CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Savannah Sand Gnats lost their third straight game, falling to the Charleston RiverDogs 3-2 on Tuesday night at Riley Park.
Kelvin De Leon’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning brought home Peter O’Brien with the winning run. O’Brien led off the inning with a single and went to third on Yeicok Calderon’s single.
Savannah reliever Beck Wheeler intentionally walked Reymond Nunez to load the bases and set up a force play, but De Leon drove a fly ball deep enough to score O’Brien, a catcher.
It was tough loss for the Gnats, who battled back from a 2-0 first-inning deficit. They cut the Charleston lead in half when Cole Frenzel’s two-out single drove in Maikis De La Cruz, who had singled.
In the sixth inning, Savannah evened the game when Kevin Plawecki led off with a triple and scored on Frenzel’s single.
The Gnats had numerous opportunities to score, but left 11 on base. In the ninth, they loaded the bases with one out, but De La Cruz, who is hitting .391 since joining the team, bounced into a force out. Plawecki then fanned to end the inning.
Savannah and Charleston finish their three-game series today at 7:05 p.m. The Gnats begin a four-game series in Augusta on Thursday before coming home Monday against Charleston.
Savannah ab r h bi Charleston ab r h bi
YDeLaCruz 2b 3 0 0 0 Cave cf 4 0 1 0
Pina cf 3 0 0 0 Culver ss 4 1 1 0
MDeLaCruz rf 5 1 2 0 Bird 1b 4 1 2 0
Plawecki dh 4 1 1 0 O’Brien c 4 1 2 2
Frenzel 1b 4 0 2 2 Calderon rf 4 0 1 0
Sabol lf 4 0 0 0 Nunez dh 3 0 0 0
Glenn c 4 0 0 0 DeLeon lf 2 0 0 1
Reynolds 3b 4 0 3 0 Rosario 2b 3 0 1 0
Evans ss 3 0 0 0 Custodio 3b 3 0 0 0
Totals 34 2 8 2 Totals 31 3 8 3
Savannah 001 001 000 — 2
Charleston 200 000 001 — 3
E—Custodio. LOB—Savannah 11, Charleston 6. 2B—Reynolds, Bird. 3B—Plawecki. SF—De Leon. S—Y.De La Cruz. CS—Reynolds, De Leon.
SAVANNAH IP H R ER BB SO
Ynoa 6 1/3 6 2 2 1 6
Carnevale 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 2
Wheeler L,0-2 1/3 2 1 1 1 0
CHARLESTON IP H R ER BB SO
Camarena 5 5 1 0 1 3
Enns 3 2 1 1 1 3
Paullus W,2-1 1 1 0 0 2 2
HBP—Pina (by Enns). PB—O’Brien. T—2:31. A—2,259.