Sioux City 5, Kansas City 3 – Box
Down 3-2 headed to the bottom of the eighth inning, the Sioux City Explorers scored four runs to come back and defeat the Kansas City T-Bones 5-3. SS Noah Perio hit a two-RBI single for Sioux City to tie up the game. Then 2B Ryan Court’s RBI single gave the Explorers the go-ahead run, and 3B Tommy Mendonca’s RBI added insurance. David Herndon picked up the win after pitching the eighth inning, and Rob Wort got the save after a perfect ninth inning.
Earlier in the eighth, CF Robby Kuzdale hit an RBI single for Kansas City. But earlier the T-Bones had greater offensive highlights earlier in the game. LF Starlin Rodriguez hit an RBI triple in the third, and 1B Jake Blackwood hit a solo homer in the fourth. Starter Drew Gay had a no decision, but he pitched a stellar seven innings with just one run allowed.
Joplin 3, St. Paul 1 – Box
One three-run inning was all the Joplin Blasters needed to beat the St. Paul Saints 3-1 thanks to Joplin’s lights out pitching staff. In the fifth inning, SS Omar Luna scored the first run, and then 2B Maikol Gonzalez hit an RBI single. 1B Steven Tinoco’s sacrifice hit brought in the third run. On the pitching side, Joplin started out with Josue Montanez on the mound. He got the win because of his 5.1 innings pitched with zero runs allowed. Carlos Fuentes took the ball for the next 1.2 innings, which were scoreless. Winston Abreu got the save after striking out the side in the ninth.
St. Paul scored its only run in the eighth behind C Vinny DiFazio’s solo homer. Pedro Hernandez took the loss for St. Paul, but he had a quality start. Dylan Chavez pitched two scoreless innings in relief.
Amarillo 6, Grand Prairie 1 – Box
The Amarillo Thunderheads cruised to a 6-1 win over the Grand Prairie AirHogs behind strong performances from a trio of pitchers. Starter Richie Mirowski went seven innings with just one run allowed and two hits, and he added five strikeouts. Richard Barrett and Mark Haynes each pitched a scoreless inning to close the game. 3B Christian Ibarra went 3-for-3 with two runs and one RBI. LF Jordan Guida and C Corey Bass each had two RBIs.
The lone Grand Prairie run came in the third inning when 2B Jamodrick McGruder hit an RBI double. Dylan Rucker pitched a scoreless inning in relief for the AirHogs.
Lincoln 4, Rockland 3 – Box
The Lincoln Saltdogs rallied to score three unanswered runs in the final two innings to defeat the Rockland Boulders 4-3 on a walkoff bases loaded walk. With men on every base, 2B Aaron Payne earned a base on balls. Earlier in the bottom of the ninth, C Ryan Wiggins hit an RBI single to tie the game at three apiece. In the eighth, it was Payne’s RBI double that sparked the late-inning heroics. Lincoln starting pitcher Chase Cunningham allowed three runs in eight innings, but it was Zac Westcott who got the win after his perfect ninth inning.
Rockland had done its offensive damage early. CF Jared McDonald led the game off with a solo home run, in fact. Then in the second, C Marcus Nidiffer led the inning off with a solo homer, and then 1B Charlie Law got in on the action with the back-to-back solo shot.
Gary SouthShore 6, Sioux Falls 2 – Box
Effective pitching from the Gary SouthShore RailCats allowed them to grab the 6-2 win over the Sioux Falls Canaries. Starter Charle Rosario, who got the win, pitched eight innings and allowed just two runs, which is especially impressive given the 12 hits he also gave up. Andy Loomis pitched a perfect ninth inning and got the save. Offensively, Gary SouthShore added a couple runs here and there to build up its lead. In the sixth, 1B Jose Sermo hit an RBI double, and in the ninth, SS Ryan Brockett’s single brought in two runs.
Both of Sioux Falls’ runs came in the eighth when LF Chris Grayson hit a two-run homer. Starter Jeremy Strawn took the loss, but he had a very quality start.
Wichita 7, Laredo 1 – Box
The Wichita Wingnuts used a couple long balls to defeat the Laredo Lemurs 7-1. In the second inning, LF Harrison Kain hit a two-run homer to set the tone for the game. Laredo responded with a RF Denis Phipps solo homer, but that would be the only run of the game for it. In the seventh inning, Wichita scored five runs. Four of those came from a big swing and a homer from 3B Andy LaRoche. RF T.J. Mittelstaedt added an RBI single. Starting pitcher Tim Brown got the win after eight strong innings in which he allowed just the one run.
LF Ty Morrison, 3B Juan Silverio and Phipps each led Laredo with two hits.
Fargo-Moorhead 12, Winnipeg 9 (10 Innings) – Box
The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks tied the game in the ninth inning and parlayed that momentum into three runs in the 10th inning to defeat the Winnipeg Goldeyes 12-9. 2B Ryan Pineda’s RBI single in the ninth tied the game at nine to send it to extras. Then in the 10th, after the first two batters singled, 1B Joe Bonfe tripled to center field and cleared the bases. That big play was combined with the shutdown pitching of Mike Nesseth, who went the last 2.2 innings for Fargo-Moorhead and got the win.
This was a game that saw 37 combined hits. Winnipeg had its fair share of big plays and big performances. SS Casio Grider went 4-for-6 with three runs and one RBI. CF Reggie Abercrombie went 3-for-4 with one run, one walk and three RBIs.