RiverDogs shut down Rome in 3-0 victory

Bryan Mitchell hurled seven scoreless innings for Charleston as the RiverDogs shut out the Rome Braves, 3-0, in South Atlantic League baseball in front of 4,211 fans at Riley Park on Thursday night.

Mitchell (4-2) had 10 strikeouts, a season high for a Charleston pitcher. Joel De La Cruz went the final two innings for the Southern Division- leading RiverDogs (26-12), striking out three, for his first save.

Last-place Rome fell to 8-30 with the loss.

Tyler Austin had a two-run homer in the first inning, and Reymond Nunez had an RBI single in the third to score Angelo Gumbs, who had tripled.

Edison Sanchez had two of Rome’s six hits.

Ballpark fun
New York Yankees legends Reggie Jackson and Stump Merrill were recognized following the first inning and both received an ovation from the crowd. There was also a tug-of-war match between the Navy and the Air Force that the Navy pulled out in a close contest.

Coming up
Charleston plays its first doubleheader of the year today against Rome. The first game is the resumption of the game on Opening Day that was suspended due to rain. The game is set to resume at 3 p.m., as right-hander Scottie Allen (1-2, 3.41 ERA) faces Rome righty Greg Ross (0-2, 9.26 ERA).

The second game will start 35 minutes after the conclusion of the first game and will go seven innings, with right-hander Wilton Rodriguez ( 1-1, 4.15 ERA) going for Charleston and right-hander Ernesto Silva (0-3, 8.23 ERA) pitching for Rome.

Fans get $1 off tickets for Red Shirt Friday, and fireworks will follow the game.