Hickory, N.C. — A two-run eighth inning propelled the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers to a 5-3 win over the Hickory Crawdads on Sunday afternoon at LP Frans Stadium.
Jaden Fauske impacted the Ballers offense on a couple of occasions, as the outfielder opened the scoring with a ground-rule double that plated Abraham Nunez to put Kannapolis in front 1-0.
His second hit tied the game at 3-3 in the eighth inning, scoring Nunez a second time and putting the Ballers in position to surge ahead of Hickory for good.
Adrian Gil's solo homer in the ninth gave the Ballers needed insurance, preserving the win for Marco Barrios (4-2).
The Crawdads were led by Hector Osorio's three-hit effort, including a fifth-inning home run that gave Hickory its lone lead of the day.
The homer for Osorio was his 13th, placing him in a tie for league honors. His two-RBI day gives him 45 on the season, good for first place in the Carolina League.
The Crawdads had a couple of opportunities to rally in the latter innings, but Kannapolis (29-28) reliever Landen Payne buckled down to claim his fourth save of the campaign.
In the eighth for Hickory, Paulino Santana doubled to right field, moving Osorio to third with nobody out.
Payne managed to keep Hickory (31-24) off the board with a pop-up from Angel Arredondo, a flyout by Josh Springer and a groundout by Curly Martha to end the threat.
In the ninth, Hickory rallied again but came away empty as Payne coaxed a fly ball from Osorio and a strikeout of Santana, earning the split for the Cannon Ballers.
Michael Trausch (4-2) was tagged with the loss for Hickory, as the Crawdads will journey to Charleston for a critical series against the RiverDogs.
The results from next week's series will have a direct impact on the Crawdads' chances of claiming a first-half title in the Carolina League's South Division.
The Crawdads return home June 16 to open a six-game series at 7 p.m. against the Columbia Fireflies, Class A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.
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Hickory Crawdads
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