Gnate and the Gnats Fall to Charleston... and Tessa?

The winning streak ends at three for the Savannah Sand Gnats as the Charleston RiverDogs earned their first win of the second half with a, 4-2, victory in front of 2,236 at Historic Grayson Stadium Saturday night.

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The Gnats looked as if they would spark a comeback in the ninth when Kai Gronauer homered to lead off the inning. Stefan Welch followed Gronauer’s blast to left with a single into right and the Gnats were in business. Imbewer Alvarez was inserted in the game for Welch as a pinch runner but was subsequently thrown out on a snap throw by the catcher Chase Weems for the first out of the ninth inning.

Evan LeBlanc grounded out and Rafael Fernandez struck out to end the game. With the home run in the ninth, Gronauer extended his hitting streak to a season-high eight games.

Back-to-back doubles by Jose Pirela and Ray Kruml in the second inning propelled the RiverDogs to take a one-run lead. Melky Mesa knocked Kruml home with an RBI-single to give Charleston a, 2-0, lead.

The Gnats got one back in the fourth on an RBI-single by Stefan Welch but the ‘Dogs responded right away in the top of the fifth when Corban Joseph smacked his a two-run home run for his first long ball of the year giving Charleston a three-run advantage.

Chuck Nolte (1-0) picks up the win in relief for Charleston while Kyle Allen’s (5-3) string of two straight wins comes to an end as he took loss. Eric Beaulac had an impressive four-inning scoreless outing in relief. The Troy, NY native struck out six batters in a row between the last out of the seventh and the second out of the ninth.

Elvin Ramirez (3-6) can still give the Gnats a series win tomorrow as he faces off against Charleston’s David Phelps (7-2) in the fourth game of the series. It is a Family Sunday presented by the Savannah Morning News, BIG 98.3 and The CW. It’s also Gnate’s Fifth Birthday Party and Mascot Mania Day brought to you by the Savannah Community Blood Bank. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m.