For the second time in the series, the Emperors blanked the Hickory Crawdads, 3-0 to sweep Opening Weekend at home.
Schwellenbach’s pitch count was kept low (67 pitches, 46 strikes) thanks to shallow counts and weak contact. He struck out three over six innings and issued only one free pass to Devin Hurdle in the sixth. Hickory’s three hits were all singles, and all came against Schwellenbach who reaped the winning decision. Landon Harper and Ryan Bourassa retired the last nine Crawdads in order. Harper earned the hold and Bourassa the save.
In their three games in Rome, Hickory hit 13-for-90 (.144) with just one extra-base hit. With runners in scoring position, the ‘Dads were 1-for-15 (.067). The Emperors staff will head into the Hudson Valley series with a staggering 0.33 team ERA.
Hickory starter Brock Porter was pulled after 2.0 innings of work and exited the game with the bases loaded. Zebrowski would send a deep fly ball to right field to sacrifice-in the first run of the game. Rome’s first hit wouldn’t come until the seventh when an infield single and stolen base from Kilpatrick presented Ethan Workinger with an RBI opportunity. Workinger cashed in and drove in his third run of the series. With two outs in the eighth, Nick Ward registered his first extra-base hit of the season and would score an important insurance run on Kilpatrick’s second knock of the day.
With one series down, the ‘Emps take Monday off before opening a six-game homestand against Hudson Valley Renegades, a New York Yankees affiliate.
