Seventh Inning Propels Crawdads to 7-1 Win

Hickory, NC- The Crawdads scored six runs in the seventh inning against the Lynchburg Hillcats, claiming a 7-1 win at LP Frans Stadium on Wednesday night.

The Crawdads, looking to win for the first time in seven contests, got six innings of stellar relief from Jesus Lafalaise. The Dominican right-hander entered the game in the fifth inning with Lynchburg leading 1-0 and tossed five scoreless frames of one-hit baseball to give the Crawdads a chance to rally.

And rally they did!

The 'Dads evened the contest in the fifth, as Paulino Santana hit a blooper down the right field line that evaded Luis Merejo, allowing Santana to reach third for a triple. Luis Marquez followed up with a RBI single to left field, plating Santana, to tie the game at 1-1.

In the seventh, Hickory (60-55, 27-23) sent eleven men to the plate, scoring six times to distance themselves from the Hillcats. Seven consecutive batters reached, chasing eventual losing pitcher Sean Heppner (6-3) from the game.

The Crawdads were bolstered to a 12-hit performance by Santana, who earned his first multi-hit game of the season. Yeremy Cabrera and Luis Marquez each collected a pair of knocks in the win, as all but one Crawdads starter reached safely to move Lafalaise record to 2-1 on the year.

Lynchburg (62-51, 21-26), winners of five of their last six games, were led by Luke Hill, who had two hits and the club's lone RBI in the defeat.

Tomorrow, the Crawdads will take the field as the Llamas de Hickory for the final time in 2025, as Aneudis Mejia (4-5) goes opposite Will McCauland at 7pm.