Lincoln 7, Sioux Falls 6 – Box
The Lincoln Saltdogs rallied with two runs in the ninth inning to defeat the Sioux Falls Canaries 7-6. Down one in the bottom of the ninth, 2B Aaron Payne put the ball in play, but an error allowed him to reach base and CF Matt Forgatch to score. That tied the game, but 1B C.J. Ziegler soon slapped an RBI double to score the winning run. DH Curt Smith, who scored the winning run, hit two solo home runs and finished with one walk, three runs and three RBIs. On the mound, Zac Westcott got the win after pitching two scoreless innings to end the game.
Of the Sioux Falls offensive highlights, the biggest was LF Brian Humphries’ two-run homer in the fifth inning. Humphries, RF Chris Grayson and 2B Brett Balkan led the Canaries with two hits each.
New Jersey 7, Gary SouthShore 6 (11 Innings) – Box
The New Jersey Jackals showed its endurance with an 11th inning 7-6 win over the Gary SouthShore RailCats. In the top of the 11th, 1B A.J. Kirby-Jones slapped a double to center field to score the go-ahead run, and Isaac Pavlik shut the door and got the save. New Jersey got off to a good start in the game behind a CF Dvontrey Richardson RBI triple, 3B Jared Schlehuber solo home run and two-run C Tony Caldwell single. However Gary SouthShore fought back with multiple RBI singles from CF Jon Jones, 1B Dustin Geiger, Elbert Devarie and Jarred Mederos. The RailCats took a one-run lead, but Richardson hit an RBI double in the ninth inning to send the game to extras.
Hector Nelo got the win for New Jersey after pitching two scoreless innings late in the game.
Sioux City 12, Wichita 1 (Game 1 – 7 Innings) – Box
The Sioux City Explorers thumped the Wichita Wingnuts 12-1 behind a huge nine-run fifth inning and dominant pitching. In the fifth, 1B Rene Tosoni was hit by a pitch which scored a run on the loaded bases. DH Brock Kjeldgaard followed that at bat with a three-run double. By the close of the inning, the Explorers came full circle to score their ninth run on a sacrifice fly from Tosoni. CF Matty Johnson led all Explorers with three hits.
Meanwhile, starting pitcher for Sioux City, Patrick Johnson, pitched the entire seven-inning game. He allowed just the one run, which was unearned, and struck out six. That single run for Wichita came in the seventh inning when CF Nick Van Stratten hit an RBI single. Van Stratten led Wichita with two hits.
Sioux City 9, Wichita 0 (Game 2 – 7 Innings) – Box
The Sioux City Explorers won the second leg of the doubleheader in an impressive 9-0 shutout over the Wichita Wingnuts. 1B-2B Rene Tosoni continued a strong day with an RBI single in the first inning. Sioux City broke open the game with five runs in the fourth, highlighted by LF Tim Colwell’s two-run double. Tosoni finished the game 3-for-3 with one walk, one run and two RBIs. C Brendan Slattery added two hits and two runs, and Colwell had two hits, one run and three RBIs. On the mound, Ryan Zimmerman pitched the first six innings, and Jimmer Kennedy pitched the seventh in the team shutout.
Wichita LF Jayce Ray and SS Leo Vargas were the only players to find success at the plate with a hit.
Joplin 4, Grand Prairie 2 – Box
The Joplin Blasters received a quality start on the mound and three hits from SS Maikol Gonzalez en route to a 4-2 win over the Grand Prairie AirHogs. Frank Del Valle pitched six innings and gave up just one run while also striking out 11 batters. In total, Joplin struck out 18 AirHogs. Gonzalez recorded a solo homer in the seventh, the second home run of the night for Joplin after DH Jake Taylor’s solo shot in the second. 3B Jairo Perez hit a two-run double for the Blasters as well.
RF Ronnie Richardson put the AirHogs on the scoreboard with a solo home run in the fifth. 3B Ridge Hoopii-Haslam doubled their score with an RBI single in the eighth.
Amarillo 8, Laredo 1 – Box
1B Rene Leveret went 3-for-3 on the night, and the Amarillo Thunderheads pitching staff allowed zero earned runs as they beat the Laredo Lemurs 8-1. In addition to Leveret’s hits, he scored three runs, had one walk and recorded two RBIs. LF Stefan Gartrell also had a big night for Amarillo, highlighted by an RBI triple in the seventh. On the mound, Richie Mirowski (who got the win) pitched seven innings and struck out seven. Evan Reed and Richard Barrett each pitched a scoreless inning to close out the game.
Laredo’s one run came in the fifth inning when 3B Juan Silverio scored on an error. LF Ty Morrison and CF Drew Martinez each had two walks for Laredo.
Fargo-Moorhead 3, Winnipeg 1 – Box
Fargo-Moorhead starting pitcher Brandon Mann pitched a gem of a game, and Mike Nesseth shut the door as the RedHawks defeated the Winnipeg Goldeyes 3-1. Mann went eight innings strong with zero earned runs and seven strikeouts. Nesseth received a save for a scoreless ninth. Mann received enough run support as the RedHawks scored two in the third. LF Chad Mozingo hit an RBI double, followed by C Luke Bailey’s RBI single. RF Joe Dunigan added an insurance run at the end of the game for Fargo-Moorhead with a solo home run.
Winnipeg scored its one run in the fifth on SS Casio Grider’s fielder’s choice. An error during the play allowed DH Luis Alen to score. Alen and 2B Brad Boyer led the Goldeyes with two hits each.
St. Paul 2, Kansas City 1 – Box
The St. Paul Saints pitching staff came to play as they held the Kansas City offense in check in a 2-1 win over the T-Bones. Kramer Sneed went the first six innings and allowed just the one run. Alex Sogard pitched the next two innings, and Ryan Rodebaugh got the save with a perfect ninth inning. The trio of Saints received just enough run support, thanks to C Vinny DiFiazio’s solo home run in the fourth, and another from 1B Dan Kaczrowski in the fifth.
Kansas City’s lone run came in the fifth as well when RF Starlin Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly. T-Bones starter Kris Regas pitched 6.2 innings and allowed just two runs. He also struck out seven.
