Clams flummoxed by Disco Turkeys, lose first exhibition match
Edenton, NC – On a night when the offense could not find a grove the Clams’ pitching could not hold up the other end of the bargain. The Edenton Steamers lost to the Carolina Disco Turkeys, 12-7, Sunday night at Historic Hick Field. The Steamers’ arms continued to surrender walks which turned one base runner into big innings for Carolina.
Before the game Clams head coach Justin Hill said that the pitchers would would be used on an inning-by-inning basis against Carolina. The teal and black finished up a stretch of six games in six straight days.
Southpaw Luke Dilda took the ball first and after a clean first inning Dilda began to struggle. The first two Disco Turkeys reached on walks and then Carolina third baseman Max Gustafson lined a double to right field to make the score 1-0.
Two batters later the free passes continue. Dilda walked two more Disco Turkeys to bring in another run to make it 2-0.
Just like Costin against Wake Forest, the leash was short for the Wilson, NC native. Dilda was pulled after just 1.1 innings pitched, four runs, four walks, and zero strikeouts. In back-to-back games, Steamers starters have failed to make it through the second frame.
Before things got better they got worse on the hill. Right-handed arm Ben Bausas hit the first batter he faced in a 1-2 count to make the game 3-0. The Disco Turkeys scored another run to make it four runs on just one hit.
Carolina tacked on two more in the 3rd inning to push the lead up to 6-0. On the offensive side, the Steamers could not get anything going against starter Conner Frail.
Frail went the first four innings and allowed zero runs, two hits, and struck out two. In the other dugout, the bats were clicking.
In the top of the 6th inning, Gustafson launched a one-out homerun off of Bausas to put the Disco Turkeys up seven. It was the second long ball the Chowan right-hander has allowed and the seventh given up by the Clams as a whole.
In the bottom half, the Clams finally cracked the Carolina code. Catcher Macon Winslow sent a single to center field to plate second baseman Luke Myers to make the score, 7-1.
After another run by the Clams in the 7th inning the Disco Turkeys responded and the game was 8-2 in the 9th. The teams scored 10 through the first eight innings and then proceeded to nine combined in the 9th inning alone.
To start, Carolina was making trips around bases against Steamers reliever Will Stewart. Stewart surrendered four runs, and five walks with just one hit out of the pen. After tonight Stewart leads the team with 15 walks.
Each of the four pitchers ( Dilda, Bausas, Hank Downum, and Stewart) gave up at least 1 hit, 1 earned run, and 1 walk. Through the first 13 games, the Steamers have allowed on average six free passes per game.
In almost identical fashion the Clams scored five runs on four walks and one hit in the bottom of the 9th.
The only hit was by first baseman Tate Abbott who launched a home run to right field for his first of the season. The left-handed slugger sent four over the wall last season for the Clams.
In the end, the offense was too little too late.
The Steamers will look to rebound after a day off before game 4 of the 7-game homestand against the Tarboro River Bandits, Tuesday night at Historic Hicks Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05.
If you cannot make it to the game you can tune into the Steamers YouTube page, your home for every Steamers home game, and a select few road games.