August 7
Winnipeg 5, Sioux City 4
Tyler Graham and Amos Ramon (pictured) came up big for Winnipeg in the ninth. The Goldeyes came from behind for a 5-4 walk-off win against Sioux City. Graham and Ramon delivered the tying and winning hits, respectively, both coming with two outs.
With the Goldeyes trailing the Explorers by one run in the bottom of the ninth, Fehlandt Lentini doubled to lead things off. Explorers reliever Jimmer Kenedy, however, recorded the next two outs on fly balls to left, putting the Goldeyes up against the ropes. But, Graham came through with a clutch single, scoring Lentini to tie the game. Immediately after Graham’s dramatics, Ramon delivered a double to center field, scoring Graham all the way from first with the winning run.
Wichita 15, Rockland 3
Wichita started its offensive onslaught in the fourth and did not look back. The Wingnuts scored in four consecutive innings, highlighted by an eight-run sixth, en route to a 15-3 win over Rockland.
The monster inning included two-run doubles by John Rodriguez and Madison Beaird. Coincidentally, those two men had the biggest games for the Wingnuts’ offense. Both Rodriguez and Beard went 4-for-6 with three RBI. Beaird had a pair of doubles, but Rodriguez did him one better. The DH hit the game’s only home run. Aside from Rodriguez and Beaird, three other Wichita batters tallied multiple hits, as the team finished with 20.
Fargo-Moorhead 2, St. Paul 0
Taylor Stanton barely edged out Anthony Claggett in a tremendous pitchers’ duel. The Fargo-Moorhead starter shut out the Saints over eight innings, leading to a 2-0 RedHawks victory.
Stanton struck out eight and allowed only six hits in the winning effort. But, Claggett was a worthy combatant. The Saints’ right-hander also pitched eight innings and gave up the game’s only two runs on a two-run homer off Ronnie Bourquin’s bat in the third inning. Other than that hiccup, Claggett was stellar. He gave up eight hits and struck out four. Unfortunately for Claggett and the Saints, Stanton and company were marginally better.
The Saints tried to rally in the ninth. Joey Becker led off with a double, knocking Stanton out of the game. That was as close as the Saints would come, however. Joe Harris came out of the bullpen and recorded the first out of the inning on a ground out that moved Becker to third. Then, Nathan Kilcrease subbed out Harris and finished the game. Kilcrease struck out one and induced a game-ending fly out to give Fargo-Moorhead a 2-0 win.
Grand Prairie 4, Amarillo 3
The AirHogs needed a comeback and some good fortune in the ninth inning, as they beat the Amarillo Sox. Grand Prairie rebounded from a one-run deficit in the final frame to win on a walk-off walk, 4-3.
Grand Prairie was down 3-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth, but put the tying run on base with a leadoff walk to Yasutsugu Nishimoto. Rian Kiniry moved Nishimoto to second with a sacrifice and Nishimoto advanced to third on a passed ball. That allowed Chad Mozingo to tie the game with a sacrifice fly to right field.
After the sac fly, the game was tied, but the bases were empty. The AirHogs’ rally, however, was not finished. Brandon Pinckney doubled, then the Sox walked Brian Myrow intentionally to set up the double play situation. But, the plan backfired when Andres Rodriguez was hit by a pitch to load the bases and bring Palmer Karr to the plate. Karr worked walk, scoring Pinckney from third with the winning run.
Lincoln 9, Sioux Falls 8
Sioux Falls came out of the gates swinging, but even the Canaries’ seven-run first inning was not enough to beat Lincoln. The Saltdogs bounced back from the rough start to beat Sioux Falls, 9-8.
The Saltdogs answered the Canaries’ big first inning with some early offense of their own. Lincoln scored its first run on an error before Brian Joynt connected for a three-run homer. The shot pulled Lincoln within three runs and the home team kept chipping away at the Canaries’ lead.
When the seventh inning rolled around, the Saltdogs still trailed Sioux Falls, but only by two runs. In that seventh, Matt Forgatch led off with his second double. Then, Brian Embery walked and Tyler Goodro reached first on catcher’s interference to load the bases. Yasel Gomez singled to score Forgatch, then Michael Coles worked a bases-loaded walk to tie the game.
The bases were still loaded and the Canaries had yet to record an out in the seventh, but Sioux Falls almost got out of further trouble. Matt Daly recorded the first two outs on a strikeout and a pop up. But, one mistake cost him and the Canaries. With Ian Gac at the plate, a wild pitch skidded to the backstop, allowing Goodro to score the go-ahead run. That run completed the Saltdogs’ comeback and they went on to win by that one run.
Gary SouthShore 9, Kansas City 4
The RailCats pulled away from a seesaw game against Kansas City with rallies in the fifth, sixth and seventh. In a game that saw four lead changes, Gary SouthShore ultimately came out on top, 9-4.
Gary SouthShore battled back and forth with the T-Bones, trading leads in the fourth and fifth. But, it was in the bottom of the fifth that the RailCats took decisive control of the game. With Kansas City ahead by one run, the RailCats rallied and flipped the score with a two-out, two-run single by Mike Massaro.
The knock turned a one-run RailCats deficit into a 5-4 RailCats lead and Gary SouthShore added insurance in the next two innings to seal the win. Nick Liles added some cushion with a run-scoring single in the sixth. Then, in the seventh, Christian Vitters, Cristian Guerrero and Drew Martinez delivered back-to-back-to-back RBI singles to put the game out of the T-Bones’ reach.
Laredo 8, El Paso 4
A solid performance by Laredo starter Tyler Pearson helped the Lemurs grab a win against the El Paso Diablos. Pearson pitched seven innings, allowing two runs on nine hits, as the Lemurs beat El Paso, 8-4.
Brian Peterson was the biggest help to Pearson, offensively. The catcher finished 2-for-3 with a two-run home run. Jimmy Mojica, Daniel Poma and Mike Provencher also pitched in for Laredo. Provencher was the only Lemurs hitter besides Peterson to record multiple hits. He hit a pair of doubles, drove in a run and stole a base. As for Mojica and Poma, they had a double and an RBI apiece.
Photo courtesy of the Winnipeg Goldeyes
