Winnipeg 6, Sioux Falls 5
The Goldeyes scored three in the bottom of the ninth and finished with a walk-off single in a 6-5 win over the Canaries. 2B Kevin Moesquit‘s (pictured) hit to center field was enough to bring SS Josh Mazzola and PR Chris Salmida home to complete a thrilling late comeback. Sioux Falls had held a narrow lead throughout much of the game behind the efforts of RHP Ben Moore. Moore recorded six strikeouts and allowed only five hits and three runs in eight innings.
Though Moesquit provided the final push for Winnipeg, LF Ryan Scoma provided a star performance at bat throughout the game. Hitting 3-for-4, Scoma kept the Goldeyes alive with a solo home run in the sixth and a run earlier in the ninth that sparked the late rally.
LHP Edgar Osuna did not earn the win for Winnipeg, but his seven strikeouts in seven innings was a big contribution. He allowed four runs and six hits.
Sioux City 3, St. Paul 1
Saints RHP Mark Hamburger totaled nine strikeouts against Sioux City, but it was the Explorers who walked away with a 3-1 victory in St. Paul in this one. The pitching efforts from both teams were enough to keep the score blank until Sioux city scored in the top of the sixth. LHP Richard Salazar earned his eighth win of the season for the X’s, contributing a stifling performance through 6.1 innings, allowing four hits and one run alongside four strikeouts. Salazar kept the Saints scoreless until an RBI single from 3B Joey Becker in the seventh.
Sioux City relievers RHP Chris Bodishbaugh and RHP Jimmer Kennedy did not allow the Saints to score again and thus, the X’s 3-1 lead proved to be enough in the end.
El Paso 3, Amarillo 2 (Game 1 – 8 innings)
The Diablos needed an extra inning to edge Amarillo 3-2 in game one of the doubleheader. SS Maikol Gonzalez broke the tie in the eighth when he scored on an error by the catcher following a single by RF Welington Dotel. Dotel played a large role in putting El Paso on the board earlier in the game. His RBI single in the fourth allowed for the Diablos’ first run, quickly followed by a score of his own that gave his team a slim lead before the Sox tied things up.
RHP Jesse Estrada pitched all eight innings for the Diablos and earned his second win of the season after allowing just two runs.
Amarillo 8, El Paso 1 (Game 2 – 7 innings)
Amarillo dominated game two of the doubleheader, shutting down the Diablos 8-1. El Paso got on the board first, but five runs from the Sox in the fourth inning was more than enough to erase that early lead. RF Chris Valencia’s RBI single in the third provided what would be the game-winning run, highlighting his 3-for-4 performance. Other contributors included LF Joe Weik, who added a run and two RBIs, and DH Cory Patton, who scored at the end of the third and fourth innings.
RHP Brad Wilson pitched all seven innings and held the Diablos to just the one run they scored early on. He earned his first win of the season for the Sox.
Fargo-Moorhead 4, Kansas City 2
RHP Dustin Loggins struck out 12 batters and allowed just three hits from the RedHawks, but Fargo-Moorhead still found a way to take down Kansas city 4-2. RedHawks CF Nic Jackson was one of the few with an answer for Loggins’ pitching heroics. Jackson’s three-run home run in the fourth gave Fargo-Moorhead a two-run lead that narrowly edged the T-Bones in the end. 1B Keith Brachold, the only RedHawk with more than one hit, secured the win with an RBI single in the sixth.
Despite the loss, Kansas City 1B Justin C. Bass provided perhaps the most consistent batting performance of the game, going 3-for-5 with an early run in the first inning.
Lincoln 2, Gary SouthShore 1
A closely-contested pitching battle ensured that neither side crossed home plate until the eighth inning, when the Saltdogs narrowly outscored the RailCats 2-1. Lincoln LHP Moises Melendez had a dominant performance from the mound, pitching a shutout through all seven of his innings. He also allowed just four hits and struck five batters out.
Following Melendez’s replacement, Gary SouthShore finally broke the tie behind an RBI single from DH Carlos Guerrero. Guerrero easily had the best batting performance of the night, going 3-for-4 in addition to his RBI. The Saltdogs fought back in the next frame and capitalized on an error in right field that allowed PR Pete Parise to score. CF Michael Coles then added the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly.
RHP Stephen Hiscock pitched 7.1 innings in Gary SouthShore’s loss and allowed just one run and three hits.
Grand Prairie 6, Laredo 4
Laredo kept it close early on, but a couple of strong outings from Grand Prairie’s batting lineup gave the AirHogs a 6-4 victory in the end. A pair of RBI singles from two of Grand Prairie’s biggest contributors, SS Yasutsugu Nishimoto and CF Rian Kiniry, opened up the game with an early lead for the AirHogs. Kiniry finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs. The Lemurs answered in the following frame with two runs of their own to keep things even. Grand Prairie struck again in the fourth with a solo homer from DH Palmer Karr and Nishimoto’s first run of the game. But Laredo was able to match the AirHogs’ output once again with two more runs in the fourth as well.
2B Ryan Pineda broke the tie for good for the AirHogs with a solo home run in the fifth that would be the game-winner. Nishimoto added another run for good measure in the eighth, completing his 2-for-4 performance with two scores and an RBI.
RHP Stephen Nikonchik earned the win for the AirHogs– his first of the season. He came to the mound in the fifth and started a drought for the Lemurs that saw them go five innings without a hit.
Photo Courtesy of Winnipeg Goldeyes/Shawn Coates.
