Catfish 3, Greenville 2

From the Columbus Catfish:

Small Ball Guides Catfish to 3-2 Win Over Greenville
Three Catfish Pitchers Combine on Six-Hitter in Victory

GREENVILLE, SC—SS Dominique Laurin's sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth inning broke a 2-2 tie and gave the Catfish a 3-2 win against the Greenville Bombers in the first game of a four-game series.  RHP Dimas Reina, RHP Brian Akin, and LHP Wesley Wright combined to limit the top hitting team in the South Atlantic League to just six hits, with Wright earning his first win of the season.  C Gabriel Gutierrez went 3-4 for Columbus and had a single in the ninth inning to set up the game-winning run.  2B Brandon Carter had two hits and two RBI for the Catfish, who improve to 17-16 in the second half (45-57 overall) while Greenville falls to 16-18 (51-51 overall).

Reina gave up a solo HR to Greenville RF Chris Turner in the second inning, and the Catfish could not manage a run against Greenville RHP Jarrett Gardner in the first four innings.  In the fifth, singles by RF Ryan Carter and Gutierrez, along with a sac bunt by Laurin put runners at second and third with one out.  Carter followed with a two-run single to give the Catfish a 2-1 lead.

Akin fired three scoreless innings from the fifth through the seventh, but in the bottom of the eighth leading 2-1, the Catfish hurler gave up a one-out double to 2B Jeff Natale.  Natale moved to third on an error by RF Ryan Russ, and scored when 3B Andrew Pinckney singled off Wright in relief.  In the top of the ninth against RHP Harvey Garcia, Ryan Carter and Gutierrez singled to put runners at first and third, and Carter scored on Laurin's sac fly.  Wright pitched a scoreless ninth for the win.  The Catfish have a 9-7 advantage over Greenville in the 23-game season series, which continues tomorrow when RHP Brandon Weeden (2-7, 5.55 ERA) faces off against RHP Gary Galvez for Greenville at 6:05 PM at Greenville Municipal Stadium.