Two of the three teams that were actually able to step onto the field on Friday came away with a win so let’s five into the action.
(20-11) Gwinnett Stripers 4, (14-17) Charlotte Knights 3
- Nacho Alvarez Jr., 3B: 1-4, HR, 3 RBI
- Rowdy Tellez, 1B: 1-3, HR, RBI, R, BB
- Brett Sears, SP: 3 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 4 K
Gwinnett rode a huge sixth inning while staving off a late-inning comeback attempt en route to a win on Friday.
Making his first start at triple-A on the season — and only his third career start at the level — Brett Sears got the nod and while he only went three innings, he managed to keep Charlotte off the board. In his three frames of work, Sears limited the damage
despite issuing three walks and two hits, but he also struck out four on the night as well.
The Stripers offense was held in check for the most part in this one, as Gwinnett was limited to just two baserunners — one hit — through the first five innings. In the sixth, however, things flipped on a dime in favor of the Stripers.
Brewer Hicklen led off the inning with a double and Sean Murphy walked two batters later. The biggest blow came off the bat of Nacho Alvarez Jr. who took a 1-0 fastball and launched it over the right field wall for his first homer of the year — a three-run shot to give the Stripers the 3-1 lead.
In the next at-bat, Rowdy Tellez decided to get in on the fun as he took the very next pitch and deposited it into the right field seats for his sixth homer of the season to extend the lead to 4-1 on the night for Gwinnett.
Despite giving up three runs, the Stripers’ bullpen managed to keep Charlotte at bay for the most part, as the three runs were just enough to allow in order to give Gwinnett the chance to win.
(13-11) Columbus Clingstones, (11-13) Montgomery Biscuits (POSTPONED)
Mother Nature got the better of this one as the game between Columbus and Montgomery was postponed due to weather.
(13-12) Rome Emperors 5, (16-9) Bowling Green Hot Rods 6
- Eric Hartman, CF: 3-6, 2B, 2 RBI
- John Gil, SS: 1-5, R, BB
- Isaiah Drake, RF: 1-6
- Colin Daniel, SP: 7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Rome ultimately came up short on Friday, losing by one run to Bowling Green. Still, there were a handful of individual performances that stood out on the night.
2025 draftee Colin Daniel made his fifth start of the season for Rome. Across seven innings, Daniel scattered three hits while allowing two runs and two walks. He also struck out six on the night as well.
For Daniel — who set an individual season-high for strikeouts on Friday — he has remarkably limited opposing batters to an average of just .180. However, it’s the walks (11) and homers (five) that have ultimately been his downfall this season. If he can manage to get that under control, Daniel could be a rather intriguing guy to keep an eye on in terms of a swing rotation guy or bullpen piece down the line.
At the plate, Eric Hartman continued his sweet swinging ways as the centerfielder went 3-6 with a double and a pair of RBI to his credit on Friday to pace the Emperors’ offense. So far on the year, Hartman is batting .323 with an OPS of 1.030.
Both John Gil and Isaiah Drake tallied a hit on the night, while Gil added a walk as well in the process.
(14-11) Augusta GreenJackets 4, (8-17) Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 3
- Tate Southisene, 2B: 1-3, R
- Juan Mateo, 3B: 2-3, 2B, RBI
- Alex Lodise, SS: 1-4, RBI, R
- Luis Guanipa, CF: 0-3, RBI
- Ethan Bagwell, SP: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 K
Ethan Bagwell was dominant on the mound for Augusta on Friday as the GreenJackets parlayed his start into a victory over Kannapolis.
In his six innings of work, Bagwell scattered four hits and issued two walks while striking out five. The biggest pro of his performance is that he managed to keep the Cannon Ballers off the scoreboard.
Friday’s outing moves Bagwell’s ERA to 2.57 on the season and it was a nice bounce back for the young righty who had given up two or more runs in each of his previous three starts. Bagwell showed exellent command of his breaking pitches on Friday, especially his sweeper which he was able to locate extremely well both up and down in the zone.
At the plate, Juan Mateo led the charge with two hits, including a double, while also driving in a run as well. Tate SOuthisene and Alex Lodise each tacked on a hit with Lodise driving in and scoring a run as well.
While Luis Guanipa went 0-3 on the night, he did bring home a run via sacrifice fly to give himself an RBI on the night.
