McGowin Shines, Nelson Powers Dirty Birds to Shutout Victory

· 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.