Explorers 5, RedHawks 6 – Boxscore
Once again the Sioux City Explorers entered the late stages of the contest trailing, only to come back and make things interesting. But today the comeback bid fell short as the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks held on to a 6-5 win to avoid a sweep.
Fargo jumped out to an early lead scoring multiple times in the first on back to back RBI singles from Rymer Liriano and Ben Livorsi to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead.
After a lead off walk to Nick Novak to start the bottom of the second, Evan Alexander hit a hard ground ball to second. The grounder kicked off the glove of X’s second baseman Zack Kone and ricocheted up the right field line. Novak took advantage of the error to score all the way from first and Alexander ended up at third at the end of the play and Fargo leading 4-0.
Leobaldo Pina scored Alexander from third with a sacrifice fly to left and Liriano added another RBI single to give Fargo a 5-0 lead at the end of the second inning.
Taking the loss in his professional debut for the X’s was Ma’Khail Hilliard (0-1) as the former LSU Tiger went two and two-thirds innings allowing five runs with two being earned. He surrendered four hits and walked six.
Kevin Lenik replaced him for Sioux City and pitched well in long relief. He covered three and one third innings without allowing a run, giving up only one hit with two strikeouts and two walks.
Sioux City claimed a run in the sixth, three consecutive singles were capped off by Danry Vasquez who brought home Blake Tiberi making it 5-1 Fargo.
The RedHawks picked up what eventually became an important insurance run in the seventh with Sam Dexter hitting a sacrifice fly to score Liriano putting Fargo ahead 6-1.
Trailing again heading into the eighth the X’s do what apparently they do best, they come back. Sebastian Zawada poked a three-run home run down the right field line to get the deficit to within two 6-4.
That spelled the end of the day for RedHawks pitcher Peyton Wigginton (5-3) who picked up the win. He dazzled through seven and one-third innings allowing four runs, while scattering eight hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
Joe Jones (2) took the ball for Fargo and picked up the final five outs of the game to notch the save. He escaped the eighth stranding the tying run at first. And gave up a run in the ninth with Danny Amaral reaching via a walk and scoring on a wild pitch. But Jones stranded the tying run at first in the ninth as well as Fargo salvaged a game from the three game series.
Dogs 2, Goldeyes 8 – Boxscore
The Winnipeg Goldeyes (37-28) beat the Chicago Dogs 8-2 at Shaw Park on Thursday night.
The Goldeyes jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Eric Rivera singled through the left side leading off and came home when Ian Sagdal ripped a two-run home run down the right field line. Raul Navarro singled to centre to extend his hitting streak to 18 games, tying a career-high set with the Goldeyes last year. Max Murphy was hit by a pitch, and two batters later, Reggie Pruitt Jr. launched a three-run home run to left-centre.
The Dogs pulled within 5-2 in the top of the fourth on a two-out, two-run double off the right-centre field wall from Stevie Wilkerson. Chicago (43-22) brought the tying run to the plate before Goldeyes’ starter Luis Ramirez retired Anfernee Grier on a lineout to centre.
The Goldeyes re-extended the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Hidekel Gonzalez doubled down the left field line with one out and scored on a double to left-centre by Rivera. Sagdal followed with an RBI single down the right field line.
Navarro provided the game’s final margin with an RBI double off the wall in right that chased home Rivera in the bottom of the eighth.
Ramirez (8-3) picked up the win, allowing two earned runs on four hits in seven and two-thirds innings. Ramirez walked one and struck out nine.
Kyle Murphy (5-2) started for the Dogs and took the loss, allowing seven earned runs on eight hits in three and one-third innings. Murphy walked one and struck out five.
Travis Seabrooke and Tasker Strobel combined to record the final four outs in relief of Ramirez. David Washington’s nine-game hitting streak was snapped.
The Goldeyes open a three-game series against the Lake Country DockHounds on Friday night. First pitch at Shaw Park is scheduled for 6L35 p.m. Freisis Adames (6-3, 5.70) faces right-hander Francisco Jimenez (3-6, 7.76).
DockHounds 3, Cougars 13 – Boxscore
Thanks to 13 runs on six hits, the Kane County Cougars cruised to a 13-3 victory over the Lake Country DockHounds on Thursday night in front of 7,705 fans at Northwestern Medicine Field.
After falling in an early 2-0 hole, the Cougars (33-33) scored 13 unanswered runs. By the end of the game, every Cougar had reached base and scored a run. It was the sixth time that Kane County scored 10 or more runs against the DockHounds (24-41) this season. Along with six hits, the Cougars drew 12 walks against Lake Country pitching.
The DockHounds jumped out to the lead against Cougars’ starter Jack Fox (7-1) in the top of the third. Wilfredo Gimenez led off the frame with a single before Tristen Carranza singled to put runners at first and second. Following Carranza’s single, Daikan Yoh cleared the gap in right-center field with a two-run double to give Lake Country an early edge.
In the bottom of the third, the Cougars cut into the lead against Lake Country starter Greg Loukinen (0-1). Alexis Pantoja blasted a solo homer over the right-field fence for the Cougars first hit and run of the game.
Kane County took the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Loukinen issued four walks, the final one to Pantoja with the bases loaded that allowed Jimmy Kerrigan to score and tie the game at two. With the bases still loaded, Galli Cribbs Jr. ripped a two-run single into the gap to put the Cougars up 4-2. Kane County added one more run on an RBI fielder’s choice by Ernie De La Trinidad to make it 5-2.
Two innings later, the Cougars broke the game wide open. After the first three hitters of the inning reached, Nick Anderson crushed a grand slam over the right-center field fence to put the Cougars up 9-2. The Cougars went on to add four more runs in the inning, one on an RBI double by Dylan Busby, another on a passed ball, and two more runs on bases loaded walks. Kane County scored eight runs in the frame and sent 14 men to the plate.
