Charlotte Knights 9, Nashville Sounds 2
Old friend Jonathan Cannon took the hill for the Knights and promptly served up a run in the first on a couple of doubles. But Charlotte (48-42) came out swinging in the bottom half, hanging a six-spot on the board with three bombs: Nate Jones with a three-run shot, Andy Weber with a two-run blast, and Riley Unroe chipping in a solo.
The Sounds managed a solo homer in response, but that was it for their offense as the Knights’ hurlers kept them off the board
for the next seven innings. Unroe wasn’t done, launching a two-run dinger in the fifth, and the Knights scraped together another in the sixth thanks to a Rikuu Nishida double and a Michael Turner single. Cannon finished with five innings of two-run ball, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out four. Tanner McDougal spun a clean inning with a strikeout, and Duncan Davitt closed it out with three scoreless, one hit, five Ks. Not too shabby.
Columbus Clingstones 7, Birmingham Barons 1
Birmingham (31-53) found ways to clog the bases, but when it came to cashing in, they went a perfect 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. The lone run? Courtesy of top prospect Caleb Bonemer, who put a dent in the scoreboard with his 22nd bomb of the year in the fifth.
Connor McCullough took the ball and spun four hitless, scoreless innings, working around three walks and punching out seven. Unfortunately, Jackson Kelly had a little trouble in the sixth, surrendering a two-run shot, and Pierce George couldn’t survive the seventh, tagged for five runs while recording just one out.
Asheville Tourists 5, Winston-Salem Dash 4
The Dash (48-36) came out swinging, up 4-0 after the fourth inning. Ryan Burrowes slapped a one-out single in the first, Tim Elko (on the rehab trail) took his free base, and George Wolkow drove in Burrowes with a knock. Alex Ungar opened the second with a solo shot, 2-0, Dash. The third inning saw a hit, three walks, and another run. In the fourth frame, Burrowes walked, stole second, took third on a grounder, and trotted home on a Jeral Perez RBI single.
Then the wheels started to wobble. The Tourists charged back with two in the fourth, then two unfortunate, unearned runs in the fifth. The game froze there until the bottom of the seventh, when Asheville drew four walks and pushed across the go-ahead (and, sigh, winning) run.
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers vs. Delmarva Shorebirds (postponed)
The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (42-41) contest was postponed due to the weather.
ACL Padres 9, ACL White Sox 1 (7 innings)
The ACL White Sox (14-36) sprayed singles around like confetti, but not a clutch knock in sight. Their lone run was gift-wrapped on a single, a wild pitch, a stolen base, and a passed ball. That was the offense. On the mound, Kendry Garcia didn’t survive the first, surrendering four runs while recording just one out.
DSL White Sox vs. DSL Cubs Red (postponed)
The DSL White Sox (10-17) game was postponed due to lightning.
