Savannah’s Stefan Sabol’s walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh led the Sand Gnats to a 5-3 victory and a doubleheader sweep of Charleston on Wednesday.
The Gnats won the first game 2-0 as Robert Whalen and Akeel Morris combined on a 4-hit shutout.
But Sabol was the hero of the night — clubbing a pair of two run homers in the second game — the second coming after Jeff Glenn singled in the bottom of the seventh. Sabol drove his second shot of the night over the wall in left off Charleston reliever Eric Ruth.
It was a big night for Sabol, who has struggled at the plate this season with a .195 average, but he has turned things around recently. He went 2 for 2 with four RBIs in the nightcap and is hitting .348 in his last 11 games.
Gnat starter Octavio Acosta was solid in the second game, giving up one earned run and striking out seven in five innings of a no-decision. Reliever Dawrin Frias gave up a run for a blown save in his first inning, but threw a scoreless seventh inning and picked up his fifth win of the year after Sabol’s dramatic homer.
In the first game, the Gnats got on the board in their first at bat. Yeixon Ruiz led off with a double, and advanced to third on a groundout by Champ Stuart. Dominic Smith brought Ruiz home with a groundout to third for an RBI.
Savannah added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. Smith hit a leadoff double to left, moved to third on a double play and scored on a wild pitch.
Savannah starter Whalen kept up the Gnats’ run of strong pitching performances with 5 1/3 solid innings of work. The right-hander struck out three, walked three and allowed four hits and no runs. Whalen improved to 7-0 this season, while lowering his ERA to 1.42.
In the top of the sixth, Whalen got into a jam with runners on the corners and one out. But Morris entered the game and struck out Dustin Fowler and Eduardo de Oleo to end the threat and preserve a 1-0 lead. Morris struck out two more in a perfect seventh inning to notch his 13th save of the season. His ERA is a miniscule 0.72.
GAME 1
Charleston ab r h bi Savannah ab r h bi
O’Neill lf 3 0 0 0 Ruiz ss 3 1 1 0
Avelino ss 3 0 1 0 Stuart cf 2 0 0 0
Wade 2b 3 0 0 0 Smith 1b 2 1 1 1
Andujar 3b 3 0 1 0 Oberste dh 3 0 0 0
Ford 1b 2 0 1 0 Rivero 3b 3 0 0 0
Fowler cf 2 0 0 0 Plaia c 3 0 0 0
de Oleo c 3 0 0 0 Biondi rf 2 0 0 0
Katoh dh 3 0 1 0 Sabol lf 2 0 0 0
Calderon rf 3 0 0 0 Johnson 2b 1 0 0 0
Totals 25 0 4 0
Totals 21 2 2 1
Charleston 000 000 0 — 0
Savannah 100 001 x — 2
E—Avelino 2. DP—Charleston 1, LOB—Charleston 7, Savannah 4. 2B—Ruiz, Smith. SB—Katoh, Stuart.
CHARLESTON IP H R ER BB SO
Encinas L,0-2 3 1/3 1 1 1 2 2
Mullee 2 2/3 1 1 0 0 1
SAVANNAH IP H R ER BB SO
Whalen W,7-0 5 1/3 4 0 0 3 3
Morris S,13 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 4
WP—Mullee, Whalen. HBP—Stuart(by Encinas). PB—de Oleo. T—2:18.
GAME 2
Charleston ab r h bi Savannah ab r h bi
Avelino ss 3 2 0 0 Ruiz ss 3 0 0 0
Sumner 3b 4 0 0 0 Stuart cf 3 0 0 0
Wade dh 3 0 0 0 Oberste 1b 3 1 1 0
Ford 1b 4 0 2 1 Zapata 3b 3 0 2 1
O’Neill lf 3 0 1 1 Johnson pr/2b 0 0 0 0
Valera c 3 0 0 0 Leroux dh 3 0 1 0
Katoh 2b 3 0 1 0 Rivero 2b/3b 2 0 0 0
Thomas cf 2 1 2 0 Biondi lf 3 1 1 0
Calderon rf 3 0 1 1 Glenn c 3 0 1 0
Totals 28 3 7 3 Cruzado pr 0 1 0 0
Sabol rf 2 2 2 4
Totals 25 5 8 5
Charleston
100 011 0 — 3
Savannah 000 120 2 — 5
E—Acosta. DP—Savannah 1. LOB—Charleston 7, Savannah 4. 2B—Zapata, Thomas, Calderon. 3B-Ford. HR—Sabol 2 (8). SB—Thomas.
CHARLESTON IP H R ER BB SO
Herbert 5 4 3 3 2 3
Ruth L,1-2 1 4 2 2 0 2
SAVANNAH IP H R ER BB SO
Acosta 5 5 2 1 3 7
Frias W,5-1 2 2 1 1 0 4
T—2:22. A—1,309