RiverDogs win game, but lose half

RiverDogs 8, Sand Gnats 2

The Charleston RiverDogs pounded the Savannah Sand Gnats for eight runs on 17 hits to end the first half with a flourish, but the team came one win short of what they needed to extend the chase for the playoffs.

Charleston overwhelmed Savannah in an 8-2 victory on Sunday in front of 2,358 fans at Riley Park to finish the first half with a 45-25 record, the team's best half of baseball since changing the team name to RiverDogs in 1994. Despite their unprecedented success, the RiverDogs finished one game behind the Asheville Tourists, who defeated the Hickory Crawdads 8-6 to win the South Atlantic League's Southern Division first half title.

"What I'm hoping for the second half is the guys know how to win and they know how to be in a playoff atmosphere," Charleston manager Torre Tyson said. "So hopefully, if we put ourselves in that position again, we can handle it better than we did."

The RiverDogs, who were a game behind Asheville on Friday, had their opportunities to earn a playoff spot, but they lost two of three to Savannah and couldn't take advantage of the Tourists' two losses at Hickory, N.C. In fact, Asheville lost six of its final eight games to give Charleston plenty of help in the standings.

"Asheville put us in the driver's seat and we couldn't capitalize. It's a shame," Charleston pitcher Adam Olbrychowski said. "We're definitely optimistic because we're only halfway through the season. We can really hit our stride in the second half."

If Charleston can pile on hits like it did Sunday, there will be little problem making another run at a playoff spot. Jesus Montero was 4-for-5 with a run and two RBIs, and Austin Romine was 3-for-5 and drove in two runs.

Olbrychowski improved to 5-2 as a starter and gave up only one run on three hits and two walks while striking out four. He recovered nicely from a poor beginning in which he walked the first two batters before settling into a string of scoreless innings.

"It wasn't a very good beginning. I couldn't find my release point and couldn't get into a groove. I did later," he said.

Savannah (33-37) was only able to score in the first and a run in the eighth inning, while Charleston scored in five of the eight innings they batted.

All-Star call-up

RiverDogs pitcher Lance Pendleton was added to the SAL All-Star Southern Division team on Sunday to become the sixth Charleston player on the roster. Pendleton started the season in the bullpen and worked his way into the starting rotation after a couple of players were injured. He's 6-2 with a 1.89 earned run average and has 64 strikeouts in 62 innings.

Coming up

Except for the South Atlantic League All-Stars, the entire league will take a three-day midseason break. The game will be in Greensboro, N.C., on Tuesday and the second half will begin on Thursday.

E—FPena, Eigsti, Angelini. DP—Charleston 1. LOB—Savannah 7, Charleston 11. 2B—FPena, Almonte, Suttle, Montero, Romine. SF—Abruzzo. SB—Veloz, RPena, Almonte. CS—RPena.

WP—Carr 2, Waechter. Att—2,358. T—3:08.