Memphis Redbirds 10, Charlotte Knights 5
The Knights (44-38) faceplanted out of the gate. Dustin Harris tried to set the tone with a solo shot to open the game, but that lead was gone and fast. Mason Adams got shelled for five runs in the bottom of the first, then two more in the second, and Memphis was off to the races at 7-1. Adisyn Coffey was up next and took his lumps in the fourth, serving up two more as the Redbirds piled on.
The offense finally showed some life in the sixth, stringing together
six hits to plate four runs and trim the deficit to 9-5, but it was way too little, way too late. Memphis answered with another tally in the seventh to put the game away, handing Charlotte the L, buried under an avalanche of early runs.
Montgomery Biscuits 12, Birmingham Barons 5
The Biscuits got down to business early, putting the Barons (27-49) in a seven-run hole through the first three innings. Starter Gabe Davis took the brunt of it, surrendering all seven runs before exiting after recording just two outs in the third. Birmingham finally got on the board in the fourth when Anthony DePino launched his ninth dinger of the season, but the offense struggled to build any momentum as Montgomery continued to add to its lead.
The Barons scratched across another run in the seventh on an RBI single by T. J. McCants before staging one last, spirited rally in the ninth. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Samuel Zavala lined a base hit to score one. Then McCants and Jacob Burke whiffed, but Alec Briley followed with a two-run single to make it look a little more respectable. That was as close as Birmingham would get, however, as Caleb Bonemer flew out to end both the threat and the game.
Winston-Salem Dash 5, Greenville Drive 4 (10 innings)
The Dash (43-33) snatched a wild win in extras, feasting on Greenville’s late-game meltdown. Early on, Winston-Salem looked sharp, getting two runs in the second. Jeral Perez worked a walk, Arxy Hernández punched a single, and Ely Brown kept the line moving with a knock to jam the bases. Eddie Park, patient as ever, took the free RBI walk, and Lodise lofted a sac fly for a quick 2-1 cushion.
Winston-Salem tacked on another tally in the third when James Taussig ripped a two-out double, Perez plated him with a base hit, and it was 3-1.
But the Dash let Greenville creep back in, tying things up by the sixth, and then both teams went ice-cold for three innings. So, on to extras!
Greenville eked out a run in the top of the 10th, cashing in their Manfred runner on a sac fly and an RBI single. But the Dash weren’t done as Taussig delivered with a single, plating George Wolkow, their ghost runner, to even the score. Enter Alex Ungar, pinch runner, who promptly swiped second. Hernández worked a walk, Brown lined out, and Park’s patience again loaded the bases. Greenville went to the pen, and Tyler Davis walked Kyle Lodise on a 3-2 count to force in the winner.
Starter Riley Eikhoff put together a quality start, allowing just three runs on eight hits with a lone walk and six punchouts over six frames. The bullpen stitched together four innings, only letting the freebie Manfred runner cross.
Wilson Warbirds 3, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 2 (11 innings)
Kannapolis (37-39) tried to conjure some of Winston-Salem’s late-inning magic and came up empty, falling in extras. The Ballers scratched out a run in the first. Jaden Fauske worked a walk, took second on a wild pitch, and scored on an Alexander Albertus ground out after Boughton’s single set the table with runners on the corners. They tacked on another in the fifth when Adrian Gil singled, Jurdrick Profar wore one, and Gil hustled home from second on a force. Wilson answered with a pair in the bottom half, only one earned, and suddenly it was all square.
Nobody could budge the tie through nine, and both lineups fizzled in the 10th. The Ballers missed their shot in the 11th with a fielder’s choice and a double play, and that was all the invitation the Warbirds needed. Two singles later, they walked it off. Kanny’s pitching held the line for 10, including a strong four-inning scoreless start by Alexander Martinez, but Marco Barrios took the loss when the ghost runner crossed in the 11th.
DSL White Sox 7, DSL Blue Jays 6 (7 innings)
The DSL White Sox (6-16) outslugged the Blue Jays, going 3-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Sebastian Romero keeps pounding on the door for a promotion, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs, including a run-scoring double in the first and a two-run shot, his seventh, in the third. Carlos Vielma joined the fun with his first homer of the year in a three-run fourth. Starter Ronald Kelly got lit up for five runs in just 2 1/3, but the bullpen kept the ship afloat for a one-run win.
ACL Rangers 9, ACL White Sox 6 (7 innings)
The ACL White Sox (12-30) managed to wake up the bats in this one, but the pitching staff couldn’t hold on late. D’Angelo Tejada’s two-run shot in the second yanked the Sox back within a run at 3-2. Alan Escobar, doing his best to carry the lineup, ripped an RBI triple in the fourth to tie it up 4-4. The Rangers reclaimed a 6-4 lead in the sixth, but Escobar, who was 3-for-3 with three RBIs, knocked in another tally to knot it at six apiece. That was the end of the fun, though, as the Sox bullpen promptly surrendered three in the seventh, and that was that.
DSL Tigers 6, DSL White Sox 1 (7 innings)
The DSL White Sox had runners everywhere, but nothing to show for it. The only run came in the fourth when Ronald Cardoza walked, moved up on a balk, and Orlando Patino plated him with a two-bagger to left. Patino was basically the offense, going a spotless 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles. Yordany Marte started and kept things from getting too out of hand, surrendering three runs (two earned) over four innings, with four punchouts and one walk. The rest of the bats were ice cold, going 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and ten left on base.
