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Hornets Close In on Conference Lead With Wild Win In Albuquerque

The Charlotte Hornets are closing out August on a high note: with one game remaining before the calendar flips to September, the Hornets have won eight of their last ten to pull within two games of the struggling Crawfords. Sunday night’s game was the wildest of that stretch, as Charlotte and Albuquerque slugged each other all night, ending with a 14-9 Hornet victory in a game that featured three walks, five wild pitches, and a passed ball.

Charlotte struck first with a two-out rally that plated three. Ernesto Gonzales - 3-5 on the night to raise his D4-best average to .349 - singled with two down in the first. Jose Nunez followed up with another base hit, and Gonzales slid safely into third, coming home on a liner by Javier Hernandez that touched down in left for another single. Josh Elliott capped the inning with an epic at bat, fouling off the first three pitches he saw to go down 0-2, then taking three straight close ones from Renato Cantimori before fouling off three more in a full count. The tenth pitch was the one, though: a fastball that missed its spot and wound up right over the plate at the knees. Elliott drilled it on a line, down into the right field corner, and came in to second standing as two runs scored to give Charlotte an early 3-0 lead.

Albuquerque got one back in the second off Jaden Jorgensen, though the rally probably could have gone further. Tim Plante singled to lead off, and Jorgensen walked Travis Winder, then uncorked a wild one on the first pitch he threw to Stuart McKenzie, giving the Dukes a no-out, second and third scoring opportunity. McKenzie delivered a hit into left-center, but it was a shallow bloop and only Plante came around. Tommy Peterson flew out, but not deep enough to bring in the slow Winder. With light-hitting catcher Roger Heskett at the plate, McKenzie tried to take second but was cut down to end the inning.

Charlotte seized another opportunity in the third, as Gonzales once again got things moving with a base hit to right. He stole second while Javier Hernandez took his first pitch, but it didn’t end up mattering as the Charlotte catcher pounded the next one way out to left center for a two run homer, putting the Hornets up 5-1.

But Albuquerque struck back hard in the bottom of the inning. Randy Ahern singled, and with one out Dan Kelley took a walk after an eight pitch AB. Jason Taylor delivered, shooting a one-hop liner between SS Arnold and 3B Nunez; Ahern had read the ball perfectly and got a great jump, taking advantage of Gonzales’s weak arm to score as the throw was off the mark. Then the wheels really came off for Jorgensen, as Plante and Winder each doubled, part of the Dukes’ 8 double attack on the day. That made it 5-5, which is where the inning ended.

Both clubs took a break in a scoreless 4th, but in the 5th Nunez chased Cantimori with a solo shot to make it 6-5. The next inning, the dam broke wide open for Charlotte: a Rich Finley single and two straight walks loaded the bases, leading to a wild at-bat (literally) for Jose Nunez. A run came home when Albuquerque RP Alex Cervantes snapped a 55 foot curve that bounced wildly away from Heskett to advance everyone; a couple pitches later they pair got crossed up on signs and Heskett missed a fastball, tipping off his glove and rolling toward the 1B bag to advance the runners again for the second run of the inning.

After all that, Nunez walked in front of Javier Hernandez, who delivered once again: a drive that cleared the RF fence with room to spare, scoring three and giving Charlotte what proved to be an insurmountable 11-5 lead.

The Dukes tried: they scored one in the sixth on a Peterson double and Randy Ahern single, but Charlotte got it back on a solo shot by Arnold in the top of the 7th. An 8th inning RBI double by Ahern made it 12-7, but Charlotte answered back with a two run ninth. Albuquerque rallied for two in the bottom of the ninth but the deficit was too great, and Roger Heskett finally grounded into a fielder’s choice to put the game to bed.

With the victory, and Pittsburgh’s loss to Phoenix, the Hornets now stand two games back in the D4 East, while the loss keeps the Dukes right where they were: in last place, two games behind the 51s and in danger of relegation.