Hickory, NC- The Hickory Crawdads scored seven times in the eighth inning to erase a five-run deficit Saturday night at LP Frans Stadium, defeating the Salem RidgeYaks 13–7.
Enddy Azocar set the tone early for Salem, hitting home runs in back-to-back innings to push the Red Sox to a 6–1 lead by the fourth. Azocar followed a solo shot in the third frame with a three-run blast in the fourth. Those homers were his first two of the season, bringing his RBI total to eight for the year.
Moises Morales, despite enduring the four-run outburst from Salem, eventually settled down, surrendering just one run over the next four frames. Morales' resilience kept Hickory (12-2) within striking distance as the 'Dads chased their ninth consecutive victory.
Deward Tovar played a critical role in the Crawdads' comeback. The outfielder put Hickory on the board in the second inning with an inside-the-park home run. In the fourth, Tovar tripled and scored to cut the deficit to 6–2.
However, the 2,398 fans at the Frans were not prepared for Tovar's late-game heroics, which sparked a furious rally for the home team. Trailing 7–3 in the seventh, Tovar crushed a majestic three-run blast to trim the lead to a single run, giving the Crawdads a puncher's chance heading into the eighth down 7–6.
In that decisive eighth inning, the Crawdads sent 12 batters to the plate and scored seven times to put the game away. The rally was fueled by Marcos Torres, Yolfran Castillo, and Hector Osorio.
With the bases loaded and one out, Torres stepped to the plate. A wild pitch from Salem reliever Harry Blum allowed Springer to score, tying the game at 7–7. Torres then gave Hickory an 8–7 lead with an RBI single over the drawn-in infield, scoring Esteban Mejia.
Castillo followed with a bouncing ball over the Salem (7-7) infield, plating two runs on a hustle double to extend the lead to 10–7. On the next at-bat, Hector Osorio added the exclamation point, launching a two-run homer to right-center field—his second in as many nights—sending Crustacean Nation into a frenzy. Wady Mendez later tacked on an RBI single to round out the scoring.
Luis Marinaro pitched a scoreless ninth to complete the improbable comeback. Tovar’s three-hit effort led the way as the Crawdads racked up a dozen hits in the contest. Morales earned the win, improving his record to 2-0, while Harry Blum suffered the loss for Salem. The RidgeYaks have now lost five straight games to Hickory.
Tomorrow at 2pm, Jesus Lafalaise takes the mound as the Crawdads go for the six-game sweep.