Sioux City 6, Lincoln 3 – Box
In a complete game by Explorers starting pitcher Ryan Zimmerman, Sioux City defeated Lincoln 6-3 Thursday night. In the third inning, Sioux City CF Matty Johnson scored on an error by the catcher. Johnson returned in the fourth inning to hit a grand slam to give the Explorers a commanding 5-0 lead. The Saltdogs got on the board in the fifth inning with a solo home run by SS Mike Gilmartin. Later in the eighth inning, Explorers C Matt Koch hit an RBI-single to make it 6-1 Sioux City. The Explorers then had bases loaded, but could not produce any more offense.
Lincoln added runs in the eighth and ninth innings, but Sioux City’s lead was too large to overcome. Saltdogs starting pitcher Zach Varce went eight innings, gave up 11 hits, six runs, two walks and struck-out four batters. Zimmerman gave up five hits and struck-out five batters.
New Jersey 4, Wichita 1 – Box
A three-run fourth inning was enough to push New Jersey past Wichita 4-1 Thursday Night. Jackals 2B Anthony Gomez hit an RBI-single in the third to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead. A solo homer by RF Leandro Castro, a run off an error, and a sacrifice fly by C Tony Caldwell made it 4-0 Jackals in the fourth inning. Wichita 1B Matt Padgett hit a solo homer in the sixth inning to make it 4-1 New Jersey.
New Jersey starting pitcher Anthony Claggett went six innings, gave up seven hits, one earned run, one walk and struck-out 3 batters. Wichita had seven hits while New Jersey had just four. CF Jayce Ray and Padgett led Wichita with two hits each. The Winguts had two errors while the Jackals had one.
Amarillo at Winnipeg – Box
Winnipeg held Amarillo to just six hits in its 4-1 victory Thursday night. The Goldeyes were up 1-0 in the second when DH Luis Alen hit an RBI-single. Winnipeg RF Tillman Pugh scored on a balk in the third inning to give the Goldeyes a 2-0 lead. In the fifth inning, Amarillo 1B Rene Leveret hit an RBI-single to cut Winnipeg’s lead to 2-1. But in the bottom half, Pugh hit an RBI-double and 1B Casey Haerther hit an RBI-single to extend the Goldeyes lead to 4-1.
Amarillo starting pitcher Alex Koronis went five innings, gave up eight hits, four runs, and struck-out four batters. Winnipeg starting pitcher Matthew Jackson went five innings, gave up three hits one run, and struck-out two batters.
Fargo-Moorhead 7, Grand Prairie 1 – Box
Redhawks starting pitcher Tyler Alexander pitched a complete game and held the AirHogs to just two hits in a 7-1 victory Thursday night. Fargo-Moorhead went ahead 2-0 in the second inning after an RBI-single by C Joe Staley and a sacrifice fly by 3B Tyler Oldham. Grand Prairie DH Jamodrick McGruder grounded into a fielder’s choice to score a run in the third inning. The Redhawks added runs in the third and fourth inning to push ahead 4-1.
Then in the sixth inning, CF Dan Muren hit a sacrifice fly and SS Zach Penprase hit a two-RBI double to give the Redhawks a 7-1 lead. Grand Prairie starting pitcher Blake Oliver went five innings, gave up 10 hits, five runs and struck-out two batters. Alexander gave up one earned run, only two walks and struck-out eight batters.
Joplin 4, Laredo 2 – Box
Joplin used 10 hits to split past Laredo 4-2 Thursday night. Joplin had bases loaded in the first inning, and LF Omar Luna picked up an RBI-hbp to make it 1-0 Blasters. The Blasters’ lead increased to 3-0 in the fourth inning with a 2B Mitch Glasser sacrifice fly and a RBI-single by Yasser Gomez. In the sixth inning the lead was cut to 3-2 – Laredo 2B Kevin Taylor had an RBI-single and 1B Dustin Geiger was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
But 3B Jairo Perez hit an RBI-single in the bottom of the sixth to push Joplin’s lead to 4-2. Joplin starting pitcher Luis Chirinos went six innings, gave up four hits, two runs and struck-out five batters. The Lemurs had six hits in the game, led by Taylor who had two.
Kansas City 10, Sioux Falls 9 – Box
In a game, that saw the lead wrestled back and forth, Kansas City defeated Sioux Falls 10-9. The T-Bones scored four runs in the third inning – 1B Ernie Banks Jr. and CF Nate Tenbrink hit an RBI-single and two-RBI single, respectively and 3B Robert Kudzdale added a sacrifice fly. But in the bottom of the third, Canaries 1B David Bergin tied the game with a grand slam. In the top of the fifth, the T-Bones regained a 5-4 lead after a solo shot by LF Adam Bailey.
But the Canaries quickly recaptured the advantage when DH Brian Humphries and C Steve Sulcoski both hit two-run homers in the bottom of the fifth. The back and forth continued in the sixth – T-Bones SS Sergio Leon hit a three-RBI double and DH Jake Blackwood hit a sacrifice fly to give Kansas City a 9-8 advantage. The two teams exchanged runs in the seventh to make it 10-9.
Gary SouthShore 3, St. Paul 1 – Box
Gary SouthShore squeaked past the Saints 3-1 Thursday night. In the first inning, Gary Southshore had runners on the corners with no one out, but couldn’t produce any offense. Later, the Saints had runners on the corners with one out in the top of the sixth inning, but 2B Anthony Phillips struck-out to end the inning. The RailCats finally put the first two runs on the board in the bottom of the sixth – 1B Jose Sermo hit an RBI-triple and then eventually scored himself off an error by the right fielder.
Saints RF Willie Argo hit an RBI-triple of his own to cut the lead to 2-1 in the seventh inning. But the RailCats added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth to make it 3-1.
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