Goldeys 6, Canaries 8 – Boxscore
The Sioux Falls Canaries came from behind to defeat the Winnipeg Goldeyes (41-30) by a score of 8-6 at Sioux Falls Stadium Thursday afternoon.
The Goldeyes took a 1-0 lead just three batters into the ballgame when Raul Navarro singled down the right field line to drive in Eric Rivera. Navarro has now hit safely in 24 consecutive games.
Winnipeg increased their lead to 4-0 in the top of the fourth inning. First Kevin Lachance doubled to right-centre field to bring in Reggie Pruitt Jr. One pitch later Deon Stafford Jr. crushed a two-run home run to left field.
Sioux Falls (27-42) evened the score at 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth. Zane Gurwitz hit a two-run double to left field that plated Shamoy Christopher and Nick Gotta. Angelo Altavilla then came home on a fielder’s choice before Trey Michalczewski doubled in Gurwitz to tie the game.
The Goldeyes re-took the lead in their next at-bat. Lachance hit a solo home run to left field – his seventh extra-base hit in four games – to make it 5-4, then Stafford scored on a throwing error to give Winnipeg a two-run advantage.
The Canaries however, scored four more in the bottom of the inning on an RBI double off the wall in left field by Altavilla that brought Kona Quiggle around and a three-run home run down the right field line off the bat of Gavin LaValley that gave the hosts an 8-6 lead.
Neither starter figured in the decision. Sioux Falls reliever Nate Garkow (1-0) was awarded the win, allowing one hit in one inning of work, while Mitchell Walters pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his fourth save of the season.
Jhon Vargas (3-1) was charged with the loss. He surrendered four runs on five hits over two innings.
Railroaders 11, Milkmen 9 – Boxscore
It came down to the wire, but the Railroaders were able to take care of business and take the finale of their three-game set against the Milkmen from Franklin Field on Thursday evening.
Cleburne started the scoring early, a trend that continued throughout the entirety of the game. The first run came across when Kacy Clemens walked with the bases loaded to score Zach Nehrir. Two more came in to score when Jacob Bockelie knocked two of his four RBIs on the night in with a single up the middle to bring Hill Alexander and Chase Simpson home. After the top of the first, it was 3-0 in favor of the Railroaders.
The home team Milkmen were not phased, however, as they scored twice in the bottom of the first inning off Cleburne starter Michael Wong.
In need of some cushion between themselves and Milwaukee, the Railroaders struck for three more in the top of the third. It started when Clemens hit a sacrifice fly to center field that brought Nehrir in from third to score. Alexander, who had reached on a walk, scored on a mammoth shot by Bockelie over the right field wall and over the seats to make the score 6-2.
But once again the Milkmen weren’t phased. They put one across in the bottom of the frame to cut the lead to three.
In the bottom of the fourth, Milwaukee scored twice to bring them within one at 6-5.
Cleburne was once again in need of some more runs to pad onto their lead. They were able to get another run to the plate when they took advantage of a Keon Barnum error on a ground ball hit by Bockelie that brought Simpson in to score.
Another Railroaders’ run came around in the next frame off a Nehrir sacrifice fly that brought in Edwin Arroyo. After six innings, Cleburne led 8-5.
The marathon continued into the seventh inning, where Cleburne struck once again in memorable fashion. Nick Shumpert was at the plate with Eddie Hernandez at second base. Shumpert swung and missed at strike three in the turf. The pitch got away from Milwaukee catcher Christ Conley, allowing Shumpert to advance to first on the dropped third strike. Hernandez, who was already running on the pitch, easily got into third base but decided that was not enough, as he rounded third base and bounded to home plate to increase the Railroaders’ lead to 9-5.
Capping the night off for Cleburne was Alexander, who launched what might be the longest home run in Franklin Field history. The ball was hit over the berm that lies behind the left field fence and onto the walking path. It brought both him and Nehrir home and Cleburne led 11-5.
