Charlotte Knights 3, Gwinnett Stripers 1 (10 innings)
Noah Schultz took the hill for the Knights (72-61) and breezed through four innings. Then came the fifth: a leadoff single, an airmailed throw by Schultz and a sacrifice fly, and suddenly the Stripers were on the board. Schultz’s night ended after 4 2/3 innings. He allowed three hits, one walk and just one unearned run while striking out one. Not bad.
The bats were silent through six, producing one hit, one walk and not much else. Jake Cave, fresh
off the Tampa Bay scrap heap after being traded for cash on Aug. 31, managed a double in the second. For the record, he slashed .245/.339/.373 with a .711 OPS in 36 games at Triple-A Durham. Ryan Galanie finally broke the offensive drought with a single in the seventh, then immediately got erased trying to swipe a bag.
Tyler Uberstine came on for Gwinnett in the top of the ninth, looking for the save, but Kyle Teel had zero interest in that storyline. He launched one 377 feet to right to tie the game, 1-1.
Garrett Schoenle took the ball in the bottom half, mowed down the Stripers and sent the game to extras.
The Knights wasted no time in the 10th. Korey Lee started as the ghost runner, Caden Connor took one for the team and a wild pitch moved both runners up. Riley Unroe singled Lee home to put the Knights ahead, 2-1. Rikuu Nishida then laid down a bunt to bring Connor home with a little insurance. Schoenle returned for the bottom of the 10th and retired the Stripers in order, locking in the W.
MVP
Kyle Teel: 1-for-5, R, RBI, HR
Runners-Up
Garrett Schoenle: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 4 K, W
Rikuu Nishida: 0-for-3, RBI, BB, K
Riley Unroe: 1-for-3, RBI, BB, K
Noah Schultz: 4 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R (UE), BB, K
Cold Cat
Dru Baker: 0-for-5, K
Runners-Up
Andy Weber: 0-for-3, BB, K
Edgar Quero: 0-for-3, BB, K
Biloxi Shuckers 8, Birmingham Barons 7
The Barons (55-72) came out swinging, literally: Anthony DePino launched a two-run bomb, then Colby Shelton followed with a solo shot. That early 3-0 lead, though, was gone in a blink, as the Shuckers answered with a two-run blast of their own. Biloxi tacked on two more in the third, and suddenly the Barons were trailing. Shelton tried to drag them back with his second homer, but the Shuckers just kept piling on, grabbing a 6-4 lead by the end of the fourth.
Clinging to their postseason hopes and a chance to defend back-to-back Southern League championships, the Barons finally showed some fight in the sixth. Samuel Zavala coaxed a bases-loaded walk, then Dylan Campbell hit a single through for two more. Suddenly, B-ham had a 7-6 lead. Unfortunately, it didn’t last very long. Jackson Kelley took the mound and promptly surrendered the tying run on a couple of singles and a walk. The Shuckers took the lead for good in the eighth after consecutive walks and a single. Caleb Bonemer drew a free pass to open the ninth, but the next three Barons fizzled out, and that was that.
Postseason watch: With a second-half record of 29-29, the Barons currently sit two games back of a playoff spot with 11 games remaining.
MVP
Colby Shelton: 2-for-5, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 HR, K
Runners-Up
Anthony DePino: 2-for-5, R, 2 RBI, HR, K
Dylan Campbell: 1-for-4, R, 2 RBI, BB
Alec Briley: 2-for-5
Cold Cat
Dylan Cumming: 3 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 4 K
Runners-Up
Caleb Bonemer: 0-for-3, 2 BB, 2 K
Grant Magill: 0-fir-3, BB, 3 K
Morris Austin: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, BB, K
Jackson Kelley: 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, R, BB, 4 K, BS
Liam Paddack: 1 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 2 K, L
Winston-Salem Dash 6, Rome Emperors 3
The Emperors started things off, plating a run off Mason Moore in the third, but the Dash (70-56) wasted no time erasing it. Kyle Lodise ripped a two-out triple in the fourth, and George Wolkow cashed him in.
Then came the fifth-inning fireworks. Rylan Galvan finally hit his first homer of the year, a two-run shot, and Lodise followed with a three-run missile. Suddenly, it was 6-1, and the Dash offense — perched near the top of nearly every league leaderboard — kept slugging, carrying the team toward the playoffs.
Blaine Wynk took over for Moore and promptly got tagged for a run in the fifth. Jack Young served up another in the seventh, slicing the Dash lead to 6-3. That was all the Emperors could muster, though, as Jesús Méndez and Landen Payne held them scoreless over the final two frames to seal the win.
Postseason watch: Winston-Salem is tied with Bowling Green for first place in the SAL South. Since the Hot Rods were the first-half winners, they have already clinched their spot in the playoffs. The Dash have a 1 1/2 game lead over the third-place Greenville Drive.
MVP
Kyle Lodise: 2-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 3B, HR
Runners-Up
Mason Moore: 4 IP, 3 H, R, 3 BB, 6 K, WP
Rylan Galvan: 1-for-4, R, 2 RBI, HR, 2 K
George Wolkow: 1-for-4, RBI, K
Jesús Méndez: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, Hold
Landen Payne: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, K, S
Cold Cat
Javier Mogollón: 0-for-4, 2 K
Runners-Up
Jack Young: 1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 2 BB, K
Jeral Perez: 0-for-4
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 6, Delmarva Shorebirds 2
The Ballers (67-60) set the tone early in the first when Matthew Boughton and Abraham Núñez ripped back-to-back singles, then pulled off a double steal. After Braden Holcomb went down looking, Grayson Fitzwater plated them both when he came through with a two-out knock. Kannapolis added another in the fourth when Clay Burdette opened the inning with a triple and trotted home after a routine pop out turned into a wild throw.
The Shorebirds finally scratched out a run against Fidel Montero in the fifth, trimming Kanny’s cushion to 3-1. The Ballers happily accepted a gift-wrapped pair in the seventh when a wild pickoff throw sent both runners scampering home. Alexander Albertus, Steven Lancia and Efren Teran then put together a parade of singles in the eighth before Jaden Fauske rolled one over to bring home one more.
Jordan Morales took the ball for the ninth and surrendered a run, but he shut it down before the Shorebirds could make things interesting.
MVP
Gabriel Rodriguez: 3 2/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, BB, 3 K
Runners-Up
Grayson Fitzwater: 1-for-4, 2 RBI,
Clay Burdette: 2-for-4, 2B, 3B, R, 2 K
Matthew Boughton: 2-for-5, 2 R, K
Abraham Núñez: 2-for-4, R
Alexander Albertus: 2-for-4, R
Steven Lancia: 2-for-3, BB, K
Daniel Wright: 1 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 K
Cold Cat
Jordan Morales: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, BB
Runners-Up
Braden Holcomb: 0-for-4, 2 K
