Gary SouthShore 7, St. Paul 1 – Box
The Gary SouthShore RailCats were one of several teams to hold their opponents to just a single run on July 4th, beating the St. Paul Saints 4-1. Morgan Coombs put on an excellent pitching display in front of the 5, 921 fans in the seats, going the full nine innings and allowing just six St. Paul hits. Coombs struck out eight batters and walked two while holding the Saints to their lone run. The other half of the battery–C Craig Maddox–also performed well. Maddox doubled in the fifth inning and cleared the bases to pick up three RBIs and give Coombs and the RailCats some additional insurance runs.
Lincoln 9, Grand Prairie 7 (11 Innings) – Box
The Lincoln Saltdogs needed 11 innings, but they were able to take down the Grand Prairie AirHogs 9-7, with 5,828 fans in attendance on July 4. A three-run inning in the top of the 11th inning would put the Saltdogs on top for good. Leadoff hitter and leftfielder Chad Mozingo set the table often for Lincoln, going 3-6 with a pair of runs and an RBI. Marshall Schuler grabbed the win after two innings of work where he allowed just one run.
Sioux Falls 2, Kansas City 1 – Box
The Sioux Falls Canaries held the Kansas City T-Bones to just a single run to grab a 2-1 Independence Day victory. Sioux Falls starter Kyle Vazquez baffled the T-Bone lineup in front of 8,117 hitters, going six shutout innings and allowing seven hits. He struck out two and walked two en route to the win. SS Stephen Branca had a three-hit night for the Canaries that featured his first home run of the season.
Wichita 12, Sioux City 2 – Box
The Wichita Wingnuts beat the Sioux City Explorers 12-2 thanks to a 16-hit effort from the lineup and a strong outing from starting pitcher Jason Van Skike. Van Skike worked around 10 hits and a walk over seven innings to hold the Explorers to just two runs. He did that without striking out a single batter–highlighting the defense behind him. 3B Chris McClendon had a night to remember at the plate, going 4-5 with two home runs in front of a 3,012 person crowd. He scored three runs and drove in seven for Wichita.
Winnipeg 4, Fargo-Moorhead 1 – Box
The Winnipeg Goldeyes needed just four runs to take down the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks on July 4 4-1. It started with Matthew Jackson on the mound. Jackson tossed six solid innings, allowing just two hits and a single run while striking out three and working around four walks. It ended with Chris Kissock, who picked up the save for the Goldeyes after a perfect ninth inning that included one strikeout. 5,227 people were in attendance for the Indepence Day game.
Amarillo 4, Laredo 3 – Box
The Amarillo Sox were able to edge out the Laredo Lemurs 4-3 on Independence Day, in front of a 7,075 person crowd. DH Kyle Nichols wasn’t fazed a bit by all the eyes on him while in the batter’s box–he led the Sox with a three-hit performance including a run. Cephas Howard wound up with the win for Amarillo after throwing a shutout ninth inning with just 16 pitches (12 for strikes).
