Hoppers win championship series opener in 9th inning
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
(Updated 1:10 pm)
GREENSBORO — What is it with these Greensboro Grasshoppers?
How in the world do they continue to write comeback story after comeback story after comeback story?
Whatever the magic is, the sorcery continued Monday night at NewBridge Bank Park.
Mark Canha’s line-drive single up the middle with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning drove home the tying and winning runs, lifting the Hoppers to a 5-4 victory over the Savannah Sand Gnats in the first game of the best-of-five South Atlantic League championship series.
The series resumes at 7 p.m. today, with the final game of the season at the city’s downtown ballpark. Right-hander Robert Morey (7-7, 5.14 ERA) pitches for the Hoppers against Gnats right-hander Gonzalez Germen (7-7, 3.93 ERA).
Morey, who started the home opener way back in April, is 2-0 this season against Savannah.
And the Hoppers are now 5-3 head-to-head against the Gnats.
Thanks to the latest late-inning rally in a season full of them. Greensboro has won 82 games this summer, and the Hoppers have trailed by at least one run in 44 of those victories.
And so it was Monday night when right-handed slugger Canha stepped in against right-handed reliever Ronny Moria with the bases loaded and the Hoppers trailing 4-3.
“(Hitting coach) Smoke Randel came up to me and said: ‘Sliders,’” Canha said of facing Moria’s three-quarters delivery. “So I went up looking for a slider and tried to hit it up the middle. He put the first pitch right where I was looking, and I put a good swing on it. As soon as I saw it fall, I knew it was over.”
The Hoppers thought it was over 10 minutes earlier.
On a September night suited for short sleeves and sundresses, with a Harvest moon hung in the sky in foul territory down the right-field line, Marcell Ozuna sent a rocket down the left-field line – one the 3,096 at the downtown ballpark will talk about for a long time.
With two outs and Danny Black at first base, little lefty Ryan Fraser hung a slow curve to Ozuna on a 2-2 pitch. Ozuna clobbered it, and the Hoppers dugout spilled out onto the field as one umpire in the four-man crew signaled home run.
But plate umpire Mike Cascioppo had the final call, and he said the ball was foul – setting off a heated argument that ended with Hoppers manager Andy Haines ejected. Haines punted his batting helmet on his way to the clubhouse, and he paused to talk to Ozuna.
“That’s the first thing I said to him on my way out: ‘Oso, you’ve got to keep going,’” Haines said. “Something like that is just deflating to a guy.”
But Ozuna worked out a walk, and Christian Yelich walked to load the bases for Canha. The Gnats lifted Fraser for Moria. And Canha won the game.
“I can’t say enough about Marcell Ozuna,” Canha said. “He was huge for us tonight. He hit the home run in the first inning that got us started. He made some phenomenal plays in the outfield that saved a ton a runs. Then he hits another big home run – that was a fair ball – and it comes back. But he still battled for us and had the biggest at-bat of the game. He could’ve got down in the dumps right there, but he hung in there and got the walk.”
And for the Hoppers, the magic continued.
They’ve won 14 of their last 15 games, outscoring the opposition 43-12 in the final three innings of those 14 victories.
“It took us 26 outs, but it finally happened,” Haines said. “It’s just what you would expect in this last series: two teams playing great. We just found a way.”
Right before Canha took a towel full of shaving cream to the face, he summed it up this way.
“This is the most fun I’ve had playing baseball in a long, long time,” he said. “It’s unreal what’s going on. It’s like a dream.”
Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com
Accompanying Photos
(News & Record)
Photo Caption: Greensboro Grasshoppers players celebrate a 5-4 win in the opening game of the South Atlantic League championship series.
SAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Greensboro leads best-of-5 series 1-0.
Game 1: Greensboro 5, Savannah 4
Today: at Greensboro, 7
Thursday: at Savannah, 7
Friday: at Savannah, 7—x
Saturday: at Savannah, 7—x
x—if necessary
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