Charleston RiverDogs (New York Yankees) (37-33, third place, South Atlantic League Southern Division)
Hickory Crawdads (Texas Rangers) (41-25, third place, South Atlantic League Northern Division)
The Hickory Crawdads start the second half of the season with a four-game series at L.P. Frans against the Charleston RiverDogs.
IF YOU PLAN TO GO:
WHERE IS IT?: 2500 Clement Blvd., 1 mile west of U.S. Hwy 321, near entrance to Hickory Airport.
GAME TIMES/ PROMOTIONS:
Thursday: Charleston at Hickory, 7:00 p.m. Thirsty Thursday, Riverdale Night (Dress as your favorite character and receive a ticket for $6)
Friday: Charleston at Hickory, 7:00 p.m. Postgame Fireworks, Disney Night featuring Elegance Princesses (VIP Meet and Greet tickets for $10)
Saturday: Charleston at Hickory, 7:00 p.m. Jon Reep Night, T-Shirt Giveaway (first 1,000 fans), Black’s Tire Customer Appreciation Night
Sunday: Charleston at Hickory, 5:00 p.m. Church Bulletin Sunday (Bring a church bulletin to the ticket office and receive a $6 ticket with $4 from each ticket donated back to the respective church), Hospitality Night (free ticket to hospitality/ service industry workers with valid work ID).
TICKETS: $9 tickets in advance, $10 at the gate. Children (12 and under) and seniors $8, $15 for VIP section.
PARKING: All parking is $3.
RECENT SERIES HISTORY:
Hickory took 2 of 3 from the RiverDogs during a home series back in May. The Crawdads are 33-25 against the Yankees affiliate at home since 2009, 59-50 overall.
PROBABLES (Charleston/ Hickory)
Thursday: RHP Harold Cortijo vs. RHP Tyree Thompson
Friday: RHP Luis Medina vs. LHP Tim Brennan
Saturday: TBD vs. RHP Yerry Rodriguez
Sunday: TBD vs. LHP Grant Wolfram/ RHP Hans Crouse
ABOUT HICKORY
The Crawdads finished off a solid first half with a four-game split at Delmarva (Md.) to cap a 4-3 road trip. Hickory wound up in third place in the Northern Division, but had the third-best record overall in the SAL.
Manager: Matt Hagen (2nd season)
Prospects – (team rankings are by MLB.com):
RHP Hans Crouse No.1 (No. 64 in top-100)
RHP Cole Winn No. 2 (No. 66 in top-100)
IF Jonathan Ornelas No. 18
3B Sherten Apostel No. 22
RHP Ronny Henriquez No. 30
Possible lineups: C: Matt Whatley (.213/.314/.262) or Melvin Novoa (.274/.343/.442); 1B Curtis Terry (.268/.333/.570); 2B Frainyer Chavez (.239/.320/.256); 3B Sherten Apostel (.251/.332/.441); SS Jonathan Ornelas (.263/.330/.403); LF: Kole Enright (.297/.366/.486); CF: Miguel Aparicio (.263/.323/.425) RF: Pedro Gonzalez (.254/.316/.478)
SAL Rankings:
Individual Batting:
Pedro Gonzalez – tied for 5th homers (12), 9th slugging pct. (.478)
Curtis Terry – 1st doubles (24), 2nd total bases, tied for 2nd home runs (15), 3rd RBI (47), 4th slugging pct. (.570), 4th OPS (.904)
Matt Whatley –10th stolen bases (14)
Individual pitching:
Grant Anderson T-5th saves (5)
Tim Brennan – 4th WHIP (0.97)
Yerry Rodriguez – 3rd ERA (2.00), tied for 4th wins (6), 5th WHIP (1.00)
Team Batting:
Slash line (BA. OBP/ SLG/ OPS):.245 (3rd)/ .314 (8th)/ .412 (2nd)/ .727 (2nd).
Other key rankings: 1st home runs, 2nd total bases, 3rd runs, 12th doubles, 12th walks, 12th strikeouts
Team Pitching:
4th WHIP (1.20), 5th ERA (3.46), fewest hit batters, 3rd fewest runs allowed, 4th fewest earned runs allowed.
ABOUT CHARLESTON:
The RiverDogs dropped six of their final 10 games in the first half, which dropped them out of the South Division title. Charleston wound up in third, but a half-game behind Lexington (Ky.), the defending SAL champions.
Manager: Julio Mosquera (2nd season)
Prospects – Charleston (rankings by MLB.com):
C Anthony Seigler No. 6
RHP Roansy Contreras No. 10
RHP Luis Gil No. 13
RHP Luis Medina No. 14
RHP Tanner Myatt No. 27
RHP Harold Cortijo No. 29
Possible Lineups: C: Anthony Siegler (.368/.520/.474) or Eduardo Navas (.139/.248/.157); 1B: Mickey Gasper (.257/.364/.425); 2B: Kyle Gray (.239/.329/.397); 3B: Max Burt (.248/.298/.394); SS: Eduardo Torrealba (.251/.329/.287); LF: Canaan Smith (.309/.399/.498); CF: Brandon Lockridge (.251/.316/.461); RF: Frederick Cuevas (.234/.296/.363)
SAL Rankings:
Individual Batting:
Kyle Gray – Tied for 4th triples (4), tied for 9th strikeouts
Brandon Lockeridge – 3rd total bases, tied for 5th runs scored, tied for 9th hits, tied for 9th home runs (10), tied for 10th RBI (34)
Tied for 3rd doubles (21)
Canaan Smith – 3rd on-base pct. (.399), tied for 4th walks, 697 OPS (.897), 7th batting avg. (.309), 8th slugging pct. (.498), tied for 9th doubles (16)
Individual pitching:
Luis Gil – 1st ERA (1.81), tied for 3rd strikeouts
Luis Medina – 1st walks, 9th earned runs allowed
Team batting:
Slash line (BA. OBP/ SLG/ OPS): .240 (6th) / .318 (6th)/ .377 (4th)/ .695 (4th).
Other key rankings: 2nd strikeouts, tied for 2nd hits, 4th doubles, 4th HRs, 4th total bases, 5th runs,
Team pitching:
Fewest HRs allowed (31), 4th strikeouts, 5th WHIP (1.21), 9th ERA (3.63)