(26-25) Charlotte Knights 3, (28-23) Gwinnett Stripers 2
- Jim Jarvis, SS: 1-for-4, 3B, BB, .299/.407/.435
- Brewer Hicklen, RF: 2-for-4, 2B, R, .353/.432/.576
- Brett Wisley, 2B: 2-for-4, R, RBI, .314/.381/.471
- JR Ritchie, SP: 5.2IP 6H 2ER 3BB 3K, 1.36 ERA
- Daysbel Hernández, RP: 1IP 1H 0R 0BB 1K, 4.46 ERA
The Stripers dropped a close 3-2 game to the Charlotte Knights on Sunday.
The Stripers struck first, scoring runs in the first and second innings to build a 2-0 lead. The Stripers’ pitching staff carried the momentum into the middle innings of the game before Knights began to chip away. The Knights started with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to tie the game before eventually scoring the decisive run in the eighth inning of the game.
J.R. Ritchie made his first start since returning
to the minors and was pretty solid as he danced around some control issues with three walks. That said, he still limited the Knights to zero extra base-hits which significantly helped his overall outing. JR utilized his full six pitch arsenal (four-seam, curveball, cutter, slider, sinker, change) but struggled to land his four-seam in the zone consistently which led him to lean more on his curveball, and changeup to good success. While the four-seam command wavered, his ability to utilize all of his pitches (>12% usage rate on each pitch) allowed him to get through 5.2 innings.
Victor Mederos (2.1IP 3H 1ER 1BB 2K) followed JR Ritchie and would be the one that eventually surrendered that decisive run.
Offensively, Gwinnett generated early pressure on the Knights with some aggressive at-bats. Today it was Brett Wisely and Brewer Hicklen who contributed in big spots. Jair Camargo drove in Brett Wisely in the second inning to score the games’ first run. In the second it was Brett Wisely once again who would drive in Brewer Hicklen who singled and stole second right before Brett.
The Stripers would threaten again in the fourth inning after this two out triple by Jim Jarvis, but would be held in check the rest of the game, losing 3-2.
(21-23) Columbus Clingstones 5, (23-22) Pensacola Blue Wahoos 10
- Patrick Clohisy, CF: 1-for-5, R, .262/.333/.431
- Luke Waddell, SS: 1-for-4, 3B, BB, 2R, RBI, .248/.374/.398
- David McCabe, DH: 1-for-2, 3 BB, R, .246/.356/.532
- Drew Compton, 1B: 1-for-4, RBI, .167/.235/.241
- Ian Mejia, SP: 3.1IP 5H 3ER 2BB 2K, 9.53 ERA
- Elison Joseph, RP: 1IP 0H 0R 1BB 2K, 3.06 ERA
The Columbus Clingstones fell 9-5 to the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on Sunday. Pensacola consistently got runners on base throughout the game, resulting in lots of high stress pitches for the Clingstones pitching staff.
Despite the loss, Columbus created a number of significant moments on offense that kept the game competitive into the middle innings until a big fifth inning for the Blue Wahoos did the Clingstones in. The Clingstones went up early, scoring the first four runs of the game within the first two innings of the game. An RBI single by David McCabe in the first gave the Clingstones their first run, while a run scoring force out by Drew Compton gave Columbus the 2-0 lead. They would add their third run of the game in the top of the second inning with this Luke Waddell RBI triple.
The turning point of the game came in the bottom of the third when Ian Mejia gave up a three run home run to swing the momentum into the Blue Wahoos favor as the lead would lessen to 4-3. Ian’s struggles continued as he gave up hard contact throughout his three inning stint. He would be replaced by Blayne Enlow who would eventually give up another four runs in the fifth inning to give Pensacola the 7-4 lead.
The Clingstones would add another run in the seventh inning to make it 7-5, but Luis Vargas would give up a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning to increase the deficit to 9-5.
(25-20) Rome Emperors 0, (24-20) Hub City Spartanburgers 4
- Isaiah Drake, RF: 1-for-3, BB, .280/.360/.451
- Eric Hartman, DH: 0-for-4, .302/.384/.623
- Dixon Williams, CF: 1-for-4, 2B, .257/.374/.465
- John Gil, SS: 0-for-4, .264/.374/.434
- Luke Sinnard, SP: 4.2IP 4H 2ER 0BB 6K, 3.86 ERA
The Rome Emperors fell 4-3 to the Hub City Spartanburgers on Sunday afternoon in a match dominated by the Spartanburgers pitching staff.
