Savannah 9, Hickory 6
Eudy Pina and Phillip Evans played their hearts out behind Gabriel Ynoa to ensure that his rough start against Hickory would not lead to a loss. Pina lead off the game with a home run for Savannah, who held a 1-0 lead until Ynoa served up a two-run shot to Jorge Alfaro in the bottom of the second.
Pina came through again for the Sand Gnats in the top of the third, where he launched another home run – this one a two-run shot, and saw it followed up later that inning by a Kevin Plawecki sacrifice fly. Ynoa would manage to last five innings, but it was a struggle for him, as he was taken deep on four separate occasions for a total of five earned runs over that span.
Phillip Evans helped to put a stamp on this victory in the top of the seventh, when he ripped a pitch to left field for his first home run of the year, plating Jeff Reynolds.
Beck Wheeler saw his awesome start to the season finally slow down just a little, as he allowed an earned run for the first time in 2013, leaving his ERA at 0.71. Bret Mitchell slammed the door in the ninth with a scoreless innings and two strikeouts for his fourth save of the season. Ynoa did end up with the win in this one – his fourth of the campaign.
Key Stats
Eudy Pina: 3-for-5, 1 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
Chad Zurcher: 2-for-5, 1 R
Phillip Evans: 3-for-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4 R, 1 BB
Gabriel Ynoa: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 4 HR, 0 BB, 5 ER, 4 K
Julian Hilario: 1.0 IP, 1 BB, 2 K
Tyler Vanderheiden: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K
Beck Wheeler: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 HR, 1 ER, 2 K
Bret Mitchell: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 2 BB, 2 K
