Crawdads 6, Gnats 1

A six-run second inning off starter Robert Carson was enough for the visiting Hickory Crawdads as they defeated the Gnats, 6-1, in front of 2,577 on Friday night at Grayson Stadium. Raul Reyes was 2-for-3 with a home run, his sixth of the season, for the Sand Gnats (11-11, 46-46).
The reigning South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week struggled early in Friday night’s ballgame with no help from the weather. The wind was gusting through the first two innings and it helped Hickory start its rally in the second. After Carson (7-7) struck out Miguel Alfonzo, Leury Garcia hit a ball to first base where Eric Campbell seemed to have a beat on it.
Gusting winds took the ball back toward the pitcher’s mound and out of the reach of Campbell as it fell on the mound for a single. The wet grounds came into play on the very next play as Andres James hit a high chopper back to the mound that Carson fielded but slipped going backward on the mound.

Hickory (14-7, 47-43) would go on to score six runs in the inning with a three-run home run by Erik Morrison dealing the devastating blow. The Hattiesburg, Miss. native lasted just 1.2 innings and allowed six runs on seven hits in his shortest outing of the season. Crawdads starter Neil Ramriez (2-2) allowed one run on two this with four strikeouts in six innings for his second win of the year.

Reyes had two of Savannah’s three hits in the game with Sean Ratliff picking up the other hit for the Gnats. The bullpen provided another bright spot for the Gnats as Tim Smith, John Church and Phillips Orta combined for 7.1 innings of scoreless relief.