Savannah 6, Hickory 3

The first game of the four game series between the Savannah Sand Gnats and the Hickory Crawdads was played in front of  2,422 fans Thursday evening at Grayson Stadium. Savannah won the opener 6-3. Sand Gnats had 11 hits for the game and Four pitchers held Hickory to five hits for the game.

Savannah scored two runs in the 3rd inning. Dimas Ponce singled, Brandon Nimmo singled, and Maikis De La Cruz singled to load the bases. A run scored when Cole Frenzel walked and then Eudy Piña singled to drive in a run. Savannah scored three runs in the 5th inning and one run in the 8th inning.

Hickory scored a run in the 5th inning and two runs in the 6th inning.

Leading hitter for Savannah was Nimmo who was 3-for-5. Getting 2hits each, De La Cruz,  and Piña
Starting Savannah pitcher, Julian Hilario earned the win to improve to 7-4. He pitched 5 innings, allowed one run on three hits, walked two and struck out four. Tim Peterson, pitched 2.0 innings and gave up a run on a pair of hits and walks, while striking out three. Paul Sewald pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning. Closer Beck Wheeler picked up his 15th save in dangerous fashion, walking three batters but getting out of the situation unharmed.

The second game of the series starts at 7:05 pm Friday at Grayson Stadium.

Key Stats

Jorge Rivero: 1-for-5, 1 SB, 2 R

Brandon Nimmo: 3-for-5, 1 RBI, 1 R

Eudy Pina: 2-for-4, 2 RBI

Greg Pron: 1-for-3, 1 BB, 2 RBI

Julian Hilario: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 1 ER, 4 K

Beck Wheeler: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 1 K