Hens waste early lead

5/18/2011

FORT MILL, S.C. — The Mud Hens saw a six-run fourth inning go to waste in an 10-7 loss at Charlotte Wednesday night.

The Knights scored three in the sixth and six in the eighth to claim the win.

Charlotte scored in the first on a two-out RBI single by Jordan Danks, but the Hens’ six-run rally erased that advantage.

Will Rhymes’ single and Danny Worth’s double set the table for Timo Perez, who lined a two-run double. One out later Scott Thorman launched his third home run in two days and eighth of the season.

Ben Guez followed with his first homer for the Hens, then Clete Thomas singled, stole second, and scored on a single by Argenis Diaz.

The Hens added a run in the fifth when Worth was hit by a pitch, moved to third on a single by Perez, and scored on a wild pitch.

After giving up that first-inning run, Toledo starter Duane Below held the Knights in check until the sixth when Danks doubled, Lastings Milledge walked, and former Hen Gookie Dawkins pounded his eighth home run of the year.

Charlotte completed its comeback in the eighth by sending 10 batters to the plate.

The key hits in that rally were a two-run double by Andrew Garcia that tied the game, a bases-loaded walk to Jim Gallagher that broke the tie, and a two-run single by Tyler Flowers. The two teams square off again tonight at 7:15.

Hens merchandise among top sellers in minor leagues

The Mud Hens continue to hold their perch among the top merchandise sellers, according to Minor League Baseball.

The national association released a list of the top 25 teams of 160 in licensed merchandise sales, and the Hens are on that list along with 11 other Triple-A teams, including six other members of the International League. The list was released alphabetically and was based on wholesale sales reported from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 of 2010.