Catfish rally falls short

A father and daughter enjoying a Catfish game

The first inning took 28 minutes, the bullpen went 6 innings and allowed just 2 hits, and there was a 5-minute delay for an injured umpire. It all added up to an exciting game, but another Catfish loss.

The Hickory Crawdads (Pirates) won there 2nd game in a row after a 2-10 stretch, holding on to beat the Columbus Catfish 7-6 tonight.

Hickory scored 3 runs in the first off Catfish starter Josh Johnson, but tied it up in the bottom of the inning.

CF Emeel Salem singled, stole his league-leading 25th base, but injured himself on the play. PR Henry Wrigley replaced Salem, and moved to third on a ground out, then scored on another ground out. 3B Greg Sexton singled and came home on LF Reid Fronk's 2-run homer off the scoreboard in left.

Hickory regained the lead in the 2nd, scoring a run, then padded the lead with 3 runs in the 3rd.

In the 4th, Sexton doubled, then went to third and scored on back-to-back ground outs.

The 6th inning saw CF Maiko Loyola walk, move to second on a wild pitch, steal third -- his league 2nd-best 19th stolen base -- and score on another wild pitch. Fronk, who had moved to RF, hit his 2nd homer of the night, this one a blast to right field, making it 7-6, but that's as close as the Catfish would get.

Johnson allowed 7 run on 7 hits in 3 innings work. Travis Barnett pitched the middle 3 innings, allowing a hit. Austin Hinkle pitched the final 3 innings, allowing a hit and striking out 5.

Sexton had 3 hits and scored 2 runs for the Catfish. Fronk's 2 homers accounted for 3 RBIs. Salem was the only other Catfish batter to get a hit. DH Shawn O'Malley went hitless, the first game for the Catfish in which he was held hitless.

The Catfish and Hickory conclude their series Thursday night, with the 'Fish needing a win to earn a split.