After allowing two runs in the third, Jack Fox settled into a groove. The right-hander earned a quality start as he allowed just three runs on six hits with six strikeouts against three walks. To close out the ballgame, Jack Anderson and Ryan Richardson each pitched a scoreless frame.
Canaries 2, Monarchs 4 – Boxscore
The Kansas City Monarchs (43-22) completed the sweep of the Sioux Falls Canaries (24-39) with a 4-2 score. The Monarchs are in sole possession of first place in the West division, one game ahead of the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks.
Early on, Kansas City would get runners on base in both the first and second innings but couldn’t bring them in. The first three innings, therefore, remained scoreless.
Darnell Sweeney seemed to warm the KC bats, going 2-for-2 and reaching third base in the bottom of the third with a triple to deep center field, but once again, the Monarchs left the batter stranded.
Jabari Henry started the fourth inning off hot as his first hit launched a solo home run to left field, giving Sioux Falls their first lead of the game and the series at 1-0.
The Monarchs came right back in the fourth as Matt Adams reached second with a double off the wall in left field. J.C. Escarra then punched one deep into the home run hill in right for a two-run home run to give the Monarchs the lead, 2-1, going into the fifth.
In the bottom of the sixth, Casey Gillaspie reached first with a single to right field before Chad De La Guerra hit one to left. Pete Kozma popped a ball to right-center field to bring in Gillaspie for an RBI, the score 3-1.
In the bottom of the seventh, Thompson sent one out to deep right field for a triple, eventually coming home on a wild pitch and extending the Monarchs lead to 4-1.
Jeremy Rhoades came to the mound in the top of the eighth and walked Nick Gotta and Osvaldo Martinez back-to-back. After a fly-out to center field Gotta reached third before Jabari Henry’s fielders choice cut the lead in half at 4-2 for the final score.
Monarchs starter Lewis Thorpe went 5.0 IP, with 5 H, 1 R, and 2 strikeouts to record his seventh win. Brian Glowicki came in to relieve him in the sixth and struck out three batters. Brandon Koch worked a scoreless inning while Jameson McGrane worked a 1-2-3 ninth for the save (13).
Railcats 4, Railroaders 5 – Boxscore
The Gary SouthShore RailCats looked like they were on their way to a comfortable win, but the Cleburne Railroaders produced five unanswered runs to combat an early four-run deficit and grab a 5-4 victory.
In the early goings, though, the RailCats used their power stroke to pull ahead. LG Castillo launched a three-run home run in the top of the first, and Tom Walraven followed up with a solo shot in the fourth, his third home run of the series, to put the RailCats ahead 4-0.
From that point forward, the Railroaders began to chip away at the Gary SouthShore lead as they mounted a comeback. After making the first two outs of the fourth inning, Kacy Clemens kicked off a rally by lining a double to left field. Hill Alexander drove him home one batter later by singling to center field, and a pair of errors allowed him to score, cutting the ‘Cats advantage in half at 4-2.
The next inning, Cleburne once again got their bats going with two outs. A Chuck Taylor walk and Zach Nehrir base hit set Chase Simpson up to pull the Railroaders within one through his single.
As the game-tying run stood on third base, the RailCats turned to Julio Vivas out of the bullpen to keep their advantage intact. Immediately, he coaxed a fly out from Kacy Clemens to pull the ‘Cats out of trouble.
After retiring the side in the sixth, Vivas had to bail the RailCats out a second time in the seventh. A single, stolen base, and groundout placed the tying run at third base with two outs, but Vivas got Nehrir to ground out and alleviated the threat.
However, the Railroaders broke through in the bottom of the eighth. A single and a walk positioned runners on first and second with no outs, and a fielder’s choice moved the tying run up to third base. On that play, while the RailCats infield tried to turn two, an errant throw escaped the field of play, enabling the tying run to score. The next batter, Jacob Bockelie, lifted a sacrifice fly to bring in the go-ahead run, supplying Cleburne a 5-4 edge heading into the ninth.
Even as they faced their final three outs, the RailCats refused to go down without a fight. Walraven singled and stole second base with two outs, setting a runner in scoring position to give them a shot to level the score. Nevertheless, the Railroader bullpen came up clutch as they recorded the final out to secure their second win in a row.
Milkmen 8, Saltdogs 2 – Boxscore
Skyler Weber had two hits and an RBI, but the ‘Dogs allowed six runs in the final two innings of an 8-2 loss to the Milwaukee Milkmen in the finale of a three-game series at Haymarket Park on Thursday night.
Lincoln (31-35) opened the scoring when Weber’s bloop single fell between Miguel Gomez and Correlle Prime and plated Rayder Ascanio in the 2nd inning.
Milwaukee (34-31) took a lead when Logan Trowbridge hit a two-run homer in the 3rd. The ‘Dogs tied the game when Jason Rogers was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the 5th.
The game was tied until the 8th. Correlle Prime broke a tie with a solo homer, and Gomez later added an insurance run with his two-out RBI double.
Lincoln’s John Bezdicek allowed two runs on four hits with no walks and seven strikeouts over 3 and 1/3 innings in his professional debut.
Josh Norwood did not allow a run over 1 and 2/3 scoreless innings, while David Zoz pitched a 1-2-3 6th and Matt Cronin pitched a 1-2-3 7th. Carter Hope allowed the go ahead runs in the 8th inning and took his second loss of the season.
Steffon Moore have up four runs in the 9th inning before Tucker Smith recorded the final two outs of the frame.
