Greensboro Sports

Posted By Andy Durham on August 22, 2008

Stanton Kick-Starts Rally with Sixth Inning Blast

GREENSBORO – Tom Hickman had two doubles and a triple Thursday, but his biggest hit of the night came in the ninth inning as he hit a bases-loaded single to drive in the winning run for the Hoppers.

Greensboro loaded the bases and the Greenville Drive fought off the Hoppers by getting back-to-back force outs at home plate, but Hickman snuck one through a hole on the right side to plate Matt Dominguez and give the home team a 6-5 victory.

The Hoppers used their late rally to score all six of their runs in the final four innings of the contest and erase a four-run deficit. Greensboro first got on the board with a pair of runs in the sixth inning thanks to Mike Stanton’s league-leading 34th home run; the Hoppers added two more in each the eighth and ninth innings to garner at least a split of the four-game set.

Starter Brett Durand tossed a solid five innings for manager Edwin Rodriguez, but was on the hook for the loss after allowing four runs in his sixth and final inning of work.

Kevin Gunter pitched the seventh and allowed Greenville’s final run of the game before Adam Campbell no-hit the Drive four the final two innings to pick up his first win in a Hoppers’ uniform.

Greensboro wraps up its four-game series against Greenville and its four-game homestand Friday with the series finale set to kick off at 7:00 p.m.

NOTE: Thursday was tropical jersey night at NewBridge Bank Park. The Hoppers donned tropical jerseys that were silent auctioned off during the game. Stanton’s jersey received the highest bid and was sold for $400 dollars. In all, the silent auction raised nearly $3,000 for Habitat for Humanity.

Postgame Quick Stats
Win – Adam Campbell (1-1); Loss – Felix Ventura (2-4); Save – None
Time – 2:58; Attendance – 6,548
*****from Justin Stottlemyre Hoppers’ media assistant*****

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