Laredo 6, Grand Prairie 0 – Box
Laredo starter Jeremy Strawn (pictured) continued his dominant 2014 campaign, tossing a complete-game shutout against the AirHogs in a 6-0 win.
Strawn, who has won his last seven starts, struck out nine and held Grand Prairie to four hits and a walk. It was his second complete-game shutout in nine starts this season.
The Lemurs took a 3-0 lead in the third inning on an RBI triple from CF Nick Van Stratten, an RBI double by RF Denis Phipps and a run-scoring groundout off the bat of 1B John Alonso.
Laredo added a run in the fifth and two more in the eighth on a two-RBI double from C Carlos Ramirez, which was more than enough for Strawn, who has 49 strikeouts and 16 walks through 66 1/3 innings this season.
Gary SouthShore 4, St. Paul 1 – Box
The RailCats used a two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh to beat St. Paul, 4-1.
The teams were tied at one, and St. Paul retired two of the first three batters in the bottom of the seventh. With the men on first and second, Gary SouthShore RF Drew Martinez hit a go-ahead RBI double, and the next batter 2B Zac Mitchell was hit by a pitch to load the bases. The Saints then surrendered back-to-back based-loaded walks to DH Ryan Babineau and CF Drew Muren, and the RailCats took a 4-1 lead.
Gary SouthShore starter Stephen Bougher pitched 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run on five hits. He walked three and struck out four in the win. Right-hander James Parr struck out the side in the ninth to record his seventh save of the season.
With the win, Gary SouthShore gained sole possession of first place in the Central Division.
Wichita 20, Lincoln 12 – Box
A wild fifth inning decided Wichita’s second-straight big win against Lincoln. Wichita won 20-12 Wednesday night and has scored 35 runs in its last two games
The Wingnuts fell behind, 11-7, after a nine-run Saltdogs’ outburst in the top of the fifth and needed just one inning to regain the lead. In the bottom of the fifth, SS Ryan Khoury hit a sacrifice fly to score the first run of the rally, and 1B David Espinosa followed two at-bats later with a two-RBI triple. CF Brent Clevlen hit a go-ahead two-run homer to give Wichita a 12-11 lead that it would not relinquish. Clevlen had four hits in the game.
Wichita 3B Chris McClendon reached base six times with four hits and two walks. He scored four times and had two RBIs.
The Wingnuts added four more runs in the sixth, including a three-run homer from Khoury, and another four in the eighth to finish off the Saltdogs. Right-hander Jason Van Skike picked up the win after pitching a scoreless sixth inning.
For the Saltdogs, DH Ian Gac went 4-for-5, including a fifth-inning three-run homer,
Lincoln scored 22 runs across two games Tuesday and Wednesday and lost both.
Rockland 6, Fargo-Moorhead 5 (11 innings) – Box
After battling back from two deficits, Rockland used a little help from the Can-Am League’s extra innings rule to beat Fargo-Moorhead 6-5 in 11 innings, completing a three-game sweep of the RedHawks.
Boulders DH Giuseppe Papaccio lofted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring 1B Jerod Edmondson, who started the 11th on second base per Can-Am League rules.
Rockland trailed 4-0 after two innings, but scored two in the sixth on CF Antone DeJesus’s two-RBI single to cut the RedHawks’ lead in half. In the eighth, with two outs, Edmondson worked the count full and doubled home two more runs to tie the game.
RedHawks’ 1B C.J. Retherford struck first in extras, belting a home run — his second of the game — to lead off the 10th and give Fargo-Moorhead a 5-4 lead. In the bottom of that frame, though, Rockland SS Junior Arroyo hit a leadoff single, advanced to second on a groundout and scored on another DeJesus RBI single to tie the game at five. DeJesus led the Boulders with three hits and three RBIs.
Boulders left-handed reliever Shawn Gilblair picked up his first win in 37 appearances this season after keeping Fargo-Moorhead scoreless in the top of the 11th, when the RedHawks started with a man on second as well.
Kansas City 7, Amarillo 6 – Box
After letting Amarillo come back for a win Tuesday night, the Kansas City T-Bones denied the Sox a repeat performance and won 7-6.
Kansas City took a 1-0 lead in the second on an RBI double by LF Bryan Sabatella. The T-Bones added three more in the third, including back-to-back home runs from DH Matt Padgett and RF Ray Sadler. Amarillo grabbed the lead in a five-run top of the fifth, with DH Kyle Nichols delivering a three-run homer.
The T-Bones bounced back in the bottom of the fifth, scoring three runs on 2B Danny Richar’s RBI double, Sabatella’s run-scoring fielder’s choice and a passed ball, which scored Padgett to make it 7-5 Kansas City.
The T-Bones allowed an eighth-inning run on an error, but held on to win, 7-6. Right-hander Joe VanMeter got the win after allowing five runs on eight hits in six innings. Closer Kris Regas gave up a double and two walks in the ninth but was bailed out by a double play and a fly out from Nichols to end the game.
Winnipeg 2, New Jersey 0 – Box
Winnipeg shut out the New Jersey Jackals for the second straight night, completing a three-game sweep behind the arm of left-hander Chris Salamida.
Salamida pitched 7 2/3 innings of scoreless ball, surrendering six hits and two walks while striking out four. Reliever Brendan Lafferty entered in the eighth and locked down a four-out save, keeping the Jackals hitless.
New Jersey starter Keith Bilodeau had a strong start as well allowing one run in seven innings on a third-inning RBI single by Winnipeg SS Tyler Kuhn. Bilodeau struck out six. The Goldeyes scored their second run in the eighth when 2B Brock Bond came home on a throwing error. 3B Jake Blackwood led the Goldeyes with two hits.
Sioux City 8, Sioux Falls 5 – Box
Sioux City SS Tommy Mendonca batted 4-for-4 with four RBIs to lead the Explorers past Sioux Falls, 8-5.
Mendonca hit a two-RBI double in the X’s three-run first inning and led off the fourth inning with a solo home run. In the sixth, Mendonca came up clutch again with an RBI single, and Sioux City built up a large enough lead to survive a late charge from the Canaries.
RF Rene Tosoni also had a strong day at the plate for the Explorers with three hits — two doubles and a triple — and two RBIs.
Sioux City starter John Straka earned the win, allowing three runs on eight hits through seven innings. He struck out seven and walked two.
For the Canaries, CF Chris Valencia had a team-high four hits.
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