Scrappy play sours Opening Night for Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
via Michael Guariglia/FutureSox
KANNAPOLIS, NC — The 2021 season opener against the Down East Wood Ducks was anything but ordinary. It featured the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers’ debut at brand new Atrium Health Ballpark and their first game since an identity change in 2019.
Expectations were high amidst the inclement weather throughout the day, but Kannapolis fell short 8-4 to the Wood Ducks in a scrappy game.
2019 third round pick Andrew Dalquist took to the mound and threw 31 pitches (20 strikes) over 1.2 innings. Dalquist began the evening walking the Wood Ducks’ Evan Carter and followed with a wild pitch, which eventually led Carter to advance to third on a throwing error by catcher Victor Torres.
A sacrifice fly saw Carter score and Dalquist was immediately pitching with a deficit. The California product settled back in and struck out the next two Wood Ducks. Following three batters faced in the second, which resulted in an error, strikeout and lineout, manager Guillermo Quiroz pulled the righty. It appeared Dalquist wanted to finish the inning, as he pounded his glove when Quiroz asked for the ball.
Soon-to-be 23 year old right-hander Jeremiah Burke relieved Dalquist and pitched the final out of the 2nd. Dalquist finished with three strikeouts, a walk, no hits and allowed an unearned run after facing seven hitters.
Burke, meanwhile, put on a display throughout the night leaving hitters dazed and confused at the plate. From the 2nd inning on, he posted at least two strikeouts per frame until his departure in the 7th.
His final stat line was just as impressive as his performance sounds: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 UER, 0 BB, 9 K on 112 pitches.
The contest had been quiet offensively on both sides of the plate leading up to the 7th. The opening run for the Cannon Ballers came in the third off a chopper from Cabera Weaver that saw a close play at the plate with Lency Delgado.
Delgado slid awkwardly trying to avoid the tag and limped back to the dugout. He tested the waters in the 4th, but was replaced in the subsequent frame by Samil Polanco.
The other run for Kannapolis came from top-30 prospect Chase Krogman, who roped a single to center scoring Bryan Ramos giving the Ballers a one run advantage. The win seemed to be in the cards for Kannapolis with a culmination of factors playing in their favor: strong pitching, consistent offense, and serviceable defense. That was until the seventh inning came around.
To start the seventh, left-handed reliever Garvin Alston took over on the mound. Alston kicked off the inning with a strike out, but It was downhill from there.
Alston allowed a two-run bomb to Antonio Cabello then walked the bases loaded. The lefty was able to get ahead of hitters, but struggled to put them away. He was ahead in the count for two of the three walks allowed and simply lost batters with pitches way off the plate and in the dirt. Control has been an issue for the 24-year-old, even dating back to his time in college where he walked 90 across 108 NCAA innings.
Reliever Ty Madrigal, twin brother of White Sox second baseman Nick Madrigal, took over a bases-loaded situation with nobody out in the 7th. Madrigal walked in a run and then errors came into play yet again.
A grounder to first baseman Sam Abbott saw him botch the force out at home allowing two runs to score on the play. The next batter grounded to Polanco at second who threw home thinking there was a force out at the plate when there indeed was not. Torres nabbed the runner at first, but a run would eventually score on the play to make it 8-2 bad guys.
Chase Krogman was a bright spot offensively for the Cannon Ballers. His highlight came in the 8th with a monster shot to right-center.
The 20 year old outfielder had himself a solid game all-around: 2-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K. Jose Rodriguez shined as well. The shortstop had two strike outs, but drove in a run on three hits, including a double, in five at-bats.
There was no ammo left in reserve for the Cannon Ballers as they ended up losing 8-4. One player who had a quiet night to himself was that of third baseman DJ Gladney. A walk in four appearances is nothing to shy from as he was able to work the counts in all of his at-bats, attacking pitches he wanted with solid contact results. Unfortunately for Gladney, everything he hit hard was right to a Wood Duck player.
The Cannon Ballers are back in action Wednesday evening for game two against the Wood Ducks with first pitch at 7:05pm.
Want to know right away when we publish a new article? Type your email address in the box on the right-side bar (or at the bottom on a mobile device) and click “create subscription.” Our list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time. Also, consider supporting FutureSox on Patreon! You can get early access to special articles and Patreon-only posts, in addition to more benefits.
Shop our exclusive merchandise! Show your support with FutureSox apparel.
1 thought on “Scrappy play sours Opening Night for Kannapolis Cannon Ballers”
Comments are closed.