Charlotte Knights 9, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 7 (Statcast box) As per usual, the Knights (62-76) bullpen threatened to give the game away, but the offense pulled through with 12 hits — including a walk-off, three-run home run — to defeat the Jumbo Shrimp (81-57), 9-7. Jacksonville was the first to score after an RBI double off of righthander Duncan Davitt to give them a one-run lead for just a couple of outs, as the Charlotte bats got right to work and tied it up at one via a sacrifice fly from
Andre Lipcius.
The offense kept rolling and tagged two more runs in the second and five in the third as Dru Baker mashed a two-run bomb, and Tim Elko blasted a three-run shot to make it 6-1, Charlotte. Thankfully the Jumbo Shrimp offense was having a hard time getting hits off of Davitt and did not capitalize on his five walks that he threw four innings of work, as he only gave up the aforementioned one run on three hits while striking out four.
Once he was out of the game, however, the bullpen struggled in his place. Kyle Tyler was first out of the arm barn and while he had a 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, he allowed three in the sixth on three consecutive RBI singles before Jairo Iriarte was brought in and struck out the first batter he faced to get out of the inning to keep it 6-4, Knights. Iriarte had less control into the seventh and began the inning with a walk, wild pitch, and a base hit to put runners on the corners. One run scored on a sacrifice fly to bring Jacksonville within one, 6-5, and Charlotte brought in righthander Luke Bell, who blew the save on the first batter he faced with a two-run homer to left that allowed the Jumbo Shrimp to take a 7-6 lead.
Finally Cam Booser was able to (mostly) get a handle on things from the mound, and gave up a double and walked one in the top of the ninth but otherwise shut it down to give Charlotte one more chance at the plate. The Knights offense went quiet for a few innings, and it wasn’t looking particularly good going into the bottom of the ninth, but Tim Elko started a two-run rally that put them in a position to win the game. Lipcius singled to put the go-ahead run on the bases, but Caden Connor called game on a three-run shot to win it, 9-7.
Birmingham Barons 2, Chattanooga Lookouts 1
This game was a pitchers’ duel to the end, but the Barons (79-53) offense prevailed in the last two innings to snag a 2-1 win over the Lookouts (68-60) and take the series, 4-2. Riley Gowens was excellent through six innings for Birmingham, and was nearly perfect in cruising through the first five innings before allowing a triple to lead off the sixth that scored a couple of batters later. That was the sole run Gowens gave up in his six innings, and he was lights-out and struck out nine batters to keep the Barons in the game.
On the hitting front, both Birmingham and Chattanooga posted five hits as a team, and the Barons went 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position while leaving eight on base. They certainly had opportunities, and even loaded the bases with three walks in the second, but hits were few and far between, and it took four innings just to get their first.
Chasing one through seven, the Barons finally got something going in the top of the eighth. Rikuu Nishida bunted Matt Hogan into scoring position after Hogan reached on a walk, and Sam Antonacci put runners on the corners after beating out an infield single. Ryan Galanie tied it up on a ground out, but we will take the RBIs as they come, 1-1. The tie broke in the top of the ninth as Jacob Burke drove in the go-ahead run with a base hit to left, putting Birmingham up, 2-1, putting the game in the hands of the pitchers.
The Barons bullpen was up for the task, however, as they combined for just one hit, two walks, and three strikeouts in the final three innings. Eric Adler ended up with the win for his third of the season, and Tyler Davis earned his second save by locking it down in the ninth after the Barons had taken the lead.
Birmingham has officially won the Southern League North division for the second half, and they have one more week of the regular season (a six-game set against the Biloxi Shuckers) before starting the playoffs.
Winston-Salem Dash 13, Greenville Drive 2 (Opener, 7 innings)
Finally able to squeeze it in through some relentless North Carolina rains, the Dash (56-73) hosted a doubleheader to end their season, and they opened their day with an offensive explosion as they blew out the Drive (65-66), 13-2. Winston-Salem out-hit Greenville, 12-2, and they only leveraged two pitchers to lock down the win. Christian Oppor had a strong, five-inning start and snagged his second win of the season. He allowed two runs (just one earned) on two hits, three walks, and four strikeouts, and sits at a 3.08 ERA on the season. Jake Bockenstedt had no problem closing the game out in his final two innings, and walked one as his only base runner, along with two strikeouts.
Everyone but Samuel Zavala got a hit in the Dash lineup, but even he scored once and drove in a run, as all batters except for Drake Logan also accounted for at least one RBI. Even without the RBI for Logan, he and Ryan Burrowes each had a two-hit game, while Lyle Miller-Green and T.J. McCants each posted three RBIs. The power was flashing as well, as both Jeral Perez and Kyle Lodise mashed homers, and McCants had himself a three-hit day that included two doubles.
Greenville Drive 9, Winston-Salem Dash 1 (7 innings) (make-up from 9/4 and 9/6)
Finally, this game was able to be made up after originally having been scheduled for Wednesday, but the Dash (56-74) cooled off and fell to the Drive, 9-1, to cap off the season. Winston-Salem was actually in the game through five innings, with Jack Young giving up two runs in the third after relieving Aldrin Batista, who had opened the game with two strong innings where he allowed no hits and struck out four.
Even with those two runs, the Dash cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fifth as Drake Logan ripped an RBI base hit that scored one, but Caleb Bonemer was thrown out at third to end the inning. Winston-Salem lost control of the game in the sixth, however, as Jarold Rosado was his own worst enemy with two walks, a wild pitch, a throwing error, and four hits contributed to the seven runs he gave up in just 2/3 of an inning — the worst part being that four of those runs were unearned … due to his own error. Phil Fox came in to secure the last out after Rosado loaded the bases, but not before giving up a bases-clearing double to extend the lead to 9-1.
The Dash loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth, but Ryan Burrowes struck out to end the inning, and the offense couldn’t get any base runners in the seventh. They ended the day going 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base, splitting the doubleheader to end the season.
Augusta GreenJackets 10, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 0
The Cannon Ballers (64-68) still won their final series of the season, 4-2, but when they lost, they lost big — and on Sunday the GreenJackets (67-62) shut Kannapolis out for the second time this week, 10-0. And to make it worse, they only mustered one single hit — what a way to go out for the last game of the season. Augusta carried a no-hitter into the seventh until Anthony DePino broke it up with a base hit to left. DePino wasn’t the lone baserunner, however, as the Ballers walked five times, but they went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left five on base … not that five would have made any difference in this game.
The pitching box score is a bit frightening to look at, as Fabian Ysalla and Jake Peppers both gave up three runs, and Jesús Mendez gave up four on two hits and four walks. The GreenJackets put up one in the first, three in the second, two in the third, and four in the fourth before Jake Curtis came in for the final four innings and actually got things under control. He allowed just three hits and struck out three, but by then it was too late and he didn’t have any help anyways.
