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Charlotte Knights 8, Norfolk Tides 4
The Knights (52-46) are off to a good start against the Tides (35-61), and they hold a 2-0 series lead. Charlotte picked up 12 hits and drew six walks during a strong performance.
The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the second, when four of the first five Knights reached base safely. Tim Elko singled, Andy Weber singled, and although Dru Baker popped out, Riley Unroe and Rikuu Nishida drew back-to-back walks. Nishida’s walk forced in the game’s first run, and the Knights led from that point forward. Charlotte was not done that inning, as Everson Pereira drove in a run with a productive ground out, and Austin Hays doubled to make the score 3-0.
In the third, Korey Lee singled before stealing second and advancing to third on a throwing error. From there, Weber drove Lee in with a double. Two innings later, Weber built on his big day with a solo homer to extend Charlotte’s lead to five. The Knights scored their sixth run on a Riley Unroe solo homer in the fifth, and Tim Elko added the exclamation point with a two-run homer in the eighth.
Knights starter Mason Adams, 26, was on top of his game, only allowing one hit in five innings and keeping the Tides off the board. The bullpen allowed four runs in four innings, but despite a subpar bullpen performance, the Knights comfortably held on.
MVP
Andy Weber (SS): 3-for-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI
Runners-Up
Riley Unroe (3B): 2-for-3, HR, BB
Tim Elko (1B): 2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI
Austin Hays (DH): 2-for-4, 2B, BB, RBI
Mason Adams (RHSP): 5 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 5 K
Cold Cat
Dru Baker (CF): 0-for-4, K
Tanner McDougal (RHRP): 1 IP, 2 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K
Wikelman González (RHRP): 1 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 2 K
Birmingham Barons 8, Montgomery Biscuits 6
The Barons (35-57) used a great offensive performance to even the series against the Biscuits (45-46).
Boston Smith, the second batter of the game, doubled to center, and with two outs, Alec Briley drove in the game’s first run with a double of his own. In the second, the Barons padded their lead with a two-run homer by Grant Magill, his fifth of the year and his third with Birmingham. With the score still 3-0 in the third, Caleb Bonemer hit a double, and Briley drove him in with a single. After a single by Anthony DePino, Briley scored Birmingham’s fifth run on a double by Colby Shelton.
The Biscuits scored their first run in the third, but the Barons responded in the fourth. With two outs and nobody on, Smith walked to extend the inning for Bonemer, who homered, just as he did during the series opener. That blast was Bonemer’s sixth with Birmingham and 24th of the season. For good measure, the Barons went back-to-back, as Briley went deep right after Bonemer did. Briley had an enormous game, collecting eight bases and never being retired.
Meanwhile, Barons starter Dylan Cumming, 27, allowed four runs in five innings. Cumming did not have his most effective stuff, but given how explosive the offense was, he did not need to be at his best. The bullpen allowed two runs in four innings, which was good enough to protect the lead.
MVP
Alec Briley (3B): 4-for-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI
Runners-Up
Caleb Bonemer (SS): 2-for-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI
Colby Shelton (2B): 2-for-3, 2B, BB
Boston Smith (DH): 1-for-3, 2B, 2 BB
Jackson Kelley (RHRP): 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 K
Cold Cat
Dylan Cumming (RHSP): 5 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 2 K
Phil Fox (RHRP): 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 K
Dylan Campbell (RF): 0-for-4, 2 K
Adam Fogel (LF): 0-for-4, K
Winston-Salem Dash vs. Greensboro Grasshoppers: PostponedDue to inclement weather, Winston-Salem (50-41) was unable to play against Greensboro (57-34) on Wednesday, and the teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Thursday.
Columbia Fireflies 4, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 0
The offense was nowhere to be found for the Cannon Ballers (47-45), who dropped a low-scoring contest to the Fireflies (47-45).
Kannapolis starter Truman Pauley, 22, put together a decent performance, allowing three runs (two earned) in five innings. Pauley did not allow any walks, and he only needed 59 pitches to complete five innings. However, given how poorly the offense performed, it is no surprise that Pauley received no run support.
The Cannon Ballers only collected three hits, all of which were singles. Center fielder Jaden Fauske was a bright spot, finishing 2-for-3 with a walk. Overall, the Cannon Ballers finished 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
MVP
Jaden Fauske (CF): 2-for-3, BB
Runners-Up
Nick McLain (LF): 1-for-3
Jesús Méndez (RHRP): 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 0 K
Nick Weyrich (RHRP): 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K
Cold Cat
Matthew Boughton (2B): 0-for-4
Stiven Flores (C): 0-for-4
Derek Cerda (RF): 0-for-4, K
Ryan Schiefer (RHRP): 1 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K
ACL Brewers 10, ACL White Sox 7 (8 innings)
The ACL White Sox (18-41) made a valiant effort, as they rallied to force the game into extras. However, as we have seen many times, the pitching staff ultimately came up short, so the ACL Brewers (26-33) prevailed.
After a scoreless first inning, the ACL Brewers got on the board in the top of the second with an RBI double with two outs. However, the ACL White Sox put a crooked number on the board in the bottom of the second despite recording zero hits. Yordani Soto reached on an error to open the bottom of the second. Frank Mieses struck out, Alan Escobar walked, Alejandro Cruz struck out, and Marcelo Alcala was hit by a pitch. As a result, the Complex Sox had the bases loaded with two outs. The stage was set for William Bergolla Jr., who is on a rehab assignment. Bergolla was hit by a pitch to force in the tying run, and the Complex Sox were not done. Bergolla’s hit by pitch triggered a pitching change, but the control issues continued. Jefrank Silva walked, and Jackson Appel was hit by a pitch, so suddenly, the score was 3-1. It is a relief to see Bergolla’s name in a lineup again.
After that sloppy inning, the ACL Brewers recovered and scored five in the third and one in the fourth. That put the ACL Brewers ahead by a score of 7-3, making it seem like the game would be drama-free. However, the Complex Sox did not go down easily. In the bottom of the fifth, with runners on first and second with two outs, D’Angelo Tejada hit a single to cut the deficit to three. A wild pitch allowed another run to score, so entering the seventh, the score was 7-5.
In the bottom of the seventh, with runners on second and third with two outs, Alcala stepped up to the plate in a high-leverage situation. Alcala crushed a pitch to right-center, and it hopped over the fence for a ground-rule double. That drove in a pair, which was enough to extend the game into the eighth. However, the ACL Brewers scored three in the top half, and the Complex Sox came up empty to close it out.
