CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Charleston RiverDogs bounced back from Wednesday’s loss to win the three-game series against the Lexington Legends with a 12-10 victory Thursday night in front of 4,509 fans at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. The series ended in favor of the RiverDogs 2-1, and the season series finished tied five games apiece.
Vince Conde was the player of the game for Charleston, as he went a career-high 4-for-5 with three doubles and drove in a career-high five runs. Conde got the scoring going with an RBI double in the first inning. He followed that with a two-run double in the four-run second, and an RBI single in a five-run fifth.
Isaias Tejeda also had a great night at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a two-run single in the fifth. Radley Haddad scored three of the 12 runs for the RiverDogs, who also tallied 14 hits, including six doubles.
Charleston nearly let an 11-7 lead slip away, as the Legends rallied back to score three runs in the top of the sixth after the RiverDogs’ five-run fifth. Austin Bailey plated Samir Duenez with a single to right, DonAndre Clark crossed home when Chad Johnson grounded into a fielder’s choice, and Wander Franco’s RBI single cut Charleston’s lead to 11-10.
The RiverDogs added a run of insurance in the bottom half of the frame on another RBI double by Conde. The bullpen kept the Legends off the scoreboard in the final three innings to seal the victory.
Josh Rogers (1-0) pitched 3 1/3 innings and struck out five batters, in relief of the starter Matt Wotherspoon, to earn his first victory with the RiverDogs. Brody Koerner picked up the save in his first appearance with Charleston, pitching two scoreless innings and only allowing one hit. It’s his sixth professional save through his first 14 pro appearances.
Nik Stephenson (4-7) was the losing pitcher for Lexington, as he gave up five runs on five hits and 1 2/3 innings of relief. The Starters gave up 13 runs combined early in the game. Wotherspoon gave up seven runs, six earned on nine hits in 3 2/3 innings and Yunior Marte gave up six runs, five earned, on six hits in 2 1/3 innings for the Legends.
The 22 runs combined between Charleston and Lexington were the most in a RiverDogs game this season. The two teams also totaled 30 hits to tie a single game-high for Charleston.
BOX SCORE: http://atmilb.com/1UGsryv
BALLPARK FUN: Fans were entertained by another successful Thirsty Thursday with DJ Natty Heavy spinning popular tunes all game long in the Ashley View Pub. A returning contestant made an appearance in ribbon dancing and won the contest for the second time this season. The mascot dance party was a blast for many of the fans that stuck around for the entire game. Two adorable kids with their faces painted were interviewed by Ashely White during the game.
COMING UP: The RiverDogs began a their three-game road series against Greenville Friday at 7:05 p.m. Charleston will send LHP Rony Bautista (3-5, 4.24 ERA) to the mound against RHP Ben Taylor (0-1, 3.86 ERA) of the Drive. You can listen to the action on “The Big Talker” 1250 WTMA, WTMA.com, and RiverDogs.com beginning at 7 p.m.
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