Columbus Clippers 4, Iowa Cubs 2
Clippers improve to 19-17
Cooper Ingle returned from injury recently and he hasn’t missed a beat. The top catching prospect blasted off on Thursday, going a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a home run and a walk. He’s now batting a ridiculous .432 with a 1.445 OPS on the season.
Additionally, Angel Genao has been off to a slow start in Columbus, but he connected for his first Triple-A home run and stole a base, which was great to see.
Kahlil Watson went 1-for-4 with a walk and two steals and Juan Brito doubled and stole a base.
Former innings eater Pedro Avila had one of his best outings of the season as a starting pitcher, allowing two runs on two hits with three walks and three strikeouts in 5.0 innings.
Will Dion followed with a scoreless inning and Trenton Denholm closed out the victory with 3.0 scoreless innings of long relief.
Akron RubberDucks 4, Richmond Flying Squirrels 5
RubberDucks fall to 16-14
Akron’s late rally fell short as the RubberDucks lost their fourth straight game Thursday.
Ralphy Velazquez led the way on offense, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a walk.
Alex Mooney had the only other multi-hit game, going 2-for-4, while Connor Barstad homered and Nick Mitchell went 1-for-3 with two walks and a stolen base.
Starting pitcher Matt Wilkinson was solid, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks in 4.2 innings. Jack Jasiak was outstanding in long relief, tossing 2.1 scoreless frames with three strikeouts, although he allowed an inherited runner to score.
Unfortunately, Jay Driver gave up two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, which stunted Akron’s comeback attempt.
Lake County Captains 15, Great Lakes Loons 13 (F/8) Game 1
Lake County Captains 2, Great Lakes Loons 7 (F/7) Game 2
Captains move to 14-16
Game one was one hell of a wild ride as Lake County blasted off for 15 runs on 14 hits and 11 walks.
Every single player in the lineup reached base at least twice.
Leading the charged was Jace LaViolette, who went 2-for-5 with a massive home run and four RBIs.
Ryan Cesarini also had a monster game, going 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and a walk.
Bennett Thompson went 2-for-5 while Garrett Howe went 2-for-3 with a walk. Dean Curley went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base, Nolan Schubart went 1-for-2 with three walks, Tommy Hawke went 1-for-3 with two walks and Aaron Walton went 2-for-4 with a walk.
The craziest moment, however, didn’t involve any of those players. Trailing 13-12 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Lake County called on Jeffrey Mercedes to pinch hit and despite having a .146 batting average on the season, he blasted a walk-off three-run bomb.
I’m only going to mention starting pitcher Braylon Doughty, because he was fine, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits with three walks and four strikeouts in two innings.
Game two wasn’t much to write home about. Luke Hill pretty much accounted for all of the offense, going 2-for-3 with a home run, a double and a walk.
Dean Curley also went 1-for-3 with a walk and Mercedes went 1-for-2 with a hit by pitch.
Starting pitcher Rafe Schlesinger was tagged for four runs on five hits with eight strikeouts and three walks in 4.1 innings.
Hill City Howlers 2, Fredericksburg Nationals 4
Howlers fall to 18-12
The first seven players in Hill City’s lineup all had a hit, but no one had a multi-hit game. Yelferth Castillo and Cannon Peebles both doubled while Robert Arias and Jose Pirela both went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.
Starting pitcher Joey Oakie was fine, albeit a bit wild, allowing one run on two hits with three walks and four strikeouts in 2.2 innings.
Zane Petty was excellent in long relief, allowing one more run on three hits with four strikeouts in 3.1 innings. The game stayed tied until the ninth inning, when Aaron Savary allowed two runs.
