Hobbs Daily Report.com
CRAWDADS SCHEDULE
(Remaining regular-season games)
Tuesday-Thursday: at Delmarva, Md.
Friday-Sunday: Columbia, S.C.
Aug. 29-31: at Charleston, S.C.
Sept. 1-4: Greensboro
GREENSBORO – The Hickory Crawdads are again alone at the top of the South Atlantic League (SAL) Northern Division standings with 13 games to go in the regular season.
With Charles Leblanc and Anderson Tejeda hitting home runs and Alex Kowalczyk going 3-for-3, the visiting Crawdads nipped Greensboro 5-2 to break a tie atop the Northern Division standings.
Hickory (60-67, 33-24) is a game up on the Grasshoppers (68-55, 31-24), and the Crawdads’ lead over Hagerstown (Md.) and West Virginia widened to three games after those teams lost on Monday. Kannapolis beat Hagerstown 4-2 and Greenville (S.C.) nipped West Virginia 8-7.
SANMARTIN
The Crawdads open a three-game series in Delmarva (Md.) on Tuesday night before coming home to play Columbia (S.C.) on Friday through Sunday at L.P. Frans Stadium.
Leblanc’s home run in the first inning — a solo shot that was his fourth of the season — gave Hickory an early 1-0 lead in a game that began Monday at 1:13 p.m. in anticipation of a full eclipse. The game drew 6,756 and was played in 91-degree temperatures.
Greensboro took a 2-1 lead with two runs in the bottom of the second inning when Rony Cabrera singled in a run and a wild pitch by Crawdads starter Reiver Sanmartin scored the other run.
Still down 2-1 entering the fifth inning, Hickory scored twice to gain the lead for good. Leblanc walked and scored on Tejeda’s home run, his seventh of the season.
In the sixth inning, Leody Taveras singled and stole second before the Crawdads scored runs on a groundball out and Leblanc’s single to lead 5-2.
Sanmartin (4-0) threw six innings, giving up seven hits. He allowed two runs (both earned), walked one and struck out five. C.D. Pelham, throwing strikes on nine of his 11 pitches, picked up his 11th save. He struck out two and pitched an inning.
Brandon Miller (0-3) took the loss, going 5 2/3 innings. He gave up seven hits, five runs (all earned) and walked three.
Hickory had 11 hits and Greensboro had eight, led by two each by Brian Miller and Cabrera.
The Crawdads’ games in Delmarva begin each of the next three nights at 7:05 p.m.
Game times for the homestand against Columbia (S.C.) are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m.
Next week, Hickory is off on Monday, on the road at Charleston (S.C.) for three games and back home on Sept. 1 to start the final regular season series (four games) against Greensboro.
For Monday’s boxscore, click on the link below.
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2017_08_21_hicafx_gboafx_1&t=g_box&did=milb&sid=t448