Goldeyes 2, RedHawks 4 – Box Score
The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (34-13) defeated the Winnipeg Goldeyes (24-23) 4-2 Tuesday night at Newman Outdoor Field.
The Goldeyes took an early 1-0 lead as 1B David Washington hit an RBI single in the top of the first inning.
The RedHawks responded right away. 3B Leobaldo Pina hit a fielder’s choice that brought in 2B Peter Maris. A few batters later, CF Evan Alexander notched a two-RBI single to give Fargo-Moorhead a 3-1 lead.
Both teams didn’t score the next five innings. In the seventh, the Goldeyes brought their deficit to just one run as DH Logan Hill hit a solo bomb to make the score 2-3.
Similar to what Fargo-Moorhead did earlier in the game, the RedHawks responded again. 1B Manuel Boscan hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score SS Sam Dexter and make the score 4-2.
Fargo-Moorhead relief pitcher Alex DuBord entered in the ninth and threw a scoreless inning as the RedHawks won by two runs.
Peyton Wigginton started on the mound for the RedHawks. He earned a win and quality start as he threw seven innings, allowed two runs, and struck out seven.
DockHounds 12, Railcats 11 – Box Score
In a contest that set the record for the longest nine-inning game in American Association history, the Lake Country DockHounds (18-31) provided just enough firepower to take down the Gary SouthShore RailCats (21-28) with a final score of 12-11.
The two teams combined for 26 hits and 24 walks against 11 different pitchers to generate their 23 runs over the course of a four-hour and 37-minute back-and-forth battle.
Gary SouthShore got the scoring started in the very first inning as they produced three runs against a pair of Lake Country arms. On his first swing as a RailCat, Nate Scantlin tripled to the wall in center field, and Michael Woodworth drove him home one pitch later on a single. Victor Nova walked to place runners on first and second base, and Jesus Marriaga‘s base hit doubled the ‘Cats lead. Following a flyout, Daniel Lingua lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to put the hosts up 3-0.
However, their early advantage was short-lived. The DockHounds roared for eight runs in their next turn at bat, sending 12 batters to the box in the process as they pulled ahead by five.
Playing from behind for the first time, the RailCats rallied to grab their edge right back in the bottom of the second. Alec Olund, Tom Walraven, and Scantlin drew consecutive walks to load the bases, and Woodworth singled to bring the ‘Cats within four. A Nova sacrifice fly cut the Gary SouthShore deficit to three, and Marriaga’s two-run triple placed the tying run at third base. Michael Cruz‘s groundout allowed Marriaga to touch home plate and tie the ballgame, and with the bases empty, Lingua singled and stole second to reignite the RailCats lineup. Chris Burgess, the ninth batter of the inning, roped a single to left field which moved Gary SouthShore in front 9-8.
The two teams traded zeros in the third before the DockHounds leveled the score back up in the fourth. A walk, two stolen bases, and a single helped Lake Country edge their way back to equal footing, knotting the contest at nine.
Though Marriaga’s double in the bottom half of that frame did not deliver a run, he made his next swing count, making history in the process. His leadoff home run in the bottom of the sixth propelled the RailCats back to a 10-9 lead, and in doing so, he completed the cycle in just four at-bats through six innings.
A scoreless seventh inning had the RailCats six outs away from victory, but Lake Country stormed back to tie the matchup at 10. The DockHounds worked a walk, drew a hit-by-pitch, and benefitted from two wild pitches to position both teams on equal footing heading into the final frame.
Three hits and a walk enabled Lake Country to seize control at 12-10 needing just three outs to secure the win, but the RailCats were unwilling to go down without a fight. Scantlin led off by blooping a single to left field, and Woodworth helped him reach third on his single one hitter later. Woodworth immediately stole second base, and a wild pitch to the next batter, Nova, both tallied a run and located both the tying and winning runs on base.
At that point, Gary SouthShore’s luck at the dish ran out. Two straight strikeouts and a groundout enabled the DockHounds to escape the ninth inning and shut the RailCats down.
Monarchs 16, Railroaders 8 – Box Score
On a hot Tuesday night in Texas, the Kansas City Monarchs (27-16) offense erupted early and derailed any comeback hopes of the Cleburne Railroaders (14-29). Kansas City picked up its fifth win in as many nights with a strong showing from Darnell Sweeney at the plate and a team effort on the mound en route to a 16-8 victory.
