History was made on Opening Day for the Salem Red Sox as Jake Dahlstrand and Joe Gunkel teamed up to toss a rain-shortened no-hitter against the Carolina Mudcats on Thursday night at Five County Stadium. The 2-0 victory marked Salem’s 11th no-hitter in franchise history.
Dahlstrand (1-0) was dominant from the first inning on as he set down the first three batters he faced on six pitches. The 23-year old retired the first eight batters he faced before ceding a two-out walk in the last of the third. A two-out walk in the fifth was the only other blemish for Dahlstrand in his six innings of work. He struck out four and walked two while tossing an efficient 75 pitches
Gunkel came on in the seventh inning and forced Dustin Peterson to weakly ground out to Tzu-Wei Lin at shortstop for the first out. The rain, which had been steady since the fifth inning, intensified after the out, sending the game into a delay. After 38 minutes, the game was called, giving Salem the abbreviated no-no.
Wendell Rijo provided the only offense the Red Sox would need with a two-run home run in the top of the second inning. Rijo, the youngest player in the Carolina League, finished 1-for-3 with the blast and two RBI. Manuel Margot went 3-for-3 with three singles and two stolen bases out of the leadoff spot for Salem.
Off to a 1-0 start for the second straight year, Salem will look to start the season with back-to-back wins on Friday night at 7 p.m. Southpaw Trey Ball will toe the rubber for the Sox against Mudcats’ righthander Lucas Sims. Fans can listen to the game on WGMN 1240 AM in Roanoke, online at SalemSox.com and on the TuneIn app.
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Chris Graham
