Winston’s QB gone, Rienzo rocks
It’s great to be back at BB&T Ballpark for another homestand, and this one is the longest of the season. The Dash play eight straight here in Winston-Salem, with the first four coming against the Wilmington Blue Rocks tonight through Sunday.
Here are a few notes in advance of tonight’s series opener:
- Ross Wilson, who played in eight games with the Dash this season, has been sent to Low-A Kannapolis. Wilson hit .167 (4-for-24) with a pair of RBI. He was Winston-Salem’s quarterback because of his role in the MTV reality show “Two-A-Days,” which documented his high school team’s journey to a state championship in Alabama. Wilson was the starting quarterback for that squad.
- Wilson had to put up with some playful hazing with regards to his football fame. En route to Myrtle Beach, the team watched the show’s first season and cheered almost every time he threw a touchdown (on the flip side, they also booed when he threw an interception). Also, Myrtle Beach’s technical crew put a headshot of Wilson from his Hoover High School days on the video board at TicketReturn.com field. He was a great sport about it. Hopefully, we see Wilson back up in Winston-Salem soon.
- Wilson’s return to Kannapolis means that Kyle Eveland is back with Winston-Salem. Eveland played in six games with the Dash last season and went 1-for-11. He spent most of his season with the Intimidators, where he hit .228 in 63 games. Thus far in 2012, the Palmdale, Calif., native is 1-for-8 in just two games.
- Right-handed reliever Taylor Thompson also joins the club, taking the spot of now-released righty Phil Negus. Thompson began this season on the disabled list, but he shined with the Dash in 2011. He went 7–2 with a 2.52 earned run average in 41 appearances. The Montgomery, Ala., native paced all Winston-Salem hurlers in saves (15) and games finished (37). With the addition of Taylor, it is pretty safe to say the Dash lead minor league baseball in “Thompson’s” who have a first name that starts with “T” (Trayce and Tommy, too).
- Andre Rienzo continued his torrid start in 2012 with another tremendous outing Wednesday night. The right-hander allowed just one run on six hits in seven innings, and he whiffed nine for the second straight start. He paces all CL pitchers with 23 strikeouts, two better than Myrtle Beach righty Cody Buckel. Rienzo is now 2–0 with an earned run average of 1.00, and he is averaging 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings.
- How wild has the Southern Division been this season? For the second time in three days, the four teams in the Southern Division own the same record. All four clubs sit at 6–6 through 12 games after Winston-Salem bested Myrtle Beach, Carolina blanked Wilmington and Salem lost a slugfest to Lynchburg.
- Finally, I’m listed as probable for tonight’s broadcast after a strong sunburn hit me Tuesday afternoon and seemingly worsened Wednesday during our mini golf showdown. Almost everyone in the office mentioned the sunburn before saying anything else to me. Always a great sign!
We will talk to you at 6:45 for the Pre-Game Dash on wsdash.com. Then, it’s the Dash and the Blue Rocks at 7. Talk to you then!
- Brian