Luckily for Cleburne, that five-run cushion would just barely be enough for them to hold on and win. Landon Holifield came out in relief to attempt and close out the game for the Railroaders but struggled with command. He walked Aaron Hill with the bases loaded and two outs to score the first run of the frame and then let up an infield single to Logan Trowbridge that brought another run to the plate. With the score at 11-7, Railroaders’ manager Logan Watkins turned to his closer Nick Gardewine to try to shut the door on the Milkmen.
Gardewine walked the first batter he faced to bring the total to 11-8. He struck out the next batter he faced in Jeremiah Burks, but the ball got away from the catcher Bockelie which allowed everyone to advance and another run to score. With the league leader in hitting coming to the plate in Bryan Torres and the bases loaded, it was looking like the ‘Roaders just might blow another big lead.
Wong picked up the win for the Railroaders with his five innings of work. He allowed five runs on seven hits with one strikeout. Ryan Zimmerman got the loss for Milwaukee. He only went four and a third innings, allowing seven runs on six hits with five walks and three punchouts.
The Cleburne closer buckled down, however, and forced Torres to ground out to second to end the game and clinch the victory for the Railroaders.
Dogs 5, DockHounds 0 – Boxscore
It’s a dog eat dog world out there.
Cougars 12, Monarchs 6 – Boxscore
Ernie De La Trinidad was perfect from the plate for the Kane County Cougars (36-36) on Thursday night. De La Trinidad’s six-for-six performance at the plate with a home run, two doubles, and five RBI secured the series win against the Kansas City Monarchs (46-25). Kansas City fell to Kane County with a final score of 12-6.
The Cougars offense started fast in the first frame, with a leadoff home run from Ernie De La Trinidad over the right field wall to secure a 1-0 lead. Jon Harris received the start for Kansas City and settled down after surrendering a solo home run. Harris allowed only one hit the rest of the inning, striking out one along the way to hold the Cougars to one run. The Monarchs offense responded in the bottom of the first by capitalizing on two, two-out walks from starting pitcher Westin Muir. With David Thompson and Matt Adams both on base after drawing walks, Casey Gillaspie brought them both home with an RBI double to right center field.
The Monarchs offense was not done yet, with J.C Escarra picking up an RBI single to right field and scoring Casey Gillaspie. Kansas City threatened again as Escarra reached second base on an error, but Muir escaped the inning with the Cougars only trailing by two runs.
In the second inning, the newest Monarch and Overland Park, KS native, Caeden Harris, made his mark on the game with a difficult catch against the wall in left field to prevent an extra base hit. Kane County did not wait long to cut into the Monarchs lead. A single from Galli Cribbs Jr. set up De La Trinidad for a double and his second RBI of the night, cutting the lead to one run. The Cougars tied it up with an RBI single from Alexis Pantoja, ending the inning with the score all tied up at 3-3. Caeden Harris picked up his first hit as a Monarch in the bottom of the second inning, but the other Monarch bats went quiet, as Muir held them scoreless behind a 4-6-3 double play.
Kane County’s offense picked back up in the third inning with a leadoff double to left center from Jimmy Kerrigan. The Cougars wasted no time bringing Kerrigan home with a Dylan Busby home run over the right field wall. Kane County threatened with two runners on base, but Frank Rubio replaced Jon Harris, who left due to injury, to end the inning and hold the deficit to two runs. Kansas City again went quietly on offense in the bottom of the third, as Muir retired three of four Monarchs, allowing no hits and no runs.
In the top of the fourth, Frank Rubio worked to settle in on the mound quickly, allowing three hits but no runs courtesy of a 6-3 double play. Westin Muir once again slowed the Monarchs offense, this time by retiring Kansas in order to hold the score at 5-3.
Jordan Martinson entered from the Swope Health bullpen to replace Frank Rubio. With Martinson on the mound in the fifth inning, the Cougars struck out three times and put three more runs on the board. The Cougars led 8-3 heading into the home half of the fifth. Muir’s last inning of work came in the fifth inning as he retired three of four Monarchs to end his outing with four hits allowed, three earned runs, and two strikeouts.
