MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com -Winston-Salem, NC – Dash catcher Logan Johnson capped off a perfect night with a walk-off two-run home run to lift Winston-Salem past Lynchburg 11-10 in front of 6,410 on Thursday night at Wake Forest baseball Park. Johnson went 5-for-5 with two home runs, two doubles and four RBI to pace a Dash attack that tallied 17 hits on the night.

Leading 10-9 going to the bottom of the ninth inning, the Hillcats turned to All-Star closer RJ Rodriguez, who was a perfect 15-for-15 in save opportunities. Right fielder Salvador Sanchez was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Tyler Kuhn bunted the runner to second. Johnson followed with a towering fly ball over the right field wall that emptied the Dash dugout and ignited a celebration at home plate. Winston-Salem was 0-27 when trailing after eight innings entering the contest.

Reliever Miguel Socolovich (2-1) danced out of a no out jam with runners on the corners in the eighth inning and tossed two hitless frames to earn the win. Rodriguez (4-2) recorded one out and blew his first save of the season in suffering the loss.

The Hillcats broke a 9-9 tie in the top of the eighth inning with Dash reliever Levi Maxwell on the hill. Jose De Los Santos led off with a walk and scored when Chase d’Arnuad ripped a double down the right field line.

The Hillcats put a run on the board in the first inning aided by a miscommunication in the Dash outfield. Leadoff hitter Chase d’Arnaud hit a fly ball to deep left center that Kuhn had in his sights, but center fielder Kent Gerst called him off at the last second. The ball landed on the track in-between the two outfielders and d’Arnaud was awarded with a triple. Alex Presley followed with an RBI sacrifice fly to give Lynchburg a 1-0 lead.

The Dash jumped in front with three runs in the bottom of the third inning against Hillcats starting pitcher Justin Wilson. Second baseman Dale Mollenhauer led off with a solo home run to knot the score at one. Shortstop Greg Paiml followed with a double and third baseman Brent Morel pounded a one-out RBI double to give the Winston-Salem the lead. Later in the inning, Morel scored from third with two outs when Wilson uncorked to put the Dash in front 3-1.

The Hillcats responded with three runs of their own in the top of the fourth inning off Anthony Carter as Jamie Romak launched a two-run home run and d’Arnaud contributed an RBI double to hand the lead back to Lynchburg at 4-3. Johnson led off the bottom of the inning with a solo shot to knot the score at four.

Romack struck again in the top of the fifth inning as he connected on a three-run blast to give the Hillcats a 7-4 advantage. He finished with five RBI. Lynchburg turned to the long ball once again as Matt Hague lined a two-run shot of Dash reliever Sergio Santos in the sixth.

Trailing 9-4 going to the bottom of the sixth inning, the Dash picked up a run on an RBI sacrifice fly by Kent Gerst. Winston-Salem finalized the rally an inning later with the assistance of three Hillcats errors. Paiml led off with a single and one out later, Morel reached on a fielding error to put runners on the corners with one out. Designated hitter Seth Loman contributed an RBI ground out and Sanchez added an RBI double to bring the Dash within two. A double-error on a ground ball hit by Kuhn allowed Sanchez to score and Johnson followed with an RBI double to even the score at nine.

Neither starting pitcher factored in the decision as Carter departed after five innings and allowed seven runs on nine hits. Wilson went 5.1 innings and allowed five runs on 10 hits.

The Dash and Hillcats will continue their series at City Stadium in Lynchburg with a three-game set beginning on Friday night. The Dash will send LHP Justin Edwards (1-0, 7.00) to the mound in the opener, while the Hillcats will counter with RHP Matt McSwain (7-3, 2.92). The first pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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