Charlotte Knights 11, Durham Bulls 6
Another night, another double-digit outburst for Charlotte (32-28). The Knights wasted zero time as Braden Montgomery and Caden Connor drew back-to-back walks to open the first, Korey Lee watched strike three, and Dustin Harris promptly laced a single to plate Montgomery. 1-0, Knights.
Durham answered in the bottom half, but not without a little charity. Shane Murphy served up a leadoff single, then airmailed a pickoff to move the runner up. A grounder pushed him
to third, and Korey Lee let a pitch get by to gift the tying run.
Charlotte’s bats responded in the second. The Knights hung a crooked four on the Bulls, capped by Connor unloading for a three-run shot — his third of the year — to put Charlotte up 5-1 and feeling pretty cozy.
That comfort was gone in a hurry as Murphy unraveled over the next two frames with Durham chipping away, eventually knotting things at 5-5. The Bulls even nosed ahead 6-5 in the sixth off Chase Plymell, threatening to turn Charlotte’s big night into a wasted effort.
But the Knights had other ideas in the eighth. Ryan Galanie sparked the rally with a one-out double, Andy Weber knocked an RBI single to tie it, and after a Josh Breaux fly out, Weber swiped second and scored on a clutch Jason Matthews base hit. Charlotte back on top, 7-6.
Then, the ninth inning turned a close game into a rout. Mario Camilletti walked and swiped second, Montgomery ripped an RBI double, Connor whiffed, Lee took one for the team, and Harris singled to jam the bases. Then Galanie put the game on ice, smoking a bases-clearing double to blow it open, 11-6 Knights.
Garrett Schoenle took care of the rest, mowing down all three in the ninth. Galanie starred with two doubles, including the backbreaker, while Connor’s early bomb and Montgomery’s late RBI double kept the Knights’ bats sizzling. This lineup just refuses to cool off. Now if only the pitching could take a hint.
Knoxville Smokies 6, Birmingham Barons 2
So much for the Barons’ (21-32) three-game heater. Jake Palisch took the mound and promptly set it on fire, loading the bases before recording an out. Knoxville did not miss and capitalized in the biggest possible way, launching a grand slam, 4-0, and the inning was still a mess. Palisch finally got an out, then allowed two singles and a sac fly. Five-zip before Birmingham even swung a bat. The Smokies tacked on another tally in the third, and the Barons were buried six feet under.
Anthony DePino finally put the Barons on the board in the fourth with a solo shot — his fourth of the year, and about the only spark all night. Alec Makarewicz contributed an RBI ground out, but the bats otherwise stayed in hibernation.
Buried under the wreckage was a lights-out bullpen. After Palisch’s meltdown, the relievers were spot on, tossing four scoreless, just one hit, no walks, and 10 punchouts. They deserved a better outcome.
Unfortunately, the game was lost in the first, and that was that.
Winston-Salem Dash 1, Hub City Spartanburgers 0
Three nights running and three nights of standout pitching for the Dash (33-21). The arms were unflappable. Five Winston-Salem hurlers stitched together a two-hit shutout, surrendering only two singles and three walks while racking up a meaty 13 punchouts.
Liam Paddack kicked things off with four no-hit innings, mowing down eight and handing out just two free passes. Jake Peppers gave up the Spartanburgers’ first hit in the fifth, but the scoreboard stayed clean. Jake Curtis chipped in 1 2/3 with the other hit and two more Ks. Jake Bockenstedt stepped in and went four up, four down. Then, Garrett Wright closed it out with a clean ninth, no fuss.
The Dash bats didn’t have much to write home about — just four hits, and mostly crickets until Ryan Burrowes ripped a leadoff double in the eighth. George Wolkow nudged him to third, Kyle Lodise lined out, and then, finally, a wild pitch did what the offense couldn’t: Burrowes scampered home for the only run of the night. Was it ugly? Sure. But with the arms dealing and a dash of luck, it was enough.
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 4, Hickory Crawdads 3
The Cannon Ballers (28-26) found themselves in a back-and-forth battle Wednesday night, but every time the Crawdads answered, the Ballers had a response.
Kannapolis drew first blood in the third with Derek Cerda ripping an RBI double to finally put a dent in the scoreboard. That joy lasted all of five minutes as Hickory immediately countered with a solo shot off Caedmon Parker, and then in the fourth, Parker’s own wildness and a throwing misadventure handed the Crawdads a cheap, unearned run and their first lead.
The Ballers came back in the fifth. James Taussig kicked things off with a single, Adrian Gil worked a walk, and then Cerda and Abraham Núñez delivered back-to-back RBI knocks to snatch the lead right back, 3-2.
But Hickory refused to go quietly, tying it up again in the sixth with another solo blast, this time off Jesús Méndez. Enter Taussig, who led off the seventh by unloading a solo homer of his own, finally putting the Ballers ahead for keeps, 4-3.
Daniel Wright tiptoed through a seventh-inning minefield with two singles, a walk, and a double, but got bailed out by some heads-up defense. One runner was gunned down while stealing, and another was erased trying to stretch a single. Landen Payne took it from there, mowing down the side in the eighth and facing the minimum in the ninth to earn the save.
ACL White Sox 7, ACL Mariners 3 (7 innings)
The ACL White Sox (8-16) took full advantage of a sloppy night by the Mariners, and the Sox’s arms backed it up with plenty of strikeouts for a rare, actual win.
Nick McLain got things rolling with a leadoff double, then trotted home on an Alan Escobar single in the first. Next, Escobar scored on a balk, because why not, and the Sox tacked on another tally in the second when Erasmi Rodriguez singled, swiped second, and then jogged home after Seattle’s defense melted down with a wild pitch and an airmail throw. The Mariners kept tripping over themselves all night, and the Sox happily built a 6-1 cushion by the sixth.
Seattle tried to make it a game in the sixth with a two-run triple, trimming the lead to 6-3, but the Sox shrugged and got the run right back in the seventh. Yordani Soto doubled, Alejandro Cruz singled him home, and the cushion was back to four.
On the bump, Christian Oppor, Fidel Montero, and Reudis Diaz combined for 11 punchouts. Oppor, making just his second ACL appearance, managed two scoreless innings, allowing no hits, but a run on five walks and four Ks. The control issues are still very much a thing for the Sox’s No. 8 prospect per MLB Pipeline, who’s still searching for the strike zone and maybe a little peace of mind.
