RE/MAX Revolution Report:Courtesy of RE/MAX Revolution, the Top Real Estate Sales Team in the Triad…..
Final from Thursday night, at First National Bank Field:
Greensboro Grasshoppers 1, Wilmington Blue Rocks 0
WP:Grant Ford(3-0)/LP:Tyler Schoff(3-3)
Hoppers- 1-3-0 Blue Rocks-0-2-1
Greensboro Grasshoppers(29-23)
Wilmington Blue Rocks(25-28)
Sort of a crazy night at First National Bank Field on Thirsty Thursday, with the Greensboro Grasshoppers going with right-handed starting pitcher Thomas Harrington, from Sanford, N.C. and from Campbell University…The Wilmington Blue Rocks sent out their lefty, Andrew Alvarez, and between Harrington, who was making just his second start for the Hoppers, and Alvarez, this turned out to be one of those good old-fashioned pitcher’s duel…
Harrington went a super solid seven innings, and was as tough as nails out there on the hill giving up 0 runs, on just two hits, with 0 BB’s and 8 strikeouts…Harrington hit one rough spot in the fourth inning, when he gave up singles to the first two Blue Rock batters, Jacob Young and Jared McKenzie, but then he got out of this fix by inducing a double play ground ball from Will Frizell, and Harrington threw to second for one out, and then Escotto tossed the ball to first base to complete the double play…
We looked up at the scoreboard in the ninth inning, and there was nothing but goose eggs going across the run columns…Zero, after zero, after zero, with no runs to found anywhere…When Thomas Harrington left the game after his seven innings, Grant Ford came in and he continued to put up the zeros, just like Thomas did…Ford gave up No Wilmington runs, on No hits, with two walks and three strikeouts…The Rocks ended up with just two hits, those two singles in the fourth inning, and that was all they wrote…
For Wilmington, their man Andrew Alvarez went five innings, and he gave up 0 Runs, on just two hits, with three walks and nine strikeouts…Between Harrington of the Hoppers and Alvarez from the Rocks, those two pitchers were tearing the house down tonight…They were letting no runners enter the bank…The bank was closed by those two hurlers on Thursday evening, at FNB/First National Bank Field…
After Alvarez exited, the Rocks went with Diaz, Ruwe, and Zinn, and those three guys were equally impressive…The Hoppers were being held at bay, and being turned away, even when Greensboro loaded up the bases in the sixth inning, the Hoppers could not cross home plate…
But finally, in the bottom of the ninth inning, the leadoff man stepped to the plate for the Greensboro Grasshoppers and this batter, Will Matthiessen, was ready to face off with the new Rock pitcher, Tyler Schoff…The old saying goes, “If there is a Will, there is a Way”, and the Greensboro Grasshoppers got a Walk-Off Winner from Will…Matthiessen crushed the Schoff pitch to center field, and the smack by Matthiessen was LONG GONE….That sucker was LONG GONE, and the Greensboro Grasshoppers had another Walk-Off win on their hands…
With Will’s Game-Winner, the Hoppers have now topped Wilmington by one run on Tuesday, 2-1, then on Wednesday it was the 5-4 one-run Walk-Off Winner, and then here we are on Thursday, and it was another one-run win, with the Walk-Off Winner, by Will(Matthiessen), and it was 1-0 Hoppers on Thirsty Thursday….
Steak n Shake Players of the Game included the Hoppers’ Will Matthiessen, Thomas Harrington, and Grant Ford…Man, and it does get more crazy when you stop and think for a second, that the Hoppers’ pitchers threw a two-hitter in this contest, with the Rocks only coming up with those singles in the fourth inning, by Young and McKenzie…A wild win for the local boys at FNB Field….
What a way to take it home, at home tonight/Thursday night…
Game Details:
Attendance-4,601
Time of Game/TOG-2:11
Game Time Temp-79 degrees at 6:31pm
Up Next:
Wilmington Blue Rocks(25-28) at the Greensboro Grasshoppers(29-23) at First National Bank Field, with the first pitch set to come in at 6:30pm…On the hill for the Hoppers will be RHP Braxton Ashcraft, with the Rocks ready to go with their righty Andry Lara, on the bump….Fireworks on the schedule following the Friday Finish…