Grand slam leads Catfish to win

Columbus Catfish DH Greg Sexton went 4-for-5 and drove in 5 runs, including 4 on a 6th inning grand slam, to help the Catfish down the Greenville Drive (Red Sox) 11-5 tonight. It is the Catfish' 2nd straight win, and gives them a split in the series.

Down 1-0 after a 1st inning solo homer by Greenville RF Ryan Kalish, the Catfish scored twice in the 3rd, when SS Omar Luna, who singled with 1 out, scored on a bases loaded walk to RF Maiko Loyola. CF Emeel Salem, who had singled, then scored when Sexton grounded out to second.

Greenville took a 4-2 lead on a Che-Hsuan Lin 3-run homer in the bottom of the 3rd.

The Catfish tied it up in the 6th. Loyola walked and scored on groundout by C Mike McCormick. Sexton, who had doubled, scored on a single by 1B Henry Wrigley.

In the 7th, the Catfish broke it open. With 1 out, Salem singled, LF Stephen Vogt reached on an error, and Loyola singled to right to load the bases. That set the stage for Sexton's 4-run blast to left, putting the Catfish up 8-4.

Three more runs in the 9th capped the win for the Catfish. 3B Reid Fronk doubled in Loyola, then McCormick doubled home Sexton and Fronk to increase the lead to 11-4.

Alex Cobb pitched 6 innings, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits, walking a pair, as he improved to 5-2, tops in the league in wins. Kevin Boggan pitched 2 innings, allowing 2 hits. Jose Mejias pitched the 9th, allowing a run on 1 hit and 3 walks, to close out the game.

Sexton's grand slam was his 1st home run of the season. His 5 RBIs puts him at 18, 1 behind Wrigley for the team lead. Salem, who went 3-for-5, stole his league-leading 23rd base of the year.

The win gives the Catfish a series split with Greenville, and sends them to Augusta on a 2-game winning streak. The Catfish and Augusta play 4 games beginning Wednesday night, concluding the road trip. They open an 8-game home stand Monday night.