Catfish 8, Greenville 5

From the Columbus Catfish:

Struggling Catfish Hitters Turn it Around in 8-5 Win Over Greenville
SS David Nicholson and RF Sergio Pedroza Break Slumps with Key Sixth Inning Hits

GREENVILLE, SC—SS David Nicholson broke an 0-14 slump with an RBI single in the sixth inning and RF Sergio Pedroza broke his own 0-16 slump with a three-run HR on the next pitch and the Catfish defeated the Greenville Bombers 8-5 tonight in Greenville, SC.  RHP Blake Johnson tossed three innings of relief tonight to pick up the victory, his team-leading ninth of the season.  RHP Albenis Castillo pitched a scoreless ninth for his seventh save in seven opportunities. 1B Dan Batz was 2-3 with a double and reached base four times tonight in the Catfish win, as Columbus is back over .500 at 18-17 (46-58 overall) and Greenville falls two games below the .500 mark at 17-19 (52-52 overall).

The Catfish fell behind early 1-0, but in the bottom of the second inning, Batz drove home CF Ryan Russ with a double and the Fish took the lead with a LF Ryan Carter RBI single. Greenville's John Otness had his second straight RBI single in the third inning against Catfish starter LHP Scott Elbert, and the game was tied at two after three innings. On the first pitch of the fourth inning, C Chris Westervelt homered to left to give the Catfish the lead.

In the sixth with two outs, Nicholson ended his hitless skid with a two-out single to right field. One pitch later off Greenville RHP Kevin Guyette, Pedroza homered down the right field line to give the Fish an 8-3 advantage. Pedroza is now 6 for his last 52 but four of the hits are round-trippers. While Columbus surrendered a pair of runs in the eighth, Castillo slammed the door in the ninth to give the Fish a two to one lead in the series and a 10-8 lead in the season-series with the Bombers. Tomorrow the Catfish play the final game with the Bombers at Municipal Stadium at 7:05 when RHP Jarod Plummer (1-1, 3.49 ERA) takes the mound against Greenville LHP Roger Lincoln.