The Monarchs once again called upon the bullpen with Brian Glowicki entering for Kansas City. Glowicki allowed two runs in his inning of work following an RBI double from Ernie De La Trinidad with the bases loaded, his fourth and fifth RBIs of the night. The Cougars extended their lead to 10-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth. Jack Anderson replaced Westin Muir on the mound for Kane County. With Anderson on the mound, the Monarchs were loaded the bases with a single from J.C. Escarra, a walk drawn by Ryan Grotjohn, and a single from Alexis Olmeda. With the bases loaded and no outs, the Monarchs added two before the inning came to a close with an RBI walk from Harris and an RBI single from Kevin Santa. The Monarchs trailed 10-5, stranding three runners on base in the inning.
Kansas City secured its first one, two, three inning after Brandon Koch entered on the mound in the seventh inning, retiring the Cougars in order. The Monarchs added one more run in the seventh inning, this time against Ben Allison. J.C. Escarra’s deep solo blast to right field cut the deficit to only four runs. Kansas City threatened to add another run with a near inside-the-park home run from Ryan Grotjohn who was thrown out at home.
In the eighth, Koch faced only three Kane County batters, walking one, allowing no hits or runs on his way to another scoreless inning of work. Allison followed suit with his own scoreless inning of work, retiring Kansas City in order striking out one in the inning.
In the final frame, Jacob Lindgren replaced Brandon Koch for Kansas City. Kane County added two more runs after loading the bases with no outs. With the bases loaded, Sherman Johnson reached second base on a fielder’s choice and error by Alexis Olmeda, scoring two runs in the process. The Monarchs trailed 12-6 heading into the bottom of the ninth, down to their final three outs. Ryan Richardson entered to slam the door on any comeback from Kansas City. Richardson needed only 11 pitches to force three fly outs to end the game in one, two, three fashion.
Explorers 3, RedHawks 8 – Boxscore
The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (47-24) beat the Sioux City Explorers (30-40) by a score of 8-3 on Thursday night at Newman Outdoor Field and swept the Explorers for the second time this year.
Sioux City opened the game with a run in the first inning as right fielder Trey Martin opened the scoring with an RBI double in the first inning. Second baseman Danny Amaral hit an RBI single in the second inning to give the Explorers a 2-0 lead.
RedHawks pitcher Danny Taggart was a last-minute replacement starter as Ledgend Smith was scratched from the lineup right before the game. Taggart allowed the two runs on four hits and four walks and was pulled after four innings pitched. The right-hander struck out two batters in his first start of the season. Brady Stover came in the fifth inning and allowed a hit and two walks in two scoreless innings and picked up his second win of the year.
Second baseman Peter Maris hit a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning to give the ‘Hawks their first lead in the game. On the very next pitch, Drew Ward hit a solo home run, giving Fargo-Moorhead a three-run lead. This was Ward’s first game back since suffering an injury on July 10 in Sioux Falls.
Explorers’ starter Zach Hedges (1-6) earned the loss after allowing five runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out six batters in six innings pitched. Kevin Lenik and Brandon Brosher each pitched an inning each in relief for Sioux City. Lenik allowed an earned run on one hit as Bosher gave up two runs on two hits in the eighth inning.
RedHawks relief pitcher Luke Lind came in for Stover in the seventh inning and allowed a run on a sacrifice fly from left fielder Danry Vasquez. In the bottom of the seventh, Drew Ward scored his second run of the game on a wild pitch from Lenik. An inning later, Peter Maris added insurance with a two-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning off of Brosher, giving the RedHawks an 8-3 lead. The Explorers had no answers when it came to Maris, as he went 3-for-4, with six RBI tonight. In the three games against Sioux City, Maris went 9-for-14 with nine RBI and two homeruns.
Right-handed pitcher Joe Jones pitched a clean inning in the top of the eighth inning before turning the ball to Alex DuBord in the ninth. DuBord allowed one walk and pitched a scoreless inning in the win.
The RedHawks are 7-3 against Sioux City this year and will play the Explorers for one more series at the end of the month. With tonight’s win and a Kansas City loss, the RedHawks have a one-game lead in the West Division with a five-game winning streak and 6-4 in the last ten games.