Hickory starter Jake Brigham and reliever Martin Perez combined for 17 strikeouts as the Crawdads shut out the Hagerstown Suns 6-0 at Municipal Stadium on Monday.
Hickory won three of four in the series to improve to 23-21, while Hagerstown (20-21) dropped back below .500 with its third straight loss.
The Suns' frustrations boiled over in the sixth inning, as hitting coach Tony Tarasco, pitching coach Rich Gale and designated hitter Derek Norris were ejected in order while arguing balls and strikes during Norris' at-bat.
The Suns had seven hits over the course of the game, but were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Each Hagerstown batter struck out at least once, as Brigham (2-2) shut the Suns down over the first five innings before Perez came in for a four-inning, nine-strikeout save. The 17 strikeouts were one shy of the Suns' season high, surpassed only by the 18 strikeouts Hagerstown amassed on April 23 against Lakewood.
