Dirty Birds Rally Late to Foil FerryHawks
CHARLESTON, WV – For the second straight night, the Dirty Birds utilized a late-inning rally to put the FerryHawks first win on hold, defeating Staten Island 5-1 Friday at Appalachian Power Park. Charleston sent nine batters to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning, plating four runs on four hits en route to their second win in as many nights.
In the second-ever game in Staten Island FerryHawks history, manager Edgardo Alfonso gave the ball to right-hander Matt Solter in his Atlantic League debut. The 28-year old managed to keep Charleston off the board in the game's first two frames, but was bested by Alberto Callaspo to begin the third inning. The Dirty Birds third basemen belted Solter's 1-2 offer over the right-center field wall for his first home run of the 2022 season. His first of three RBI gave Charleston an early 1-0 lead.
The FerryHawks responded in the fifth inning against Dirty Birds starter Jordan Stephens, scratching across one run to tie the game 1-1. After a leadoff double by Ricardo Cespedes, Angel Aguilar's line out to center pushed Cespedes to third base. With two outs and Norberto Susini at bat, Stephens hurled a wild pitch, allowing Cespedes to cross home.
Stephens would toss five innings allowing just the one fifth-inning run. He whiffed three and walked two. Solter, meanwhile, also gave up just one run across five frames. He struck out six Dirty Birds without issuing a free pass.
Tied 1-1 entering the bottom of the seventh inning, Charleston's offense was kickstarted by Yovan Gonzalez' leadoff double. After walking Connor Justus and strikinging out Anfernee Seymour, FerryHawks reliever Williams Jerez was yanked for Connor Law. The right-hander issued back-to-back singles to Scott Kelly and Callaspo, pushing Charleston ahead 3-1. After Nick Longhi was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Engel Beltre lined a base hit into left field, extending the Dirty Birds lead to 5-1.
The combination of Ryan Lawlor (1-0), Mitchell Osnowitz, and Walker Weickel held Staten Island off the board in the final four innings, permitting just four hits.
Staten Island (0-2) and Charleston play the third of their four-game set on Saturday evening at Appalachian Power Park. RHP Anthony Rodriguez takes the mound for the FerryHawks against Dirty Birds LHP Joe Testa with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 PM. Don't miss a minute of the action through our MLB exclusive Gameday tab!
Postgame Notes: Ben Ruta earned the FerryHawks first Stolen Base...Kacy Clemens (2-for-4) & Ricardo Cespedes (2-for-5) each recorded multi-hit games...FerryHawks finished 0-for-9 with RISP...Joel Huertas pitched a scoreless eighth inning
