L.P. Frans Stadium was home to an impromptu home run derby Tuesday afternoon, as the Hickory Crawdads and Savannah Sand Gnats combined for eight home runs. Unfortunately for the 'Dads, their season high five solo homers weren't enough to win as they fell to the Gnats 9-6 in front of 2,662 fans.
The dingers came early and often from both clubs, with Savannah center fielder Eudy Pina hitting a solo blast to right to lead off the game and put the Gnats up 1-0. Wasting no time of their own, Hickory answered with back-to-back solo homers by Ryan Rua and Jorge Alfaro in the second to take a 2-1 advantage.
The back-and-forth contest would swing again in the third when Pina hit his second long ball of the game. The 2-run dinger was part of a three run third for Savannah to put them ahead 4-2. Both teams would pick up non-home run tallies in the bottom of the third and top of the 4th respectively, before Alfaro hit another solo shot over the batter's eye in center field in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 5-4 Gnats.
The 'Dads completed the comeback in the fifth with yet another dinger, this time from center fielder Lewis Brinson. His solo homer tied the game at 5-5.
That would be the last tie of the game however, as the Sand Gnats scored once in the sixth and three more times in the seventh to go ahead 9-5. The three, seventh inning runs were all unearned due to two 'Dads errors, but Savannah shortstop Phillip Evans did hit a 2-run blast in the frame to give the Gnats their third long ball.
Hickory would pick up their fifth homer and sixth run in the eighth when Jordan Akins joined the home run club with a blast to left-center to cut the deficit to 9-6.
The 'Dads tried to post one last rally in the ninth when Akins came up representing the tying run with two on and two out, but the right fielder struck out looking on a 3-2 outside fastball to end the game.
Alfaro led the Crawdads offense going 2-3 with 2 HR and a walk, while Brinson finished the afternoon going 2-5 with his HR and a double.
Pina paced the Gnats with a 3-5 game complete with 2 HR and a double, while Evans finished 3-4 with a HR and four runs scored.
Savannah starting pitcher Gabriel Ynoa (4-2) earned the win despite allowing five runs on eight hits over his five innings of work. Hickory reliever Jose Leclerc (0-2) took the loss after giving up two runs, one earned, over 1.2 innings of work. Bret Mitchell (4) picked up the save with his shaky ninth inning.
With the loss the Crawdads (18-13) and Sand Gnats (19-11) split their 4-game series from L.P. Frans. The 'Dads have an off day on Wednesday before starting a 4-game series in Charleston against the RiverDogs on Thursday at 7:05 pm.
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