ROME BRAVES WRAP UP HOMESTAND WITH WIN OVER HICKORY CRAWDADS

Final score – Rome 7, Hickory 1

(Media release from the Rome Braves):

The Rome Braves and Hickory Crawdads met for the final time in Rome in 2022, as Sunday’s series finale would wrap up the home stand.

Rome’s rotation would turn back over to Roddery Munoz. Munoz opened the series for the Braves on Tuesday in a game that went awry quickly. On Tuesday, Munoz would not make it out of the top of the first, giving up three runs on three hits. It would be a different story on Sunday afternoon, as Munoz would go five full scoreless innings, giving up four hits with five strikeouts.

Hickory’s Mason Englert would lock up the Braves bats through four innings, much like Munoz to the Crawdads. However, Willie Carter would tuck his second home run of the year just between the scoreboard and the outfield fence in the bottom of the fifth. Carter’s second home run of the year would be his first inside AdventHealth Stadium. Vaughn Grissom would add on to Rome’s tally with a fifth inning one-out double that drove in two runs to give the Braves a four to nothing lead.

Rome’s bullpen would hold the fort down, as Davis Schwab and Benjamin Dum would combine to cover the last four innings, Schwab with two and a third, and Dum eating the Hickory’s Jayce Easley would drive in the Crawdad’s first run of the game on a ground out to short to score Cody Freeman.

The Braves would tack on a few more in the bottom of the eighth, as a Landon Stephens triple would set him up to be driven in by a Tyler Tolve double. Willie Carter would have himself a day, driving in another run, and Christian Robinson would cap the scoring effort for the Braves with a sac fly to center to give the Braves their first win of the second half, and their thirty-seventh win on the 2022 season.

Roddery Munoz would be credited with the win, his third of the year, and Ben Dum would pick up the save. Rome now travels to Greenville for a six game stint with the Drive.