Friday night was Firework night at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, North Carolina, when the Knights took on the Louisville Bats, however, fans would be treated to fireworks before the actual fireworks thanks to Alcides Escobar.
Trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Knights would load the bases before veteran infielder, Alcides Escobar, took a hack that sent over 10,000 fans into a frenzy in uptown Charlotte, clobbering a walk-off grand slam over the left field wall off left-hander, Jimmy Herget to give the Knights their 39th win of the season.
“I was just trying to put the ball in play in that situation, and just happened to catch the ball on the barrel, and I knew it was gone,” said Escobar, as the Knights erased a two run lead for Louisville late, after the Bats trailed the nights 4-0 after the first inning.
It wouldn’t take long for the Charlotte Knights offense to ignite the fans at BB&T Ballpark on Friday night, as the offense would erupt for four runs in the bottom of the first inning, capped off by a Daniel Palka three-run blast off Louisville’s Brad Markey.
However, Cease would find trouble, after allowing Louisville to tack on a couple runs in the top of the 2nd inning, the Bats would take the lead in the 4th inning, scoring three runs on three hits off the White Sox’ top pitching prospect. Bats’ slugger, Josh VanMeter would get to Cease with two RBI Singles, with the second coming in the top of the 6th inning, chasing Cease from the game after throwing 110 pitches.
“I lost a little bit of control half way through the game, but my stuff was a lot better than it has been, so I feel like I am panning in the right direction,” Cease said after the game, after picking up the no decision. “I feel great mechanically, but I think at the end of the day, it’s about trusting your stuff and going after the hitters.”
Time will tell with the White Sox 3rd ranked prospect, as Cease has given up at least 4 earned runs in each of his last 3 starts, despite having an overall record of 5-2 to go along with a 4.37 earned run average (ERA).
Cease looks to become the next Charlotte Knight to be promoted to the big leagues, as long time catching prospect, Zack Collins, finally made his big league debut with the White Sox in Arlington this weekend as the Sox took on the Texas Rangers, and Collins wasted no time at making his presence felt.
Collins, known to be the White Sox’ top catching prospect, sent a Ariel Jurado fastball 447 feet to right-center field for a 3-run homerun, marking the first big-league hit of his career.
“I got a lot of butterflies,” said Collins, after making his first big league appearance a few days prior to Friday’s game in Arlington. Collins spent the first two and a half months in Triple-A Charlotte with the Knights and has since made an immediate impact on the White Sox roster, with Dylan Cease looking to do the same in the near future.
After their thrilling victory at the hands of Alcides Escobar on Friday night, the Knights treated their fans to a firework show to cap off a night that fans who showed up to BB&T Ballpark will never forget. The Knights look to keep things rolling on Saturday with a day-night doubleheader against the Bats, kicking off at 1 ET.
