Charleston RiverDogs (New York Yankees) (19-15, first place, South Atlantic League Southern Division)

Hickory Crawdads (Texas Rangers) (22-11, tied for second place, South Atlantic League Northern Division)

The Hickory Crawdads continue their homestand with a three-games 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:

Saturday: Charleston at Hickory, 6:30 p.m. Murder Mystery Night, Replica Jersey Giveaway (1^st 1,000 fans), Teacher Appreciation Night (School staff receive a free ticket with a valid ID badge).

Sunday: Charleston at Hickory, 3:00 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), Teacher Appreciation Night (School staff receive a free ticket with a valid ID badge), Craw-moms day.

Monday: Charleston at Hickory, 10:30 a.m.

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:

The Crawdads went 7-4 against the RiverDogs in 2018, but it was the road team that succeeded most of the time. Charleston started off with a 3-1 series win at L.P. Frans early in the season before Hickory returned the favor later in the year. Hickory then swept a three-game series in late July through early August. The Crawdads are 31-24 against the Yankees affiliate at home since 2009, 57-49 overall.

 

PROBABLES (Charleston/ Hickory)

Saturday: RHP Alexander Vizcaino vs. RHP Tyree Thompson

Sunday: RHP Luis Medina vs. LHP Tim Brennan

Monday:  RHP Roansy Contreras vs. RHP Yerry Rodriguez

 

ABOUT HICKORY

Though the Crawdads have the second best record in the SAL, they are four games behind Delmarva (Md.) in the Northern Division, as the teams reach the halfway mark of the first half-season. However, Hickory is 9-7 at home and that is coming off the first series loss of the year to Asheville, which took two of three.

Manager: Matt Hagen (2^nd season)

Prospects – (team rankings are by MLB.com):

RHP Hans Crouse No.1 (No. 80 in top-100)

IF Jonathan Ornelas No. 18

3B Sherten Apostel No. 22

RHP Ronny Henriquez No. 30

Possible lineups: C: Matt Whatley (.182/.333/.222) or Melvin Novoa; 1B Curtis Terry (.271/.331/.576); 2B Frainyer Chavez (.265/.351/.289); 3B Sherten Apostel (.184/.263/.282); SS Jonathan Ornelas (.347/.413/.490); LF: Tanner Gardner (.192/.214/.423); CF: Pedro Gonzalez (.237/.315/.485); RF: Jose Almonte (.170/.216/.298)

SAL Rankings:

Individual Batting:

Pedro Gonzalez – tied for 4^th homers (7)

Jonathan Ornelas – 4^th batting avg. (.347), 6^th OBP (.413), 9^th hits, 9^th OPS (.903).

Curtis Terry – 1^st doubles (15), tied for 1^st RBI (29), tied for 3^rd total bases, tied for 4^th home runs (7), 7^th slugging pct. (.576), 8^th OPS (.907)

Matt Whatley – 2^nd walks, tied for 6^th stolen bases (11)

Individual pitching:

Tim Brennan – 2^nd WHIP (0.73)

Hans Crouse – Tied for 9^th home runs allowed (4).

Scott Engler – Tied for 9^th saves (3)

Team Batting:

Slash line (BA. OBP/ SLG/ OPS):.242 (4^th)/ .310 (8^th)/ .417 (1^st)/ .727 (3^rd).

Other key rankings: 2^nd home runs, 2^nd total bases, 3^rd stolen bases, 4^th runs, 1th doubles, 12^th walks,

Team Pitching:

1^st ERA (2.87), 2^nd WHIP (1.11), fewest runs allowed, fewest earned runs allowed, fewest hit batters, 2^nd fewest walks allowed.

WHO’S HOT (Last 10 games)

Hitting: Jonathan Ornelas (.349/.404/.442/.846, 12-game hitting streak); Frainyer Chavez (4 SBs, .394/.444/.324/.869)

Pitching: Tim Brennan (1 start, 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 7 K); Scott Engler (3 games, 6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R 1 BB, 13 K); Yerry Rodriguez (2 starts, 11 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 5 BB, 19 K).

ABOUT CHARLESTON:

The RiverDogs took 2 of 3 at home against Columbia and overall won 11 of the last 14. Charleston is 11-6 on the road.

Manager: Julio Mosquera (2^nd season)

Prospects – Charleston (rankings by MLB.com):

RHP Roansy Contreras No. 10

RHP Luis Gil No. 13

RHP Luis Medina No. 14

C Josh Breaux No. 15

RF Josh Stowers No. 25

Possible Lineups: C: Josh Breaux (.307/.344/.557) or Eduardo Navas (.146/.217/.364); 1B: Mickey Gasper (.284/.376/.473); 2B: Kyle Gray (.232/.339/.343); 3B: Wilkerman Garcia (.292/.309/.492); SS: Eduardo Torrealba (.240/.282/.281); LF: Canaan Smith (.307/.388/.466); CF: Brandon Lockridge (.220/.270/.371); RF: Josh Stowers (.308/.396/.429)

SAL Rankings:

Individual Batting:

Josh Breaux – Tied for 4^th RBI (25); tied for 6^th HRs (6), 8^th Slugging pct. (.557), 10^th OPS (.901).

Brandon Lockeridge – Tied for 7^th doubles (10)

Josh Stowers – Tied for 3^rd doubles (11), tied for 9^th steals (8), 10^th OBP (.396)

Individual pitching:

Luis Gil – Tied for 5^th strikeouts, tied for 8^th walks

Luis Medina – 2^nd walks, tied for 8^th hit batters

Jio Orozco – 7^th ERA (1.83), tied for 8^th hit batters

Team batting:

Slash line (BA. OBP/ SLG/ OPS): .239 (5^th) / .310 (9^th)/ .364 (6^th)/ .675 (7^th).

Other key rankings: 1^st strikeouts, 3^rd hits, tied for 4^th HRs (23), 6^th runs,

Team pitching:

1^st hit batters, 2^nd strikeouts, 2^nd fewest HRs allowed (15), 6^th WHIP (1.22), 8^th ERA (3.57),

NOTES OF INTEREST: Tyree Thompson was brought up from extended spring to start for Hickory on Saturday… C Sam Huff and LHP John King were both promoted to High-A Down East…  RHPs Kelvin Gonzalez and Nick Starr were assigned to Hickory from extended spring… OF Miguel Aparicio was brought off the injured list.