Kansas City 9, Amarillo 8 (Completion of suspended game from June 4) – Box
In a completion of a game suspended due to rain on Thursday, Kansas City finished off Amarillo, 9-8. The tie was suspended in the top of the eighth with the score tied 6-6. Amarillo got to work quickly with a 1B Geraldo Valentin RBI double and an unearned run off an error and took the 8-6 lead. However, Kansas City didn’t fold when the pressure was at its highest. In the bottom of the ninth, 1B Joe Rapp closed the gap with an RBI single. Then with the bases loaded, 3B Jake Blackwood came through with a single to score two runs and take the walk-off win.
Despite being outhit 18-9, Amarillo was so close to winning. That was due largely in part to the multi-hit efforts of Valentin, 2B Juan Martinez and CF Jason Martin.
Kansas City 4, Amarillo 1 (Regularly scheduled game) – Box
The Kansas City T-Bones got some late-game scoring to take the lead and win over the Amarillo Thunderheads 4-1. Kansas City scored an unearned run in the first off a wild pitch but wouldn’t score again until the seventh. During that time, Amarillo’s CF Jason Martin hit an RBI single to tie the game. After another unearned run in the seventh, the T-Bones got a leadoff homer in the eighth from DH Jake Blackwood for insurance.
The Thunderheads lost and scored just once despite outhitting the T-Bones 9-7. Martin had a nice night with three hits and an RBI. Amarillo’s starting pitcher Clayton Tanner tossed a quality start with six innings pitched and zero earned runs.
St. Paul 3, Sioux Falls 1 – Box
In a low-scoring game, the St. Paul Saints scored three runs on just four hits in defeating the Sioux Falls Canaries 3-1. The Saints got off to a fast start in the first inning, scoring twice. With leadoff man CF Alonzo Harris in scoring position, LF Willie Argo knocked an RBI single to center for the first run. Argo later scored on an error. In the third inning, Argo scored again off a groundout. He finished the game 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.
Though the Canaries lost, they actually outhit the Saints 8-4. 2B Michael Wing, RF Jason Repko and 3B RJ Perucki all recorded two hits. Both starting pitchers performed well, as the score indicates. St. Paul’s LHP Pedro Hernandez got the win after six strong and just one earned run. Sioux Falls’ LHP Joe Bircher took the loss but pitched 7.1 innings and allowed just two ER.
Rockland 5, Gary SouthShore 3 – Box
Behind the strong bats of LF Stephen Cardullo and 2B Giuseppe Papaccio, the Rockland Boulders defeated the Gary SouthShore RailCats 5-3 in an interleague match. In the fourth inning, Cardullo blasted a two-RBI triple to get the Boulders on the board. Papaccio then singled to bring Cardullo home. SS Junior Arrojo and CF Jared McDonald added RBIs in the seventh.
Gary SouthShore gave a good effort, with multi-hit games from CF Jon Jones, DH Roger Bernal and C Michael Vaughn. LHP Shawn O’Neill came to pitch in relief and kept the Boulders off the board in 1.2 innings of work. Rockland’s RHP Luis Sanz closed out the game with a scoreless inning and got the save.
Sioux City 8, Grand Prairie 2 – Box
1B Rene Tosoni had a fantastic night at the plate to lead the Sioux City Explorers to an 8-2 win over the Grand Prairie AirHogs. Tosoni’s RBI single in the sixth and RBI double in the eighth were part of a 3-for-5 showing with a run and three RBIs. RF Michael Lang also starred for the Explorers with a 4-for-5 showing and two runs. 2B Ryan Court also recorded three hits.
Grand Prairie’s RF Victor Ferrante led the eighth inning off with a solo homer and finished the game 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. On the pitching side, Sioux City’s two pitchers both performed well. Starter Ryan Zimmerman got the win after pitching eight innings with just two runs allowed. RHP Billy Bullock finished out the game with a scoreless inning in relief.
Fargo-Moorhead 10, Laredo 4 – Box
The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks crushed the Laredo Lemurs 10-4 behind some late offensive power. Down 2-0 headed to the sixth, the RedHawks decided to wake the bats. C Charlie Valerio hit an RBI double, but it would just be a sign of what was to come. The seventh saw Fargo-Moorhead plate four, highlighted by LF Chad Mozingo’s two-RBI double. The eighth saw much of the same with a bases-clearing triple from SS Zach Penprase. Mozingo finished the night with four hits, while Penprase had four RBIs. RF Denis Phipps, who went 3-for-5 with an RBI, led Laredo’s hitting.
Fargo-Moorhead’s starting RHP Taylor Stanton turned in a quality start after going 6.2 innings with just one earned run.
Joplin 9, Winnipeg 5 – Box
In a game that saw 22 combined hits, the Joplin Blasters came out on top of the Winnipeg Goldeyes by the score of 9-5. Joplin scored twice in the first behind a LF Yasser Gomez RBI single and then another from 3B Omar Luna. However, Winnipeg would respond with three runs on a OF Nic Jackson home run. The Blasters really blasted the game open with a four-run fourth inning. Back-to-back RBI singles and then a two-RBI triple from DH Jake Taylor made the score 7-3, and the Goldeyes wouldn’t catch up.
Three of Joplin’s relievers – Gabe Aguilar, Victor Capellan and Winston Abreu – each got an inning of work and none allowed a run. Winnipeg’s RHP Benji Waite went two innings strong in relief without an earned run.
Wichita 4, Lincoln 2 – Box
With a hit, run or RBI from each player in the lineup, the Wichita Wingnuts were able to defeat the Lincoln Saltdogs 4-2. SS Alberto Gonzalez and RF David Espinosa led the Wingnuts at the plate with 2-for-4 hitting each. It was C John Nester, however, who got the game going with a solo jack in the second. The Saltdogs were led by SS Mike Gilmartin’s 2-for-4 performance at the plate and 2B Eddie Young’s versatile game. Young had one hit, one run, one RBI and one walk.
Both starting pitchers performed well. Wichita’s Jason Van Skike got the win after seven innings and just one earned run. Lincoln’s Zach Varce wasn’t too bad either, despite receiving the loss, with 6.1 innings pitched and just one earned run allowed, as well as six strikeouts.
