Cooper strikes out 11 as Dash shutout Mudcats 8-0 in Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem’s Matt Cooper struck out 11 over eight scoreless innings while leading the Dash to an 8-0 blanking of the Mudcats on Thursday night at BB&T Ballpark in Winston-Salem. Ryan Gebhardt was 3-for-4 and had all three Carolina hits in the shutout loss.

Cooper (3-4, 3.22) retired the first nine he faced in consecutive order to start the game and allowed just two hits over eight innings pitched. He did not issue a walk and struck out 11 while bringing his Minor League Baseball leading strikeouts total to 86 on the season. Cooper’s 11 strikeouts were the most collected by a starter against the Mudcats (21-30) this season.

The Dash (20-34) scored twice in the first and once in the second, third and fourth innings while taking a 5-0 lead against Max Povse and the Mudcats. Povse (3-3, 2.98) took the loss after allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits over five innings pitched. He also finished with two walks and struck out four while working through five frames with 91 pitches thrown.

Hunter Jones was 3-for-4 with two batted in out of the lead off spot for Winston-Salem in their series tying win. Cleluis Rondon was 3-for-4 with a run out of the nine spot and Mason Robbins was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

Michael O’Neal and Zack Bird followed Povse out of the bullpen and combined to limit the Dash to three runs and four hits over the final three innings. O’Neal struck out one while facing only three in a scoreless sixth. Bird left one man on in the seventh, but gave up three hits and three runs in the eighth.

The Dash victory evened the series at a game apiece and was played in just two hours and 19 minutes. Carolina suffered its fourth shutout loss of the season on Thursday night; just one night after collecting their third shutout win. The series finale is scheduled forFriday night with the first pitch at 7:00 p.m. at BB&T Ballpark. The Mudcats will have starter Ryan Clark (0-5, 6.38) on the mound inFriday’s rubber game against Winston-Salem’s Thad Lowry (3-4, 4.75).

The Mudcats next return to Five County Stadium on Thursday, June 9 for game one of a four game home stand against Winston-Salem. The home stand begins with Thirsty Thursday and will continue with Military Appreciation Weekend beginning on Friday, June 10. The Mudcats will wear specially designed Military Appreciation jerseys throughout the weekend, with those same jerseys made available for purchase through an online auction following the series. Saturday’s game on June 11 will feature a Camouflage Hat Giveaway at Five County Stadium for the first 1,200 kids ages 15 and under.

This story was originally published June 2, 2016 at 11:30 PM with the headline "Cooper strikes out 11 as Dash shutout Mudcats 8-0 in Winston-Salem."