Dash vs. Hudson Valley: Game #69 Preview
Winston-Salem Dash (35–33) vs. Hudson Valley Renegades (34–34)
Sunday, June 26–1 p.m.
Truist Stadium (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Game 68 Recap
Winston-Salem managed another come-from-behind win, taking down Hudson Valley 6–3.
The Dash plated a run in the bottom of the first inning, which began with a Colson Montgomery single. Oscar Colas laced a single right after Montgomery, with Montgomery advancing to third base. Luis Mieses then singled as well to score Colson Montgomery, and Winston-Salem grabbed a 1–0 lead.
Neither side scored in the second, but Hudson Valley was able to string some hits together in the top of the third.
Trey Sweeney picked up a one-out single, then later Eric Wagaman walked. The Renegades then executed a successful double steal to put Sweeney on third base and Wagaman on second. With two runners in scoring position, James Nelson smoked a single into centerfield to score both runs and put the Renegades ahead 2–1.
Hudson Valley pushed their lead to 3–1 in the top of the fourth inning, thanks to Aaron Palensky’s seventh homer of the year, a solo shot to left-center field.
Duke Ellis opened up the home half of the fifth with a single, before advancing to second on a fielder’s choice. Oscar Colas then singled once again to score Ellis, trimming the deficit to 3–2.
In the bottom of the sixth, Ben Norman drew a one-out walk for the Dash. Brandon Bossard singled after Norman, then Jason Matthews reached on an infield single to load the bases. Up next was Duke Ellis, who worked the count full, then drew a walk to force Norman home to tie the game at 3–3. Then, Colson Montgomery jumped on a first-pitch fastball and punched it into left field. All runners advanced a base, with Bossard scoring to put the Dash ahead 4–3.
With the Dash up a run now, Tyler Osik got hit by a pitch to begin the seventh inning. Then, Harvin Mendoza singled and Osik went first to third. Next up was Ben Norman, and he scorched a double into center field to score Osik, and push Mendoza to third base. Jason Matthews was able to plate Mendoza later in the frame, on a sacrifice fly to give Winston-Salem a 6–3 edge.
Luis Amaya took the mound for the ninth inning. He allowed a leadoff single, before a groundout and a 1–4–3 double play to end the game. Amaya got the save, with Everett Hazelwood grabbing the win.
WELCOME TO THE 336, COLSON
Friday night, Colson Montgomery made his Winston-Salem Dash debut, and he made the most of it. After lining out in his first at-bat, Montgomery launched a solo home run to right field to start off the bottom of the fourth for Winston-Salem and tying the game at one. He would end up finishing his debut going 2-for-4. On Saturday, he was just as effective, going 2-for-5 with two singles and an RBI. With the consecutive nights getting on-base, he’s now extended his on-base streak to 34 games.
DUKE DIGGIN’
Duke Ellis has been consistent all year in showing off his contact and speed. On the basepaths, Ellis has been a terror, as he’s third place in the South Atlantic League in both runs and stolen bases with 47 and 27, respectively. Meanwhile, from the batter’s box, he’s got on base reliably as he’s ninth place in batting average in the league with a .300 average.
WINSTON TOWER POWER
Luis Mieses and Bryan Ramos have been two of the most effective hitters in the South Atlantic League when playing at home. Mieses is tied for the league lead in RBIs with 30 while Ramos is tied for fourth with 27. Ramos has also hit the ball out of Truist Stadium six times this year, tied for the tenth-best mark in the league.
HOME COOKING
In their last 17 games at home, the Dash have been dominant, going 12–5. Winston-Salem took five out of the six games against Greenville before narrowly winning their series, four games to two, against their I-40 rivals, the Greensboro Grasshoppers. So far through four games against Hudson Valley, they’ve split the series. With a game to go in the Hudson Valley series, they can improve that home record 13–5 before their road trip to Aberdeen.
DALQUIST DEALING ON SUNDAY
Andrew Dalquist will make his second start of the Hudson Valley series on Sunday after pitching in the series opener on Tuesday in what was a 7–3 win. Although Dalquist allowed three runs in the 5.1 innings he pitched, he set a season-high in strikeouts with seven and walked just one batter, getting his third win of the year.
First pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m.
