Sioux City 10, Amarillo 9 – Box
Despite a rally, the Sioux City Explorers held off the Amarillo Thunderheads to record the thrilling 10-9 win. Sioux City did its damage early and often, with a 7-0 lead in the third. DH Brock Kjeldgaard started the scoring with a two-run homer in the first. 2B Tommy Mendonca joined the party with a two-run long ball of his own in the second. Kjeldgaard added a solo homer in the sixth.
But Amarillo would fight back, scoring all nine of its runs in just two innings. In the bottom of the third, the Thunderheads scored five thanks to an error combined with three consecutive singles. In the seventh, a two-run CF Jason Martin home run and timely hitting plated four, but that wouldn’t be enough. The Explorers trotted out RHP Jimmer Kennedy and RHP Jose Flores, and each threw a scoreless inning to shut the door.
Lincoln 14, Winnipeg 5 – Box
Lincoln had everything going for it offensively as it defeated Winnipeg by the score of 14-5. In the first inning, the Saltdogs got four runs off a sacrifice fly, a 3B Curt Smith two-RBI triple, and a LF Matt Forgatch RBI single. The Saltdogs tacked on a couple runs, such as a 1B Jeremy Hamilton solo home run until another four-run inning in the sixth. 2B Trevor Martin also added a two-RBI double, and RF Brian Joynt had a two-RBI single. Joynt had the best night, going 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs.
Though Winnipeg only had five runs, it actually outhit Lincoln 13-12. SS Casio Grider’s two-run homer was the highlight of the night for the Goldeyes. A pair of Goldeyes, 3B Josh Mazzola and RF Brady Wilson each went 3-for-4 with a run.
Laredo 6, Wichita 1 – Box
Behind the dominant pitching of Greg Holle and 14 hits, the Laredo Lemurs easily defeated the Wichita Wingnuts 6-1. Holle went the full nine innings for Laredo and allowed just one run and struck out five. His strong pitching was balanced by the Lemur offense as well. SS Jimmy Mojica went 3-for-5 with a run, CF Dvontrey Richardson went a perfect 3-for-3 and a run, LF Kevin Taylor went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI, and DH Byron Wiley went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI. C Luke Bailey’s two-run homer was the big play of the night for Laredo.
SS Alberto Gonzalez did the best for Wichita against Holle. Gonzalez hit 2-for-4 with an RBI. And three Wingnut relievers shone with a scoreless inning apiece: Daniel Bennett, Daniel Carela, and Matt Nevarez.
Sussex County 9, Gary SouthShore 2 – Box
The Sussex County Miners pounded the Gary SouthShore RailCats with 16 hits to win 9-2 in the interleague match. The RailCats actually took a two-run lead in the first inning because of a passed ball. But they wouldn’t score anymore, and the Miners scored in each of the first four innings and had a four-run sixth inning. 2B Ryan Pineda had a two-run jack to tie the game in the first. CF Reggie Abercrombie added a solo blast in the third. Pineda finished the game 2-for-3 with two runs and four RBIs. Abercrombie finished 3-for-5 with a run and two RBIs. LF Johnny Bladel, however, went a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs.
On the mound, RHP Tony Amezcua had a solid long relief outing for Sussex County. Amezcua pitched three innings with no runs and just one walk allowed, while striking out four.
St. Paul 9, Joplin 4 – Box
The St. Paul Saints got off to a hot start Wednesday with seven runs in the first two innings and used that to coast to a 9-4 win over the Joplin Blasters. A two-RBI 1B Angelo Songco highlights the four-run first inning. In the second, CF Alonzo Harris hit an RBI double, then LF Willie Argo slapped a two-RBI double. Harris and Argo led the Saints with three hits each; Harris added two runs and an RBI, and Argo added one run and three RBIs.
DH Yasser Gomez had quite the impressive game for Joplin, though. Gomez went 5-for-5 at the plate with a run scored. On the mound, LHP Pedro Hernandez tossed a quality start and got the win for St. Paul. Joplin RHP Jake Meiers and St. Paul RHP Chris Peacock each pitched two scoreless innings.
