ZooKeepers Fall Short To Flamingos

The Asheboro ZooKeepers made their one and only trip to Florence, South Carolina on the Fourth of July.

The Flamingos have traveled to Asheboro twice so far this season but the ZooKeepers finally returned the favor.

After a hot start to the second half the ZooKeepers have cooled off some but have a good chance to rekindle some magic.

Ethan Davis would get the call to pitch for the ZooKeepers to face Thomas Wilhite.

Fast Start

After a few games with offensive struggles the ZooKeepers wasted no time getting on the board.

Second baseman Sal Laimo was hit by a pitch to lead off the game but did not have to wait on base long.

In his ZooKeepers debut right fielder Dylan Driver hit an RBI double to drive in Laimo.

The ZooKeepers scored the first run of the game but the lead would not last long.

In the bottom of the second inning, the Flamingos really began to swing the bats well recording four straight singles.

Davis did a good job of damage control only allowing one run to come across despite four hits from the Flamingos.

Big Innings

While the beginning of the game was station to station with singles the game really began to open up for both sides.

In the fourth inning the ZooKeeper bats began to wake up quickly.

Doubles from Zach Evans and Nick Spaventa game the ZooKeepers the lead back and they would not stop there.

Spaventa was quickly driven in by Dylan Driver giving him his third hit of the night and second RBI of the game.

As the Flamingos did earlier in the game they responded when it was needed.

After putting up two in the top of the fourth, the Flamingos answered with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning.

Multiple walks and a few singles propelled the Flamingos to a three run half inning to emphatically retake the lead 4-3.

Tight Down The Stretch 

The lead continued to change hands over the course of the last few innings as runs seemingly were crossing the plate every inning.

In the seventh inning, the Flamingos had runners on the corners and elected to attempt a steal of home.

Flamingos first baseman Owen Hull made the steal attempt and appeared to be out but ZooKeepers catcher Chase Heath dropped the ball.

That run would wind up being the winning run as the game went along.

In the ninth the ZooKeepers had an excellent chance to take the lead but left the bases loaded.

Wrap Up

The ZooKeepers dropped their third game in a row and are now fifth in the division standings.

An 8-7 loss to the Flamingos put the ZooKeepers in a must win scenario coming up in the next two games against the Hi Toms.

The final two games before the all star break will be a home and home with the Hi Toms.

Tomorrow, July 5th, the ZooKeepers will host the Hi Toms with first pitch at 7pm.

You can buy tickets online or at the box office at McCrary Park.