KANNAPOLIS, NC — The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers couldn’t avoid the sweep against the Down East Wood Ducks, losing 9-2 on Mother’s Day Sunday.
Rodriguez stays hot at the plate
Infield prospect Jose Rodriguez had himself a solid day at the plate, picking up three hits in his five plate appearances. His opening hit in the first inning helped put the Cannon Ballers on the board as he legged out a triple, scoring on a Bryan Ramos sac fly. The young shortstop would go on to knock two singles in the seventh and ninth innings.
Rodriguez has an impressive slash line of .407/.429/.630 while recording his fourth multi-hit contest of 2021. He certainly has been a bright spot for the Cannon Ballers to open the year and it will be interesting if his bat can stay hot.
Dalquist returns to mound
Andrew Dalquist took to the mound for his second start of 2021, looking to improve upon what was a dismal Opening Night for him. He opened the game with a walk but settled in after that, retiring the next four batters. Retiring four batters in a row meant he made it to the second inning, something he didn’t accomplish in his first start while on a pitch count limit.
The 20-year-old righty showed much more control with his slider, utilizing that effective to put hitters away. His fastball was a different story, struggling when placing it up in the zone. The two walks he surrendered in the second came from that pitch, leading to a bases-loaded jam. Manager Guillermo Quiroz had enough, again with Dalquist’s pitch count being limited, and Dalquist’s day was done. In relief to pitch was Jeremiah Burke, who surrendered one run in the second, getting Kannapolis out of the jam, tied 1-1.
THE 3RD AND 4TH INNING
Both teams had put a run on the board early in a tight battle early. Then the third and fourth innings happened.
Burke trotted back to the mound for the third and opened allowing the first three batters to reach base. That scored a run and an Antonio Cabello sac fly put the Wood Ducks up 3-1. A subsequent walk and single scored another Woodies run, extending the lead to 4-1. Unlike his first outing, Burke had troubles staying ahead in the count, making it hard to be effective. The righty was able to get the final out of the inning with a strikeout.
Nothing came to fruition for the Cannon Ballers in the bottom of the 3rd despite singles from Bryan Ramos and DJ Gladney. Burke returned to the mound for the fourth inning and it went about the same as the third. He surrendered a double and walk to open the frame and his rough outing came to an end. The final stat line isn’t pretty: 1.1 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K.
Southpaw Sammy Peralta came to follow on the mound. Then came a single, a hit-by-pitch, walk, and sac fly. That sequence scored three more runs for the Wood Ducks, extending their lead further to 7-1. To make matters worse, the Cannon Ballers hitters struck out swinging 1-2-3 to end the fourth.
After being tied a 1-1 at the end of the second, the Cannon Ballers fell in an insurmountable hole by the time the fifth inning rolled around.
Offense surges, falls short
By time the bottom of the seventh came, the Ballers were down 9-1. Kannapolis was held in check for the better part of the game, but the bats did string together solid attacks late. AJ Gill, who blasted a 3-run home run in last night’s contest, came in as a replacement for Cabera Weaver. Weaver left the game following an awkward landing trying to haul in a flyball.
Gill got the party started with a single, followed by Rodriguez’s second hit of the night. A Ramos walk loaded the bases, with two outs in the inning, for Gladney. A chopping ground out to the pitcher was all the third baseman could muster, ending the inning and leaving the bases loaded.
The eighth was led off loudly by Sam Abbott with his first home run of 2021, getting Kannapolis back on the board at 9-2. This was big for Abbott who has had a so-so start to the year, accumulating three hits and nine strikeouts across 13 at-bats prior to today.
The Ballers moved to the ninth and had some momentum with runners on 1st and 2nd, but couldn’t push runs across the board, ending the game 9-2 in favor of the Wood Ducks.
Notables
The Cannon Ballers had their injury woes continue as Weaver and Ivan Gonzalez both left the game with apparent injuries to the leg and arm, respectively. These early injuries are something to be monitored as Chase Krogman was already on IL with a fractured hamate bone.
The injury of Krogman saw Johnabiell Laureano make his Cannon Ballers debut yesterday. He made his second start at A-ball on Sunday, going 0-for-4 with a strike out and playing every outfield position as the team had to play musical chairs with replacements coming in and out.
On the road
The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers will be moving on the road next week, heading to face the Fayetteville Woodpeckers on Tuesday. Look for Jared Kelley to take the mound as Kannapolis looks to finally put something in the win column away from Atrium Health Ballpark.
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