A five-run third inning propelled the Hickory Crawdads to a win on Saturday night.
The 7-3 win for Hickory (40-49 overall, 12-11 second half) was the second straight in the series against the team with the South Atlantic League’s best record.
The Crawdads had seven of their 10 total hits in the third inning to blow the game open.
Hickory took the initial lead in the second inning, when Anthony Gutierrez smashed an RBI double just inside the bag at third to score Ian Moller, who had walked and stole second.
The fastball of Greensboro starter Derek Diamond did not fool the Crawdads in the third inning. Jayce Easley hit a first-pitch heater for a single. Cam Cauley followed with a single. Yeison Morrobel attacked a first-pitch fastball for a two-run double to left. One pitch later Sebastian Walcott smacked an RBI double to score Morrobel.
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Luis Mieses made it three doubles in a row. He scored one out later on Gleider Figuerero’s single for a 6-0 lead.
That was more than enough for starter Kohl Drake (3-1) to get his third win in four decisions. The lefty gave up his only run in the fifth inning, when Termarr Johnson singled in Luke Brown. Drake allowed four hits and a walk and struck out seven.
The Crawdads scored their final run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Mieses to score Cauley.