Salamanders dominate Mustangs 8-1, extend win streak to 3 games

Chris Baird, Triangle Sports Network
Kevin McVey, Triangle Sports Network
Kevin McVey, Triangle Sports Network

HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. – The Holly Springs Salamanders extended their hold on first place in the CPL’s East Division by another game with a decisive 8-1 win over the Martinsville Mustangs at the North Main Athletic Complex on Saturday.

Connor Johnson’s seven inning performance extended his record to 4-1 on the season while Holly Springs (8-3, 20-19) won its third straight game and fifth in its last six with it’s largest win of the season.

The starter from Catawba paralyzed the Martinsville (3-7, 16-21) batting order as he struck out 10 and allowed only three hits on 87 pitches thrown as 1,624 in attendance looked on.

Jonathan Piriz and Chris Cervantes each put in one inning’s worth of work on the mound and helped secure the win for the Salamanders.

Martinsville starter Christian Vann (3-2, 3 IP, 3 R, 5H) took the loss, but wasn’t the scapegoat as two other pitchers behind him, Reggie Johnson (3 IP, 3 R, 5H) and Anthony Sommer (3 IP, 2 R, 4 H) couldn’t contain Holly Springs’ batters much better.

Finishing with 14 hits, the Salamanders bats kept up a consistent pace and scored runs in the first and third innings to lead 3-0 before adding another five runs in the fifth through seventh.

When talking of the team’s batting performances, Holly Springs coach Andrew Ciencin had previously noted that his players have developed a rhythm every game that has equated into their exceptional offensive play.

Devin Wenzel (2-4) led the Holly Springs offense with 3 RBIs, while Mike Sconzo (3-4), Collin Woody (2-4, 1 R), Logan Porter (1-3), and Drew Butler (1-4, 1 R) all added an RBI apiece.

Led by CPL batting leading Brian Miller, who went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate and scored two runs to push his average to .444, the Salamanders got on base from the contributions of eight different batters.

While Miller and Woody will represent the Salamanders as members of the East Division team at the 2015 CPL All-Star Game on Sunday and Monday, Holly Springs will return to action when it hosts the Edenton Steamers on Tuesday.

Boxscore – CPL