· By Whitney Hunt
McGowin Shines, Nelson Powers Dirty Birds to Shutout Victory
The Charleston Dirty Birds kicked off their homestand with a sharp 3–0 shutout win over the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars on Thursday night, fueled by a strong outing from Kyle McGowin and an early homer from James Nelson.
Game Highlights:
- James Nelson got the scoring started in the 1st with a solo homer, his 19th of the year. He also swiped two bases and drew a walk. He has now hit one home run in each of his last four games.
- Alsander Womack added a sac fly in the 6th to make it 2–0.
- A throwing error and a wild pitch in the 7th helped Charleston tack on one more insurance run.
Pitching Breakdown:
- Kyle McGowin (W, 2-5): 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 3 K — worked around trouble and escaped multiple jams.
- Charleston Bullpen: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 5 K — Ronaldo Alesandro (S, 5) shut the door in the 9th despite allowing two hits.
By the Numbers:
- Charleston Offense: 8 hits from 7 different batters
- Strikeouts: Charleston pitchers fanned 9, while Hagerstown struck out 11 times
- Stolen Bases: Nelson (2), Moorer (1)
- Errors: 1 apiece — Charleston’s lone error by Nelson; Hagerstown’s by pitcher Anziani
Up Next:
Charleston continues their series with Hagerstown tomorrow, riding momentum and improved pitching from both the rotation and the bullpen. McGowin’s ERA drops to 3.23, and Alesandro continues to impress with a sub-1.10 ERA.
The Dirty Birds have now won 4 of their last 5.