(74-64) Charlotte Knights 2, (70-67) Gwinnett Stripers 5
- JR Ritchie, SP: 6.2IP 4H 2ER 1BB 15K, 3.30 ERA
- Rowdy Tellez, PH-DH: 1-for-1, HR, 4 RBI, .262/.352/.472
- Jim Jarvis, SS: 1-for-3, 2 R, .304/.400/.443
- David McCabe, 1B: 0-for-4, .304/.358/.522
Box Score
JR Ritchie stole the show in dominant fashion as he struck out 15 over just 6.2 innings pitched, while Rowdy Tellez provided the big hit to propel the Stripers to a 5-2 win.
JR Ritchie provided the headline with a Gwinnett record 15 strikeouts across his 6 innings of work. He surrendered a pair of solo home runs, and a pair of singles but outside of that was brilliant. JR utilized his five pitch mix with his four-seam, curveball, cutter, and changeup all grading above average. He pounded
the zone with a 73% strike rate, generated 20 whiffs, while getting ahead of 68% of his matchups with a first pitch strike. His four-seam averaged 95, but touched 97 during the outing.
He was brought out in the seventh inning but was relieved by Danny Young (0.2IP 1H 0R 0BB 0K) who worked out of the jam and kept the Knights at just two runs. Ricky Vanasco (1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K) came in for Danny Young and recorded a spotless inning of work, striking out two.The Stripers would strike in the bottom half of the inning to take the lead, and James Karinchak (0.2IP 0H 0R 0BB 1K) recorded the final two outs to complete the win.
Offensively, the Stripers were held in check for a large amount of the game. After going down 1-0 in the first inning, the Stripers struck back with a Jordan Groshans RBI single that drove in Jim Jarvis who had earlier singled in the inning. They were then held scoreless, not threatening too much, until the eighth inning. After the first three batters of the inning reached based, Lizandro Espinoza and David McCabe both struck out. Rowdy Tellez would then pinch hit for Jordan and provide a memory for everyone in the stadium. 1 pitch, 1 swing, 4 runs, and a lead.
(76-55) Pensacola Blue Wahoos 7, (62-65) Columbus Clingstones 5
- John Gil, 2B: 2-for-5, R, .322/.399/.446
- Owen Carey, RF: 1-for-4, RBI, R, BB, .250/.344/.384
- Alex Lodise, SS: 2-for-5, HR, 2 R, RBI, .307/.346/.493
- Adam Żebrowski, DH: 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, R, .279/.350/.624
- Luke Sinnard, SP: 4IP 2H 1ER 1BB 4K, 2.08 ERA
Box Score
After strong pitching through the games first seven innings the Clingstones fell apart late, giving up six runs in the final two innings to fall to 62-65, and drop to fourth in the Southern League standings.
Luke Sinnard returned to the mound after being scratched with some back soreness and was effective – striking out four across four innings of work while pounding the zone with a 68% strike rate. His only hiccup came in the third inning when he surrendered a first pitch solo home run to Connor Caskenette to put the Blue Wahoos on the board. 2026 has been a really strong, yet somewhat disappointing season for Luke Sinnard who has looked fantastic on the mound but has really struggled to stay on it. After a total of 72.1 innings in 2025, Luke has followed it up with just 47.2 this season so safe to say as long as he’s healthy he is definitely a candidate for the AFL. Piggybacking the Sinnard start was Julio Robaina (3IP 2H 1ER 1BB 5K) who did what Julio Robaina does – pound the zone for quick, effective outs. He would be replaced by Duncan Davitt (1.2IP 5H 5ER 1BB 0K) who was effective in the 8th, getting three quick outs, but once it hit the 9th it was an absolute disaster for Duncan. After getting the first two outs of the inning he would surrender the following: HR, 1B, HR, 2B, HR, BB, before being mercifully relieved by Tyler LaPorte (0.1IP 1H 0R 0BB 1K) who faced two batters, getting one out and ending inning.
The Clingstones offense got off to a fast start with John Gil singling to lead off the game, stealing second, and then coming in to score on this Owen Carey double.
Alex Lodise would then single himself, moving Owen Carey over to third, where he would then score on a wild pitch to put the Clingstones up 2-0. Adam Zebrowski would follow that up with an RBI single himself, to push the lead to 3-0. The offense would then be held scoreless until the bottom of the eighth when Alex Lodise and Adam Zebrowski would both hit solo home runs to put Columbus up 5-2, before their late collapse.
