Charlotte Knights 7, Rochester Red Wings 2
The Knights (64-53) wasted no time getting on the board, with Rikuu Nishida opening the game with a bunt single, swiping second and taking third on a throwing error by the catcher before Tim Elko knocked him home with a base hit for a 1-0 lead. Rochester answered with a run off Shane Smith in the second, but that was about all the Red Wings could muster against the Charlotte starter. Smith turned in a quality start, allowing just one run on three hits and a walk while striking out five over six innings.
The Knights gave Smith plenty of breathing room, adding three runs in both the fourth and fifth innings, highlighted by a Joey Wiemer double and an Elko three-run bomb. Tyler Schweitzer kept Rochester quiet with two scoreless frames out of the bullpen, and although Garrett Schoenle surrendered a run in the ninth, he shut it down before things could get interesting and secured the win.
MVP
Tim Elko: 3-for-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, HR, 2 K
MVPRunners-Up
Joey Wiemer: 1-for-4, RBI, 2B
Shane Smith: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, K, W
Tyler Schweitzer: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K
Cold Cat
Ryan Galanie: 0-for-4, BB, K
Cold Cat Runners-Up
Garrett Schoenle: 1 IP, 1 H,1 R, BB, 2 K
Riley Unroe: 0-for-3, 2 K
Birmingham Barons 7, Columbus Clingstones 6 (10 innings)
The Barons (45-66) overcame a slow start and a blown four-run lead but still managed to walk it off in 10. Columbus finally broke the scoreless tie with two off Juan Carela in the fourth, while Birmingham’s bats were snoozing with just two hits in four innings. In the fifth, there was finally a sign of life when Jorge Corona got plunked, Jose Colmenares walked and Samuel Zavala singled to pack the sacks. Caleb Bonemer wore one for the RBI, Alec Briley tied it with a sac fly, Anthony DePino ripped a double and suddenly the Barons were up, 3-2.
The seventh inning saw even more action with singles from Zavala, Bonemer, Colby Shelton and Ryan Burrowes driving in a pair, and then Taussig went yard in the eighth for a 6-2 cushion. So much for that four-run cushion, though. Jonathan Clark got two quick outs in the ninth, then three singles and a bomb, and Columbus knotted it at 6-6. The Barons stranded a walk and a single in the home half, so off to extras it went. The Clingstones went quietly in the 10th. For the Barons, Taussig started at second and moved to third on a wild pitch. Colmenares walked, Zavala grounded out, Sprinkle lined out and Birmingham was down to its last gasp. No hit needed — another wild pitch, Taussig scored, and the Barons won it with a crazy wild-pitch walk-off.
MVP
Pierce George: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, W
MVP Runners-Up
Jackson Kelley: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 K, WP
Mathias LaCombe: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, K, H
Aidan Anderson: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, K, H
Samuel Zavala: 2-for-5, 2 R, BB, 2 K
Caleb Bonemer: 1-for-2, R, RBI, K
Alec Briley: 1-for-4, RBI, 2B
Anthony DePino: 1-for-4, RBI, BB, 2B, 2K
Ryan Burrowes: 1-for-4, RBI, BB, K
James Taussig: 1-for-5, R, RBI, HR, K
Cold Cat
Jonathan Clark: 1 IP, 4 H, 4 R
Cold Cat Runners-Up
Juan Carela: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K
Jordan Sprinkle: 0-for-1
Greensboro Grasshoppers 10, Winston-Salem Dash 9 (10 innings)
The Dash (60-50) did their best to come back, but the night ended in heartbreaking fashion. Starter Jake Curtis got lit up for five runs on seven hits in six frames, though he managed five Ks. Still, Winston-Salem kept fighting as George Wolkow smashed a two-run shot in the fourth.
In the sixth, Javier Mogollón walked, swiped second, took third on a bad throw and scored on a Kyle Lodise grounder. Greensboro answered with a solo bomb, then piled on two more in the seventh to grab a 7-4 lead. The Dash finally wiped out the deficit in the eighth, loading the bases and tying it up at 7-7 with a Wes Kath grounder, a Jackson Appel RBI knock and a Derek Cerda force out.