Rome struggled to find any sort of consistent offense as they collected just a single extra base-hit, and picked up four walks. Rome would go 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, and strand seven just to make things a little worse. While they would get a base runner on here and there, they failed to get the big hit that would swing things into their favor.
Luke Sinnard got the start for the Emperors, his third start of the season. With one out in the third he gave up a single and subsequently a pair of stolen bases before allowing a run scoring ground out. He would then surrender a solo home run in the fourth inning for his second run scored. He clearly had a pitch cap of around 75, because he was removed at 72 pitches in the fifth inning of the game after giving up a single.
The decisive run(s) were scored in the eighth inning off of Jacob Shafer who surrendered a two run double. Justin Long (1.1IP 1H 0H 0R 0BB 0K), and Trent Buchanan (1IP 1H 0R 1BB 0K) were the other two pitchers that would make appearances in the game – both with scoreless outings that would keep the Emperors in it, but ultimately it was the offense that really caused the loss.
(19-25) Columbia Fireflies 1, (25-19) Augusta GreenJackets 2 – F/7
- Tate Southisene, 2B: 1-for-2, BB, .286/.426/.472
- Alex Lodise, SS: 1-for-3, .250/.332/.413
- Luis Guanipa, CF: 1-for-3, 2B, .308/.351/.527
- Davis Polo, SP: 6IP 6H 1ER 0BB 6K, 3.63 ERA
- Styven Paez, RP: 1IP 0H 0R 0BB 0K, 0.66 ERA
The Augusta GreenJackets won a close one, a 2-1 victory over the Columbia Fireflies on Sunday. As they closed out the series with really strong pitching, and timely late offense in a tightly contested game.
Davis Polo took the bulk of the innings and was fantastic as he gave up six hits, including two doubles, but navigated through six innings on 72 pitches. His return from Tommy John has gone fantastic as he lowered his ERA down to 3.63 on the season. Davis is a three pitch pitcher mainly featuring a four-seam (92-94), and slider, with a really biting changeup. Styven Paez would work a perfect final inning, throwing six strikes on nine pitches, to secure the game one victory for the GreenJackets.
The GreenJackets struck first in a very unconventional way – via a balk that allowed Junior Garcia to score. Luis Guanipa would follow that up with a double, but Alex Lodise would be thrown out at home, keeping the score at 1-0. They would get runners on in two of the next three innings but would be held in check, unable to add on an insurance run. The go ahead run would come in the sixth inning when Michael Martinez ripped a single into centerfield, driving in Juan Mateo.
Of note, Juan Mateo continued his strong hitting, going 2-for-3 with a run while also picking up his eighth stolen base of the season. The 19 year old has shown great contact abilities while also limiting his chases and is now hitting .314/.368/.390.
(20-25) Columbia Fireflies 8, (25-20) Augusta GreenJackets 5
- Tate Southiesene, 2B: 1-for-2, 2 BB, .286/.426/.472
- Tanner Smith, C: 1-for-2, R, RBI, .250/.320/.511
- Michael Martinez, LF: 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, .316/.316/.684
- Luis Sanchez, 3B: 2-for-3, R, .226/.400/.226
- Kendry Richard, SP: 4IP 3H 3R 1ER 3BB 3K, 6.83 ERA
The Augusta GreenJackets fell 8-5 to the Columbia Fireflies on Sunday afternoon in game 2 of today’s double header. The game featured several strong offensive performances from GreenJackets lineup as the team battled throughout the game before eventually falling.
The GreenJackets fell early and failed to really threaten until a late rally in the games’ final two innings before eventually falling in the series finale.
One of the biggest bright spots for Augusta was continued production from Tate Southisene, who got on base three times including two walks and now has an OBP of .426 on the season which is good for sixth in the league.
Michael Martinez continued to show his offensive prowess as he got on base twice and hit his second home run of the season (5 games). This one came with two runners on in the sixth inning and made the game interesting with the Fireflies leading 5-3. Unfortunately they would immediately tack on three runs of their own in the next inning, extending their lead to 8-3.
The GreenJackets would threaten again in the bottom of the seventh inning as they loaded the bases with zero outs. Alex Lodise would draw a bases loaded walk to make it 8-4. But Luis Guanipa would pop up to third to keep it 8-4. Luckily, Tanner Smith would single to left to score Luis Sanchez to keep the bases loaded and the score now at 8-5. Unfortunately both Juan Mateo and Michael Martinez would strike out with the bases loaded to end the game, and the series.
