A trio of impressive right-handers, spearheaded by the organization’s no.5 prospect, Owen Murphy, surrendered just three hits in Friday night’s 4-0 win over Hickory.
Murphy set down the first 11 Crawdads he faced until a Tucker Mitchell single through the right side broke up his perfect start. Six of those 11 were strikeouts and his only walk came against the last batter he faced in the seventh. Schanaman held the lead across the seventh and eighth before Munoz slammed the door in the ninth. Rome’s staff stranded eight Crawdads while striking out 11 in total (eight from Murphy).
Every Emperor reached base safely at least once in the Opening Night victory. Kilpatrick and Workinger anchored the top of the order, going a combined 4-for-7 with three runs driven in and a run scored. Kilpatrick’s single through the middle provided a big insurance run the eighth. Workinger was knocking on the door of a three-hit night, but Hickory starter Winston Santos took a line drive base hit away from him in the fifth. The bottom three of Rome’s order, Ward, Celedonio, and Paolini, all scored runs in the winning effort.
