Salamanders putting it together at last

Holly Springs Salamanders manager Andrew Ciencin anticipated his team might make a move in the right direction last week. His players proved him right, winning four times in six games and climbing from last place in the Coastal Plain League’s East division into a tie for sixth and just four games out of playoff position.

“I think we have the potential to do really well as you’ve seen in the last couple of games,” Ciencin said following Saturday night’s 5-4 home win over Martinsville. “I’m happy with where we’re at right now but we just have to continue to get better.”

The Salamanders (8-14) were ignited by a 17-run, 21-hit outing against Fayetteville on Monday and followed up with three more wins over the next five games. The four wins in six days equaled the total number of wins over the previous 20 days and Holly Springs has gone 8-10 following an 0-4 start to the season.

Record setting night: Fans in attendance on Monday night were treated to a record-setting performance by the Salamanders. Holly Springs set single-game franchise records for runs (17), hits (21) and RBIs (16). The Salamanders scored six runs in the first inning while sending 10 batters to the plate and added four-run innings in both the fourth and fifth frames. Holly Springs struck out just twice in the game and did not commit an error.

“When we have team at-bats and we put things together and manufacture runs, I think that’s when we’re at our best,” Ciencin said.

Fast relief: While the Salamanders’ starting pitchers have struggled, the Holly Springs bullpen has been lights out. Over the last 10 games, Salamanders relievers have combined for an ERA of just 2.01 and have given up just 27 hits in nearly 45 innings of work.

“We haven’t been getting good starts out of our starters which has killed us. Offensively you go into a hole down four, five or six runs it’s hard to dig out of,” Ciencin said. “But (the bullpen) has been doing a good job just chipping away at games. The bullpen has done really well. They’ve just come in and been able to control it.”

Kory Behenna (a Riverside High alumnus) has logged a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings of relief while holding opponents to just a .167 batting average. Chad Sykes (Voyager Academy) has pitched 8 2/3 innings of relief with a 2.08 ERA and .143 opponent batting average. Behenna and Sykes struck out five of the six batters they faced during the eighth and ninth innings of Saturday’s 5-4 win over Martinsville (Va.).

Going the distance: Matt Frisbee tossed the Salamanders’ first complete game of the season on Tuesday in a 8-3 win over Fayetteville. Frisbee allowed five hits (all singles), no earned runs and no walks. It was just the second complete game in franchise history for Holly Springs.

Welcomed break: Holly Springs has Sunday and Monday off after a stretch of 13 games in 13 days. Holly Springs went 5-7 during the stretch with one game being rained out.

“This is definitely the hardest span of games we’ve had. They’ve been pretty good throughout it. It’s just a matter of getting rest when you’ve got it,” Ciencin said.

League leaders: Among pitchers with at least 17 innings, the Salamanders’ Matt Frisbee is fifth in the 16-team CPL with a 2.12 ERA … Drew Butler is tied for first with 18 runs scored … Dillon Stewart’s 19 RBI is good for fifth place … Stewart and Butler rank third and fourth in stolen bases with 11 and 10 respectively.

The week ahead: Tuesday vs. Lexington County; Wednesday at Wilson; Thursday vs. Fayetteville; Friday at Morehead City; Saturday vs. High Point-Thomasville; Sunday at Morehead City.

GAME RECAPS

Petersburg 8, Holly Springs 2: On June 19, Petersburg chased Salamanders starter Rodney Hutchinson in the third inning while jumping out to a 7-1 lead. Brandon Riley singled, doubled and stole a base for Holly Springs.

Holly Springs 17, Fayetteville 7: On June 20, Drew Butler, Dillon Stewart, Bryce Harman and Brady Harlan all enjoyed three-hit games as the Salamanders scored six times in the first inning.

Holly Springs 8, Fayetteville 3: Last Tuesday, Matt Frisbee threw a complete game for the Salamanders while Devin Ruiz and Danny Sheehan each collected three hits and two RBI.

Wilson 4, Holly Springs 3: On Wednesday, Wilson scored all of its runs in the first three innings while Mike Sconzo went 2-for-3 and Devin Ruiz hit a pinch-hit homerun for Holly Springs.

Holly Springs 5, Wilmington 4: On Thursday, Devin Ruiz singled home the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning and was one of six Salamanders to have a multi-hit game.

Wilmington 6, Holly Springs 0: On Friday, The Salamanders were limited to just two hits for the night and Alec Bohm hit a grand slam homerun for the Sharks.

Holly Springs 5, Martinsville 4: On Saturday, Brandon Riley led off the bottom of the seventh with a homerun for the go-ahead run and the Salamanders took advantage of four Martinsville errors.

This story was originally published June 26, 2016 at 2:44 PM with the headline "Salamanders putting it together at last."