Wolkow came through again in the ninth, launching his second two-run blast of the night and finally giving the Dash a 9-7 lead.
That lead vanished in a hurry. Frankeli Arias walked the leadoff man, got a pop out, then served up a two-run homer to tie it. Aric McAtee cleaned up for the last two outs and sent it to extras, but Winston-Salem fizzled in the 10th with three up and three down. Greensboro moved the ghost runner to third with a bunt, McAtee got a strikeout for the second out, then Dylan Palmer hit a grounder to third that clanked off Jeral Perez’s glove, allowing the winning run to score.
MVP
George Wolkow: 2-for-4, 3 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR, BB, K
MVP Runners-Up
Kyle Lodise: 2-for-5, R, RBI, 2B, K
Wes Kath: 2-for-5, R, RBI
Jackson Appel: 1-for-4, RBI, BB
Javier Mogollón: 1-for-4, 2 R, BB, SB, 2 K
Caedmon Parker: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 K
Cold Cat
Jake Curtis: 6 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 0 BB, 5 K
Cold Cat Runners-Up
Frankeli Arias: 1/3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, BB, BS
Christian Oppor: 1/3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 3 BB
Roch Cholowsky: 0-for-3, R, BB
Hickory Crawdads 5, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 3
The Cannon Ballers (57-54) had plenty of chances, but there wasn’t a clutch hit when they needed it. Kannapolis broke a scoreless tie in the third, stringing together three singles from Crew McChesney, Jake Berkland and Jaden Fauske to take a 1-0 edge. The Crawdads answered with two runs off Gabe Tanner in the fourth, but the Ballers quickly pulled even when Braden Holcomb ripped a triple and came home on a Steven Lancia sac fly. Hickory kept pecking away, tagging Tanner for another run in the sixth before adding two more off Andrew Berg in the seventh to take a 5-2 lead.
Kannapolis had a golden opportunity to get something going in the eighth. Clay Burdette was plunked and Grayson Fitzwater worked a walk before Lancia grounded into a force out. A wild pitch brought Burdette home to make it 5-3, and Alexander Albertus followed with a single to put runners on the corners. But after a Hickory pitching change, Rylan Galvan grounded into a rally-killing double play. The Ballers managed only a one-out walk in the ninth and couldn’t do anything with it. Kannapolis finished with seven hits and five walks but went just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, leaving plenty of traffic on the bases and not nearly enough of it crossing the plate.
MVP
Jaden Fauske: 1-for-4, RBI, BB, SB, K
MVPRunners-Up
Gabe Tanner: 6 IP, 9 H, 3 R (2 ER), BB, 5 K, QS, L
Braden Holcomb: 1-for-3, R, 3B
Alexander Albertus: 2-for-4
Crew McChesney: 2-for-4, R, K
Jake Berkland: 1-for-2, 2 BB
Cold Cat
Andrew Berg: 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, K
Cold Cat Runners-Up
Rylan Galvan: 0-for-4, K, PB
Grayson Fitzwater: 0-for-3, BB, 3 K
DSL White Sox 16, DSL Mets Blue 10 (7 innings)
The DSL White Sox (19-32) hung eight runs on the board in the first, with Sebastian Romero lacing a double and both Orlando Patino and Hector Hernandez unloading three-run bombs. The rookie-ball chaos was in full swing in the second, and the Sox took advantage of four walks, two wild pitches and a plunking to make it 12-1. The bats didn’t let up, tacking on single runs in the next four frames, with Fernando Graterol circling the bases for an inside-the-park job in the sixth. The offense went an impressive 7-for-16 with runners in scoring position. The pitching was wobbly but did just enough to keep the Mets at bay and lock down the W.
MVP
Hector Hernandez: 1-for-4, 4 RBI, HR, 2 R, BB, K
MVPRunners-Up
Sebastian Romero: 2-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B
Orlando Patino: 1-for-3, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR, E
Fernando Graterol: 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, HR, 2 K
Ronald Cardozo: 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, 2B, K
Cold Cat
Roderic Ramirez: 3 IP, 4 H, 6 R (3 ER), BB, 4 K, HBP
Cold Cat Runners-Up
Juan Felix: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, BB
David Colmenares: 3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, BB, 2 K