Gary South Shore 6, Sioux Falls 5 (Final – 10 innings) — Box Score
The Gary South Shore RailCats shook off a ninth inning rally by the Sioux Falls Canaries and claimed a 6-5 win in the tenth inning behind a strong performance from 2B Zac Mitchell (pictured).
Mitchell went 4-for-5 at the plate with two RBI including what was eventually the game-winning RBI. DH Wally Backman led off the tenth inning with a single and made his way over to third base after a bounce out and a single from 1B Jeremy Hamilton. Mitchell stepped to the plate and singled the 1-0 delivery to edge the RailCats out in front. Pitcher Joe Testa came in and finished off the game in the bottom of the tenth inning to earn the save.
The Canaries entered the ninth inning trailing 5-3 but tied up the game as DH Chris Duffy scored on a put out and SS Stephen Branca scored on a single from CF Chris Valencia. Branca was a perfect 3-for-3 on the night with a walk and two runs scored.
Lincoln 5, Grand Prairie 3 (Final – 10 innings) — Box Score
The Lincoln Saltdogs tied things up in the ninth inning and carried that momentum over into the extra frame as they edged the Grand Prairie AirHogs 5-3 in 10 innings.
SS Maikol Gonzalez, who finished the night 2-for-5 with two RBI, singled home RF Brian Joynt to tie up the score in the top of the ninth inning and force the extra inning. In the tenth, Lincoln took the lead as 3B Kevin Howard scored on a sacrifice fly from DH Chad Mozingo and then added to that lead when LF Matt Forgatch scored after a C Tyler Smith single in the next at bat. Smith, like Gonzalez, had two hits in the game.
Both squads got strong starts on the mound as Justin Kuks went six innings for Lincoln allowing just one run on six hits and Ryan Searle also went six innings and allowed one run on two hits but neither earned a decision. Conor Spink was tagged with the win and Marshall Schuler earned the save for his work in the tenth.
Wichita 9, Kansas City 8 — Box Score
Despite being outhit and having four fewer RBI than the T-Bones, the Wichita Wingnuts recovered from an early five run deficit to win 9-8 in Wichita Monday night. The Wingnuts sealed the win as C Chris McMurray hosed RF Bryan Sabatella, who represented the game-winning run, trying to steal second base with two outs in the ninth.
At the plate, McMurray had a team-high two hits in three at bats and he also had an RBI as well as a pair of runs. SS Ryan Khoury and 2B Jake Kahaulelio each had one hit and two RBI for the Wingnuts. For the T-Bones, the top half of the batting order powered all of the offense. The first five hitters in the order accounted for all nine hits and eight runs. DH Danny Richar led the way as he went 2-for-4 for four RBI with a double and his first homerun of the season.
The Wingnuts trailed 5-0 entering the bottom of the second but leveled the score with some heady base running and a couple of big hits from McMurray and Khoury. Wichita took the lead for good in the fourth inning with four more runs. The T-Bones rallied in the eighth but came up one run shy of completing the comeback.
St. Paul 11, Sioux City 3 — Box Score
The St. Paul Saints took control of the game in the second inning and never let up on their way to an 11-3 win against the Sioux City Explorers. Every hitter in the St. Paul lineup had at least one hit as they racked up 17 hits as a team in 42 at bats.
LF Evan Bigley, 3B Joe Bonfe and RF Brandon Tripp – the first three batters in the Saints’ order – each had three-hit games and Tripp added a pair of RBI. SS Joey Becker and 2B Devin Thaut both had two hits in the game and Thaut also had two RBI. For the Explorers, SS Nate Samson went 3-for-4 and had two RBI to lead his team at the plate.
St. Paul had seven runs on the board before the Explorers scored their first one in the sixth inning. Saints starting pitcher Jeff Shields earned the win for his 5.2 innings in which he allowed the two earned runs on seven hits alongside his six strikeouts.
Fargo-Moorhead 8, Amarillo 6 — Box Score
A five-run fourth inning sandwiched between a pair of one-run innings was too much to overcome for the Amarillo Sox as they fell 8-6 to the visiting RedHawks from Fargo-Moorhead.
The fourth inning rally was kick-started by LF Sawyer Carroll’s three-run homerun, his first of the year. Carroll was 2-for-5 in the contest and his three RBI led the team. SS Andy White scored on Carroll’s blast for one of his four runs on the night. With a bat in his hand White was 3-for-4 with one RBI. Both DH Zach Penprase and 2B C.J. Retherford also had two-hit games.
The Sox strung together three innings with run production in the fourth, fifth and sixth but never tied the game. After scoring two runs in the sixth inning off of a 2B Josh Miller RBI single and a LF Joe Wiek sacrifice fly, the Sox trailed by just one but the RedHawks added an insurance run in the seventh to make the difference two runs.
Laredo 7, Winnipeg 3 — Box Score
The Laredo Lemurs took the lead with one run in the first inning and then exploded in the later innings to claim a 7-3 win over the Winnipeg Goldeyes at home on Monday night.
The Lemurs racked up 17 hits in the game as five batters had multi-hit games. CF Nick Van Stratten led the way with four hits in five at bats for the Lemurs but 2B Travis Denker, C Angel Flores and 3B Josh Scheffert were not far behind as they each had three hits. Denker had a game-high four RBI. For the Goldeyes, just three batters registered hits and RF Josh Mazzola and 1B Casey Hearther each had a pair of hits in the game.
The Lemurs took the lead early but salted the game away in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings as they put up four runs in those three frames. That late push was more than enough to secure the win for starting pitcher Sean Tracey. Tracey went 6.2 and allowed just one run on two hits and struck out six batters.
