Nashville Sounds 5, Charlotte Knights 3 The Knights (58-50) and Sounds spent most of the night shadowboxing, but it was Nashville who finally landed the knockout punch. José Urquidy kept things quiet until the third, when the Sounds eked out a run. Charlotte’s bats, comatose until the fifth, finally woke up with a Ryan Galanie triple — yes, the first hit of the night. Korey Lee’s sac fly tied it, but Urquidy served up a leadoff solo shot in the bottom half, and just like that, Nashville snatched
the lead right back, 2-1.
Charlotte tried to make some noise in the eighth. Andy Weber doubled, Rikuu Nishida nudged him to third on a ground out, and then Austin Hays delivered with a two-run bomb to left, Knights up 3-2. That joy didn’t last very long. Mason Adams, who had been scheduled to start before Urquidy got the call, surrendered three runs in the bottom half. The Knights had one last shot in the ninth with the bases loaded and one out after three consecutive walks. Weber then rolled into a soul-crushing double play.
MVP
Austin Hays: 1-for-4, R, 2 RBI, HR
Runners-Up
José Urquidy: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Ryan Galanie: 1-for-3, R, BB, 3B
Korey Lee: 1-for-2, RBI, BB
Andy Weber: 1-for-4, R, , 2B, K
Cold Cat
Mason Adams: 3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K, PO, L
Birmingham Barons 6, Chattanooga Lookouts 5
The Barons (41-61) spotted Chattanooga a five-run head start, then decided to play ball for real, squeaking out the win. Dylan Cumming took the mound and promptly got shelled for two runs in the first, three more in the second, and the Lookouts were off to the races at 5-0. Finally, Birmingham got on the board in the bottom of the second. Jose Colmenares and Alec Briley each singled, and an error by the second baseman let two runs scamper home, 5-2, Lookouts.
The Barons got to work in the fourth. Samuel Zavala ripped a double, Caleb Bonemer poked a single, and then Anthony DePino unloaded for his 13th bomb of the year, a two-run shot that tied things at 5-5.
Jorge Corona took matters into his own hands in the seventh, launching a solo homer that put Birmingham on top for good. The ninth got dicey when Chattanooga opened with a single and a double, sending Jackson Kelley to the showers. Enter Jonathan Clark, who promptly struck out the side to earn the save.
MVP
Anthony DePino: 1-for-4, R, 2 RBI, BB, HR, K
Runners-Up
Alec Briley: 2-for-5, R, K
Caleb Bonemer: 1-for-4, R, BB, K
Colby Shelton: 2-for-5, 2 K
Jorge Corona: 1-for-4, R, RBI
Jonathan Clark: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 K, S
Cold Cat
Dylan Cumming: 4 IP, 7 H, 5 R, BB, 3 K
Brooklyn Cyclones 6, Winston-Salem Dash 5
The Dash (56-46) dug themselves an early hole and couldn’t quite climb all the way out of it. Dylan Carmouche got ambushed for two in the first, and Winston-Salem’s answer was a Derek Cerda double and a Javier Mogollón RBI knock. Brooklyn immediately stomped that out with three runs in their half of the third, stretching it to 5-1. Kyle Lodise tried to spark something in the fourth after a single, a swipe of second, and a Wes Kath RBI single, but Kath got greedy and was gunned down stretching for two. The Cyclones punched right back, and by the fifth, Cerda was back at it with a single, steal, advance on an error by the catcher, and home on a Mogollón sac fly, 6-3.
The Dash didn’t roll over. In the sixth, George Wolkow punched a single and scored on a Kath double, then another run limped home after a Cyclones miscue and a Cerda ground out, 6-5, and just like that, it was a one-run game. But that was the last gasp. They put the tying and go-ahead runners aboard with one out in the seventh but couldn’t deliver the big hit, went down in order in the eighth, and managed only a leadoff walk in the ninth.
MVP
Wes Kath: 3-for-4, 2 RBI, 2B
Runners-Up
Javier Mogollón: 1-for-3, 2 RBI, BB, SF, K
Derek Cerda: 2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI, SB
Kyle Lodise: 1-for-3, 2 R, BB, SB, K
Caedmon Parker: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 K
Cold Cat
Dylan Carmouche: 4 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 2 K, L
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 8, Salem RidgeYaks 4
The Cannon Ballers (52-50) looked lifeless through six innings before jolting awake for a late rally. Kanny starter Alexander Martinez danced out of a bases-loaded mess in the second, but the third was a different story. He issued a leadoff walk, served up a two-run bomb, and then gave up a solo shot to put Salem up 3-0. Kannapolis was stuck on just four hits, with two of those belonging to shiny new Sox draftees Grayson Fitzwater (13th round, No. 375 overall) and Braden Holcomb (12th round, No. 345 overall), who both notched their first pro doubles.
Kannapolis finally broke through in the seventh with three doubles. Fitzwater, Holcomb and Christian Gonzalez each ripped a two-bagger, trimming the deficit to 3-2. The Ballers then took control in the eighth. Matthew Boughton wore one for the team, Billy Carlson moved him over with a ground out, and Steven Lancia delivered an RBI single before Fitzwater crushed his first professional dinger to put Kannapolis in front. Alexander Albertus followed with a single, Holcomb and Gonzalez drew walks, and Jaden Fauske blew the game open with a bases-clearing triple to make it 8-3. Salem managed a run in the ninth, but the Ballers’ late fireworks made it academic.
MVP
Grayson Fitzwater: 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR
Runners-Up
Anthony Patterson III: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R
Marco Barrios: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, W
Braden Holcomb: 3-for-3, R, RBI, BB, 2B, SB
Jaden Fauske: 1-for-5, 3 RBI, 3B, 2 K
Christian Gonzaelz: 1-for-3, R, RBI, BB, 2B, 2 K
Cold Cat
Alexander Martinez: 4 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 5 BB, 4 K