(73-58) Winston-Salem Dash 4, (61-68) Rome Emperors 12
- Carter Beck, CF: 1-for-2, 3 R, 3 BB, .203/.353/.319
- Conor Essenburg, RF: 3-for-4, HR, 5 RBI, BB, 3 R, .235/.412/.392
- Luis Guanipa, LF: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, R, .217/.233/.355
- Cody Miller, SS: 1-for-3, HR, 4 RBI, R, .200/.314/.329
- Tanner Smith, C: 1-for-4, HR, RBI, BB, R, .118/.250/.324
- Daniel Brooks, SP: 2IP 0H 0R 1BB 5K, 0.00 ERA
Box Score
Strong pitching and dominant hitting was the recipe of success for the Rome Emperors who picked up their 61st win of the season in convincing fashion.
Daniel Brooks got the start for the Emperors and struck out all but two batters he faced in his start. He was removed after the second inning with his pitch count just at 34, as he continues to deal with a small shoulder injury. He would be replaced by David Rodriguez (3IP 1H 0R 0BB 2K) who pitched the next three innings to great success – allowing just one hit. Heading into the sixth inning the Emperors were comfortably in the lead with a 10 run cushion, and they would turn the ball over to Tanner Bauman (1IP 0H 0R 1BB 1K). He would be followed by Justin Long (1IP 1H 0R 1BB 2K), and Tyler Schoff (1IP 1H 0R 0BB 0K) who also provided the zeroes for the Emperors. In the ninth, the Emperors turned to Jarret Whorff (1IP 4H 4ER 1BB 1K) who struggled, but with such a huge lead, was kept in the game and finished off the game.
Offensively the Emperors collected 12 hits, five of which were extra-base hits, and walked an additional eight times. The first two runs came within the first three hitters with Carter Beck leading the game off with a single and coming into score on a Conor Essenburg double to center. Just two pitches after that it was Luis Guanipa that collected a double of his own to push the lead to 2-0. The offense did not stop there as the second inning featured a lead off home run by Tanner Smith, and a two out GRAND SLAM by Cody Miller.
The score would remain 7-0 until the fifth inning when it was time for Conor Essenburg to UNLOAD on a towering opposite field home run to push the lead to 10-0.
The Emperors would go on to score to more runs in the seventh inning for a comfortable, season ending 12-4 win.
(70-61) Augusta GreenJackets 3, (73-59) Charleston RiverDogs 2
- Manuel Campos, SS: 1-for-4, RBI, BB, .262/.292/.402
- Caleb Klein, CF: 1-for-3, 2 BB, .310/.425/.322
- Dominic Kibler, C: 1-for-2, R, 2 BB, .167/.417/.333
- Junior Tilien, 2B: 1-for-4, RBI, R, 2B, .241/.353/.345
- Will Holmes, SP: 3IP 2H 0R 1BB 4K, 4.76 ERA
Box Score
The GreenJackets come from behind and hold off the RiverDogs in the series finale that featured timely hits, and decent pitching from five combined pitchers.
Will Holmes got the start and relatively cruised through three innings, striking out four. He allowed one runner on in the first, before immediately recording a double play to erase the runner. He then allowed a one out single in the second, before immediately picking the runner off at first. It was a strong end to his season as he looked more and more comfortable as time went on after he made his debut. He was relieved by Logan Forsythe (1IP 0H 1ER 3BB 2K) who struggled with his command, allowing a run on zero hits before he walked three. Logan was replaced by Ryan Heppner (2IP 1H 0R 1BB 2K) who worked a scoreless pair of innings. After Ryan it was time for Cristobal Abreu (1.1IP 0H 1R 0ER 3BB 1K) who, like Logan, struggled with his control walking three, but allowed just one unearned run. Lewis Sifontes (1.2IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K) picked up his eighth save of the season, pitching across a pair of innings without allowing a runner on base.
Offensively, the GreenJackets got just enough done. They tied the game in the fifth inning when Junior Tilien doubled in Dominic Kibler who had walked and stolen second base. Two batters later it was Manuel Campos who ripped a single to left to drive in Junior and put the GreenJackets up 2-1. They would add onto that lead in the next inning as it was Yamvier Carrero who got it done, singling to the opposite field and driving in Cooper McMurray to make it 3-1 and secure the season finale for the GreenJackets.
