Game #4 Preview — Dash at Lynchburg
Game #4 — Road Game #4
Winston-Salem Dash (1–2) at Lynchburg Hillcats (2–1)
Sunday, April 10–2 p.m.
Calvin Falwell Field (Lynchburg, VA)
GAME BACKGROUND: Playing with temperatures in the 30s, the Dash committed five errors on Saturday en route to a 7–2 loss against Lynchburg. Winston-Salem will try and salvage a series split on Sunday.
STARTING LINEUP:
Hunter Jones — CF
Louie Lechich — RF
Gerson Montilla — 3B
Marcus Davis — 1B
Michael Danner — LF
Mason Robbins — DH
Chris O’Dowd — C
Toby Thomas — 2B
Cleuluis Rondon — SS
Jordan Stephens — RHP
Get Winston-Salem Dash’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
DASH DOTS:
- Temperatures in the 30s and winds upwards of 20 miles per hour troubled the Dash’s defense. Winston-Salem committed five errors in a game for the first time since May 15, 2015, against Salem. The Dash had not posted a higher error total since their six defensive miscues on June 15, 2014, against Potomac. In the first three games of the season, Winston has committed 10 errors, while no other team on the circuit has more than five (Carolina and Myrtle Beach).
- Two players who are expected to be key cogs in the Dash’s lineups ended season-starting slides on Saturday. Two-hole hitting Louie Lechich snapped an 0-for-14 funk with an eighth-inning double. He ended up scoring on a single from Gerson Montilla, who posted a 2-for-4 game after starting his Dash career without a hit in his first nine at-bats. However, Montilla did deliver a game-tying sacrifice fly in the ninth inning of Thursday’s thrilling victory.
- In recent seasons, Winston-Salem has not fared well in its first series. The Dash have not won a series to begin the season since 2011 when the club took two of three in Kinston. Since then, the Dash are just 5–12 in the first set of the year. Winston can salvage a split for just the second time during this span. The Dash and Blue Rocks each took two in a series in the Triad in 2014.
- Sunday starter Jordan Stephens will make his first appearance above rookie ball. A fifth-round pick out of Rice University this past June, Stephens did not work more than two innings in any of his 11 outings between the AZL White Sox and Great Falls. Still, the righty struck out at least one batter in every outing. He only permitted one run all season, and he is riding a nine-inning scoreless streak.
- After recording back-to-back multi-hit games, Nick Basto (0-for-3) and Hunter Jones (0-for-5) did not muster a base hit in Saturday’s loss.
- Dash relievers inherited five runners Saturday, and four came around to score.
- Following this series finale, the Dash travel to Myrtle Beach for the first time since last year’s Southern Division Championship Series. The Pelicans eliminated the Dash a year ago with back-to-back wins by a single tally in South Carolina.
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
Sunday’s game will be broadcast live on wsdash.com/broadcast and the TuneIn Radio app. The Pregame Dash will begin at 1:45 p.m., with the first pitch at 2 p.m.
-Joe
