Gnats nip RiverDogs

Winning the first half of the Southern Division of the Class A South Atlantic League might not mean much in the grand scheme of things, but it means something to Charleston RiverDogs' manager Torre Tyson in his quest to develop players in the New York Yankees' farm system.

"The Yankees do a nice job of teaching development, but when it comes to the last 10 or 12 games, they say do whatever it takes to win," Tyson said after Thursday night's 3-1 loss to the Savannah Sand Gnats. "So we're trying to give these guys some playoff-type atmosphere and let them know what it's like to be a winner. You find out really quickly who can and cannot perform in that situation. It's not about just getting a hit or making a play, it's about little things, things we didn't do tonight. Getting in front of some ground balls we didn't knock down, or making a throw. We cost ourselves a ball game with just silly baserunning mistakes."

Charleston is 38-29 with three consecutive home games remaining, all against the Sand Gnats.

Greenville (37-28) closes out the first half with three games at home against the Lexington Astros.

Although the standings list the teams as tied, the RiverDogs are a game behind in the standings for all practical purposes.

"I don't care what the standings say," Tyson said. "We're in second place."

Savannah broke a scoreless tie with two runs in the sixth. Jefrey Marte drove in a run with an RBI double, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a throwing error for the second run of the inning.

Charleston scored a run in the bottom of the inning on Mitch Abeita's run-scoring single to left.

The Sand Gnats moved ahead 3-1 in the seventh on a two-out RBI single to right by Stefan Welch.

Ballpark fun

It was "Thirsty Thursday" night at the ball park, which is always the highlight of any RiverDogs' homestand.

In addition, Barry Coates and Sue Maner were honored for serving those in the community with disabilities.

Coming up

Charleston and Savannah play game two of the four-game series at 7:05 p.m. today.

Kyle Allen (4-2, 4.10 ERA) is the projected starter for the Sand Gnats, while Brett Marshall (3-3, 4.41 ERA) is the expected starter for the RiverDogs. It's also a "Fireworks Night."

Two veteran scouts will be inducted into the Pro Scouts Hall of Fame during pre-game ceremonies.