers go out to him this morning…

The ‘Dads led most of the game, 2-0, and then Jared Triolo came up with a big home run to left field to cut that lead in half, in the bottom of the seventh inning….Later the Hoppers would go ahead in the game, 3-2, but the ‘Dads got a run in the ninth, to tie the the game and send it into extra innings, at 3-3…That is when the game turned into one of the wildest and craziest games, but also one of the most enjoyable games that you will ever see….

The same two teams will do it all over again, on Saturday evening, at 6:32pm…..