Lincoln 11, Kansas City 7 (Game 1, 16 innings) – Box
After getting suspended Thursday night and being postponed to Friday, the Lincoln Saltdogs grabbed a 16 inning, 11-7 win over the Kansas City T-Bones. The Saltdogs let the game get tied up in the bottom of the ninth inning after a two-run effort from Kansas City and neither team scored another run until the Saltdogs struck with four runs in the top of the 16th to put away their first win of the season.
Conor Spink picked up the win for Lincoln after throwing the last five scoreless innings. He struck out four batters, walked three and gave up just three hits.
Three Lincoln hitters had 4-8 games, but CF Jon Gaston led the way in the three-hole with four hits including a home run, two doubles, four runs and two RBI.
Kansas City 3, Lincoln 2 (Game 2) – Box
The T-Bones bounced back in game two of their double header against Lincoln, topping the Saltdogs 3-2 thanks to some solid pitching all-around from Kansas City.
Rick Zagone got the call for T-Bones in game two and responded with a six-inning, one-run bid for the win that he eventually received. He scattered just three hits ad struck out two Lincoln batters while walking just one. Chris Squires threw a perfect ninth with a strikeout of his own to close out the game and pick up a save.
RF Bryan Sabatella was the only Kansas City hitter to post a multi-hit game. He went 2-4 with an RBI while batting cleanup for the T-Bones.
Winnipeg 5, Amarillo 2 – Box
The Winnipeg Goldeyes pitching staff shut down the Amarillo Sox with the exception of a two-run Amarillo sixth inning to lead the Goldeyes to a 5-2 victory.
Jason Jarvis started on the hill for Winnipeg and threw six innings while giving up Amarillo’s two runs. He struck out two hitters and walked none while scattering six Sox hits en route to his win. Kyle Bellamy picked up the save after throwing a shutout ninth and striking out one batter.
Offensively, Winnipeg was lead by their first three hitters: SS Tyler Kuhn, 2B Jake Blackwood and LF Ray Sadler. Kuhn went 2-5 with a run out of the leadoff spot, Blackwood homered and doubled in a 2-4 effort batting second and Sadler went 2-4 with a run and an RBI hitting third.
Wichita 9, Grand Prairie 1 – Box
The Wichita bats came alive against Grand Prairie and led the Wingnuts to a 9-1 victory. The scoring started with a three-run second inning for Wichita and they proceeded to score in following three innings as well.
It was a team-effort for the Wingnuts, with seven players recording hits on the evening an seven batters scoring or driving in runs. C Chris McMurray and LF Carlo Testa paced Wichita with two hits apiece, McMurray homering and doubling and Testa adding a triple. 1B Chun-Hsiu Chen also added a triple while going 1-4 with two RBI.
While Wichita’s offensive performance stands out at first, starting pitcher Jon Link had a great game as well. The righty threw six shutout innings and allowed just four hits while striking out eight AirHog batters and walking just one.
Sioux Falls 4, Sioux City 1 – Box
The Sioux Falls Canaries got the better of the Sioux City Explorers to the tune of a 4-1 victory. The Canaries jumped on the scoreboard early in this one, puttin up a run in the first and second innings before tacking on two additional insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Sioux Falls starter John Brebbia threw five shutout frames while striking out eight batters, walking three and allowing for Sioux City hits.
CF Chris Valencia, 2B Shelby Ford and RF Steven Tinoco led the way for the Canaries offensively, putting up two hits each. Valencia tripled and scored a run out of the leadoff spot and Ford picked up his first home run of the year.
St. Paul 7, Gary SouthShore 2 – Box
The St. Paul Saints set the tone early against the Gary SouthShore RailCats to pick up a 7-2 victory.The Saints took advantage of a few defensive miscues from Gary SouthShore and scored two runs in the bottom of the first to get things started.
3B Joe Bonfe led St. Paul offensively with a 3-5 night that included a double, two RBI and a run. Four other St. Paul hitters managed multi-hit games as the Saints finished this one with 15 total hits.
Rob Coe picked up the win for St. Paul after throwing six innings of two-run ball. Coe struck out three batters and walked two before handing the ball off to Mikey Mehlich, who threw two perfect innings. Finally, Drew Gay closed the door by tossing a single shutout inning and allowing just one hit.
Fargo-Moorhead 5, Laredo 3 (10 innings) – Box
The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks needed 10 innings, but after the final out of their extra-inning game against the Laredo Lemurs, they were sitting with a 5-3 victory.
Each team scored a single run in the second and third innings, the Lemurs took a breif 3-2 lead after scoring in the fourth and then the RedHawks tied it all up with a run in the top of the sixth. All of the scoring stopped for both teams until Fargo-Moorhead struck in the top of the 10th with two runs thanks to a Petey Paramore (C) RBI double and an RBI single from 3B Ronnie Bourquin.
Joe Harris picked up the win for the RedHawks for throwing 1.1 shutout innings just before Nate Garcia threw a one-hit 10th to close the door and end the game while picking up the save.
