Hickory’s playoff opener ended in a gut punch, with the RiverDogs walking away with a 9-8 win in 10 innings on 9/8/26. The best-of-three series continues Thursday in Game Two.
The game turned into a long night for both bullpens. Seong-Jun Kim gave Hickory an inning and allowed one run while striking out one and walking two.
Will Whelan followed with two innings, giving up a run and finishing with two strikeouts and one walk. Louis Marinaro worked the ninth, punched out three, but also surrendered the game-tying solo homer that pushed things into extra innings.
Hickory still had chances late, and Dewar Tovar nearly delivered the finishing blow. He went 3 for 5 and ripped a 10th-inning triple that drove in a run, putting him on third with two outs as the tying run.
But Josh Springer struck out to end it. Springer finished 2 for 5 with a double, while Daniel Flames went 2 for 2 with a walk.
Paulino Santana added a hit and a walk, and Marco Argudin also collected a hit.
Frisco got a rough first look at Ismael Agreda in his AA debut, and it was a tough one. He was tagged for seven runs in three innings, gave up a pair of homers, and finished with two walks and two strikeouts. J’Briell Easley then covered two innings and allowed a run while walking two.
Even in the loss, Sebastian Walcott put together a loud night at the plate. He went 3 for 5 with a homer and a stolen base. Gleider Figuereo, Malcolm Moore and Rafe Perich each reached base with a hit and a walk, and Dylan Dreiling added a hit.
On the mound for Round Rock, Winston Santos worked six innings and allowed a solo homer while striking out five. Ben Peoples followed with a scoreless inning, Josh Sborz tossed a shutout frame with two strikeouts, and Michel Otanez also kept the scoreboard clean in his inning, striking out two and walking one.
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