The top of the first started off fast with a single from speedy Darnell Sweeney. Following Sweeney’s single, Chad De La Guerra drove an RBI double to right field and Sweeney scored from first to put the Monarchs up 1-0. Jan Hernandez set up more scoring for the Monarchs by moving De La Guerra to third base with a fly out to right field. Matt Adams singled to bring home De La Guerra, and it was followed by a two-out walk from Gaby Guerrero. With two runners on Willie Abreu blasted a deep shot over the left field wall to push the Monarchs lead to 5-0. The Railroaders were able to respond with a two-out, solo shot, after a ten plus pitch at-bat, from Zach Nehrir to cut into the early deficit.
The Monarchs offense did not slow in the second inning with a leadoff double from J.C. Escarra followed by a two-run home run from Sweeney over the left-center field fence. De La Guerra stayed hot at the plate and doubled again in the second frame and reached third base following a wild pitch on the fourth ball during Hernandez’s at-bat. With runners on the corners, and following a Monarchs’ strikeout, David Thompson drew a walk to load the bases. Guerrero singled to center to bring in one more run and the Monarchs picked up one last run in the inning via a hit by pitch at-bat for Pete Kozma. After two trips to the plate the Monarchs led 9-1. The Monarchs began rolling on the mound with Lewis Thorpe, the starter for the Monarchs, picking up three strikeouts in the second inning to strike out the side.
Sweeney added to his consistent night at the plate with a line shot to right field for a double to start off the third inning. The Monarchs appeared to be slowing down picking up two quick outs and potentially stranding Sweeney. Following an Adams walk, the Monarchs strung together four consecutive singles. Thompson hit a sharp ground ball down the line to left field to bring home Sweeney. Then Guerrero and Abreu each picked up an RBI single. Kozma concluded the scoring with a looping hit to right field that skipped off the right fielder to bring home two runs. The Monarchs led 14-1 heading into the home half of the third inning.
In the bottom of the third Lewis Thorpe picked up two more strikeouts while the Railroaders picked up two runs via three singles and a sacrifice fly RBI from Chuck Taylor to cut the score to 14-3. In the fourth inning, both offenses went quiet as Kevin Hilton, the Railroaders’ starter, was replaced by Josh Lucas. Lucas retired the Monarchs in order to hold the deficit at 11 runs. Lewis Thorpe followed suit with his own one, two, three inning on the mound, retiring Cleburne in order. Thorpe secured two more strikeouts on the night to bring his final total to seven.
Lucas replicated his work on the mound in the fourth inning by retiring the Monarchs in order in the fifth, striking out one along the way. In the home half of the fifth, Thorpe’s night came to a close following a balk and an ejection with two outs in the inning. Before Thorpe’s abrupt exit, Edwin Arroyo and Taylor set up the Railroaders with runners on second and third base with no outs. Nehrir continued his quality performance at the plate on the night with an RBI double, scoring two runs and cutting the deficit to nine. Nehrir advanced to third via a fly out and scored on Thorpe’s balk. Brock Gilliam entered the game to replace Thorpe and recorded the final out to preserve the 14-6 Monarch lead.
In the sixth, Lucas retired three out of the four batters he faced picking up two more strikeouts on his way to a one hit, one run inning. The one hit came from a towering solo shot off of the right field foul pole from Escarra. This solo shot pushed the Monarchs’ total to 15 runs on the night. In the bottom of the frame, Brock Gilliam flirted with danger putting runners on the corners with no outs. Gilliam escaped the inning without allowing Cleburne to produce a run behind strong fielding and two fly outs.
In the seventh, Kevin McCarthy replaced Lucas and allowed two hits but settled down and prevented the Monarchs from pouring on any extra insurance runs. In the home half of the seventh, the Railroaders’ Chase Simpson drove a deep solo home run with one out to cut into the lead. Kacy Clemens singled as well before Gilliam shut off the building momentum, retiring the side leaving the score at 15-8.
Michael Wong replaced McCarthy on the mound for Cleburne in the eighth, and much like Lucas’ outing in the fourth and fifth frames, retired the Monarchs in order. Justin Donatella replaced Gilliam in the eighth. Donatella surrendered only one run on three hits before ending the inning by striking out Eddie Hernandez swinging.
In the top of the ninth the Monarchs added one more run from a Matt Adams sacrifice fly and led 16-8 heading into the final half inning of play. Brandon Koch entered on the mound to close the door on a decisive win for the Monarchs. Koch retired the Railroaders in order in the ninth, striking out two of the three batters he faced.
