Intimidators: Kannapolis squeaks past Drive

Published 10:31 pm Thursday, April 30, 2015

KANNAPOLIS — A rally was needed for the Intimidators to overcome the Greenville Drive on Wednesday at CMC NorthEast Stadium. Two runs in the bottom of the fourth got Kannapolis on the board, and its four-run fifth — highlighted by Chris Curley’s three-run homer — allowed the Intimidators to win 6-5.

The victory came a day after they lost 11-6 at home to the Drive. Kannapolis (9-11) took two of three from Greenville, and it is at home this weekend for a four-game set against the Rome Braves. The game starts at 7:05 p.m.

The Drive were able to get out front early like they were Wednesday. Nick Longhi singled to left field in the top of the first inning for the game’s first run. Mike Myers hit a triple to right field in the second, and Jordan Procyshen blasted a solo home run in the third for a 3-0 lead.

The Intimidators put a pair of runs on the board in the bottom of the fourth. A wild pitch moved Christian Stringer to second and Chris Curley to third. Zach Fish lined a single to center field scoring Stringer and Curley to cut the Drive’s lead to one.

Stringer was the Intimidators’ leading hitter with a 3-for-4 night that included two runs scored, a double and a triple. He was a home run away from hitting for the cycle.

Kannapolis took a lead it never relinquished in the bottom of the fifth. James Baldwin III hit a long flyball to center field for a triple. Eddy Alvarez’s groundball to second allowed Baldwin III to score and made it a 4-3 ballgame. With two outs in the inning, Curley hit a three-run home run — his fifth of the season — to left-center to push the Intimidators ahead 6-4.

Curley was one of six players with just one hit.

Kannapolis’ Devan Davis pitched 2 2/3 innings in relief for his second win of the season. He struck out three and allowed just one run on one hit.

Greenville’s Jeffrey Fernandez took the loss to drop the 0-3 on the season.