GASTONIA, N.C. – Narciso Crook’s two home runs led the way for Gastonia, as the Ghost Peppers beat the Dirty Birds 8-1 in Tuesday’s second half premiere.
Crook’s first of the two long balls came in the sixth inning – an inning where the Peppers scored five runs. Crook, who was Gastonia’s DH on Tuesday, crushed a two-run shot off southpaw Edison Suriel.
Crook’s blast followed Brian O’Grady’s two-run double, which extended O’Grady’s on-base streak to 31 straight games.
Jack Reinheimer’s RBI single capped off the five-run frame, giving the Ghost Peppers a 6-0 lead after six.
Crook homered for the second time in the eighth, crushing a first-pitch fastball from Eddy Demurias 113 miles-per-hour off his bat over the left-center field wall. Crook now has 14 homers and 48 RBIs on the season after his productive evening at the plate.
Justin Wylie also homered on Tuesday, getting the scoring started with a leadoff bomb in the fourth inning. Wylie’s team-leading 15th of the year gave Gastonia a 1-0 lead, his wallop traveling 444 feet to left.
Wylie was able to give the Peppers a lead because Connor Grey shut down the Charleston offense in his return from the IL. Grey, who hadn’t pitched since May 23, went three scoreless and struck out four batters in the contest.
Cas Silber came on in relief and also tossed three scoreless frames, allowing one baserunner. Both Grey and Silber retired the final seven batters they faced.
Nick Snyder and Art Warren combined to pitch the final three innings, closing out the 8-1 win for the Ghost Peppers.
Gastonia starts the second half 1-0 and looks to secure a series win on Wednesday. First pitch is 12:30 p.m.