ZEBULON, NC – The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers split a doubleheader on Wednesday with the Carolina Mudcats, opening their 12-game road trip.
A continuing theme between both games was the mist. It was something that hindered the teams, occurring sporadically throughout the day at Five County Stadium.
GAME ONE
Andrew Dalquist took to the bump for the Cannon Ballers and was on point. The California native was able to attack with his fastball, blowing it by the Mudcats batters with ease. He told me the plan was to utilize the fastball, which topped out at 97 MPH today, and create contact early in at-bats.
Dalquist had a minor blemish on his day in the third inning. He allowed a triple to the Mudcats’ Gabe Holt, who scored on a sac fly the following at-bat. Aside from that, Dalquist had a strong performance with a season-high eight strikeouts across 4.2 innings of work.
The flashes of brilliance have been there for Dalquist and the intangibles translate well for his game. His off-speed wasn’t predominant today, but it didn’t need to be with how effective the heater was. If Dalquist can keep this level of performance up, he will solidify his top-five prospect status.
On the offensive side of the ball, five Cannon Ballers collected a hit including Chase Krogman, who singled in Caberea Weaver to get Kannapolis on the board in the second inning.
Jose Rodriguez picked up yet another multi-hit contest with a double, single and run scored. Rodriguez scored on a Harvin Mendoza single in the third frame. That game-deciding play scored Samil Polanco and pushed the lead to 3-1 for Kannapolis. Rodriguez knocking hits off the Mudcats was a theme for today.
With the lead in hand, Yoelvin Silven was tasked to close out the game in a two-plus inning outing. Despite allowing a double in the sixth and a triple in the seventh, Silven closed the door on the Mudcats for the game one win. A rare closeout win for the Cannon Ballers, who had been reluctant to rely on their bullpen with numerous games lost by the pen.
GAME TWO
The offense contributed early once again for Kannapolis in game two. In the first frame, Bryan Ramos doubled in Rodriguez to push across the opening run of the contest. The second inning saw James Beard ground into a force out that scored Weaver. In both contests, the Cannon Ballers were aggressive early and it paid off in the short run.
Martin Carrasco was handed the ball for the night cap and started off strong with two strikeouts in the opening frame. Unfortunately, that form didn’t roll over into the second as the Mudcats put two runs on the board from a Joey Wiemer double and Andre Nnnebe triple.
With the contest knotted at two, Carrasco surrendered a third run on a sac fly. Carrasco handed the pitching duties over to Jesues Valles, who threw two innings of one-hit baseball and kept the Mudcats offense at bay.
The Ballers were down 3-2 and it was rally time late in the seven inning contest. A pair of singles from Rodriguez and Ramos, who both collected multi-hit games in the nightcap, had them on second and third base with Mendoza up at the plate. Rodriguez’ seven-hit day extended his Low-A east leading hit total to 92, five clear of the next closest hitter.
The first baseman came up clutch in game one, but couldn’t follow up by striking out to end the comeback a run short.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
The Cannon Ballers offense had a productive day. They outhit the Mudcats at 16-to-10 comparison and had runners in scoring position for eight of the fourteen innings played today. It wasn’t a matter of having chances, it was a matter of executing that held Kannapolis back from being even more productive.
The pitching will come with time as they continue to fill holes in the rotation and bullpen behind the departures of Chase Solesky and Sammy Peralta to High-A Winston-Salem. Carrasco is better setup as a reliever and days like today make that apparent.
Overall, Kannapolis looked a lot more competitive this time against the Mudcats than their previous series in July, which saw Kannapolis get swept and dismantled across the six games at home. This is a step in the right direction for the Cannon Ballers as they have struggled mightily against them all year.
Looking forward to Thursday’s contest, look for Angel Acevedo to take to the mound for Kannapolis as they look to regain control of this series in Zebulon.
Photo credit: Michael Guariglia/FutureSox
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