Charlotte Knights 13, Memphis Redbirds 4 Making his first start in Triple-A upon being sent down from the big leagues, righthander Shane Smith allowed three runs on four hits in four innings of work, but thankfully the Charlotte offense was able to make up for it as the Knights (7-7) defeated the Redbirds (11-4), 13-4. Twelve hits behind the pitching staff was enough to tie the series at three, and Charlotte went 7-for-16 with runners in scoring position to provide plenty of run support for Ben Peoples,
who claimed the W after two strong innings out of the bullpen.
After Smith exited the game the bullpen picked up just fine, and Memphis didn’t score another run until the top of the ninth inning off of Adisyn Coffey, though the run was unearned. As a whole, the pitchers struck out nine and walked just three, including five Ks and one walk from Smith as his command looked a bit betters. He still wasn’t able to maintain control throughout the first inning and quickly loaded the bases after a base hit, walk, and a hit batter, though he rebounded fine for the next three.
A monster third inning was really the difference in this game, as the Knights batted around while scoring seven runs on four hits — including a triple from Darren Baker and home runs from Everson Pereira and Jared Kelenic — and the assistance of a couple of fielding errors from Memphis. Four Charlotte batters ended up with multi-hit games, with three of those players driving in two or more runs each: LaMonte Wade Jr. (two), Kelenic (three), and Mario Camilletti (two).
Pereira’s homer tied the game, at 3-3:
Jacob Gonzalez also had a solid 2-for-5 day with a double and three runs for the Good Guys, and everybody from the Charlotte lineup found a way to contribute to the game. All batters got a hit outside of Sam Antonacci (0-for-4), though he still walked to get on, stole a base, drove in a run and tallied an outfield assist by throwing a Redbird out at second attempting to stretch a hit into a double. On top of that, nearly every single Knight drove in at least one run, outside of Oliver Dunn (who still went 1-for-3, walked twice, and scored twice).
Chattanooga Lookouts 12, Birmingham Barons 4
In near opposite fashion as the Knights, the Barons (3-6) stumbled through the series finale against the Chattanooga Lookouts (8-1) to drop five of six in getting blown out, 12-4. Birmingham had scored two in the bottom of the first to take a one-run lead through four innings, but the Lookouts ripped apart the Barons bullpen, who allowed 11 runs (10 earned) on just six hits. The main issue with the pitching was that the team combined for 13 walks and two hit batters while striking out just eight.
Jake Palisch made the four-inning start and accounted for three walks and three strikeouts, but only allowed a lone run in the first inning. Mostly no harm, as in the bottom of the first Braden Montgomery mashed a two-run bomb to take the lead, 2-1.
But once Palisch exited the game, everything went downhill. Jarold Rosado was first out of the arm barn and only made it through two outs before being pulled after allowing three runs on zero hits. Yes, that would be zero hits, zilch, none — his five walks sure made an impact.
The only reliever not to give up any runs was righthander Jake Bockenstedt, who did strike out one and walk two but kept Chattanooga off of the bases otherwise. For the remainder of the game, Jackson Kelley, Mark McLaughlin and Jared Kelley combined for eight runs allowed (seven earned) on six hits, three walks, and four strikeouts, though the loss was charged to Rosado — his second of the season, and second in meltdown fashion.
On the offensive front, however, there wasn’t enough production to counteract the poor performance from the pitching staff. The Barons conjured up just five hits compared to Chattanooga’s 10, with three of those being home runs — two solo shots from Montgomery, and one from Samuel Zavala — including back-to-back jacks from those two to lead off the game for the Barons. Three runs were driven in from the two long balls, and Ryan Galanie drove in the fourth on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the sixth.
Winston-Salem Dash 9, Frederick Keys 4
The Dash (5-4) bounced back after two consecutive losses this weekend to take a 4-2 series win Sunday over the Frederick Keys (4-4), 9-4. Lefthander Justin Sinibaldi made his second start of the season, and despite giving up four runs on six hits, the Winston-Salem hitters took over with a five-spot in the sixth and four more in the eighth to officially shut and lock the door on Frederick. The Dash ended up out-hitting the Keys 10-6, and after Sinibaldi the bullpen didn’t allow a single hit the rest of the game.
Sinibaldi’s four runs came from a two-run shot and an RBI single in the top of the second, along with another run driven in on a base hit in the third, though he still struck out six before being bailed out by the offense. Sunday’s win was credited to Seth Keener, who tossed two no-hit innings with one walk and two strikeouts, while the rest of the bullpen combined for seven more strikeouts, one walk, and two holds. Not too shabby at all!
As for the bats, Jackson Appel singled to start a five-run rally in the sixth, and the Dash proceeded to bat around the order to take a one-run lead with four singles, a double, three walks, and a sacrifice fly, 5-4. Just a couple of innings later, they batted around a second time to tack on four more runs — beginning and ending the inning with a Colby Shelton at-bat. Anthony DePino (homer) and Jacob Burke (double) were the two Dash batters with extra-base hits, though all but Kyle Lodise got a hit throughout the game. Once the offense woke up and the pitching staff regained control, Winston-Salem was able to put together a well-rounded win to end the weekend.
Hickory Crawdads 7, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 1
A completely flat offensive performance from the Cannon Ballers (2-7) and a few defensive blunders allowed five unearned runs to cross the plate and ensured Kannapolis would drop its fifth of the last six, 7-1. Not only did the Ballers get outhit, 11-4, but they were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base.
Righthander Caedmon Parker made his second start of the season, and because there wasn’t any run support for his 3 2/3 innings he would end up with the loss from his two runs given up on five hits. He walked two and struck out four, and even picked off two runners at first base.
The real problem was that five runs scored for Hickory that never should have happened due to errors. But even so, Kannapolis would have had a really hard time winning the game with just one run. Stiven Flores accounted for half of the hits for the Ballers (two), and also drove in their lone run. Kanny also walked six times and thus had the base runners to be competitive, but no one was able to come through in the clutch.
