It was a pretty lackluster day down on the farm overall, but there were plenty of performances that stood out. Let’s dive into it.
(57-53) Gwinnett Stripers, (55-54) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (POSTPONED)
Mother Nature got in the way of this one, as the Stripers’ game on Friday was rained out. Friday’s game will be completed Saturday as part of a doubleheader.
(48-53) Columbus Clingstones 4, (55-47) Biloxi Shuckers 2
- Kevin Kilpatrick Jr., CF: 2-2, HR, 2 RBI, R
- John Gil, SS: 1-4, 3B, R
- Eric Hartman, LF: 1-4, 2B
- Owen Carey, RF: 1-4
- Brett Sears, SP: 7 IP, 2 H, ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Columbus rode an excellent start on the mound from Brett Sears en route to a victory over Biloxi on Friday night.
Across seven innings pitched, Sears held the Shuckers to just one run on two hits, limiting
the opposition to three walks and striking out three as well. Sears has been on absolute fire recently, as Friday marked his third straight start of at least seven innings pitched and two or less runs allowed.
On the season at double-A, which features 15 appearances (13 starts), Sears has posted an ERA of 3.44 across 83.2 innings pitched. Over that span he has also struck out 100 batters as well. Given the fact he’s 26 at double-A, Sears isn’t likely to turn any heads in terms of top prospects lists. But if he continues to perform and get batters out at the clip he’s currently at, he’s going to be awfully hard to ignore moving forward.
Back to Friday’s action, the Clingstones found themselves in an early 1-0 deficit after the Shuckers plated a run in the second inning. However, Austin Machado launched his first double-A homer of the season in the bottom of the third to tie things up at 1-1.
As if that wasn’t enough in the inning, Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. followed that up with his fourth long ball of the year to give Columbus their first lead on the night at 2-1 on back-to-back homers.
In the bottom of the fifth, Kilpatrick Jr. once again came through in the clutch, this time plating Ambioris Tavarez to make it a 3-1 advantage for Columbus.
The final Clingstones run of the night came in the bottom of the eighth as John Gil scampered home on a Jordan Groshans single to make it a 4-2 game, which held as the final.
As for the top prospects in this one, John Gil went 1-4 with a triple and a run scored, while Hartman doubled and Owen Carey singled, respectively.
Giving props to Biloxi’s Mark Coley II, the centerfielder took away what would have been a homer for Hartman in the bottom of the third in what was one of the more circus-style catches you will ever see. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the other guys.
(49-53) Rome Emperors 1, (65-41) Greensboro Grasshoppers 6
- Alex Lodise, SS: 2-4, 2B, RBI, Sac Fly
- Luis Guanipa, CF: 2-4
- Dixon Williams, DH: 1-4
- Zach Royse, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K
The Rome offense sputtered on Friday, managing just one run in the loss to a very good Greensboro Grasshoppers team.
Zach Royse got the start in this one and actually put up a respectable line. Across six innings, Royse limited the opposition to two runs on three hits while striking out four. While he did also issue four free passes, it didn’t come back to bite Royse too much in the end.
While the Royse brought decent stuff, his offense failed to provide him with anything meaningful despite the Emperors actually outhitting Greensboro by a 7-5 tally.
Rome found themselves in an early 3-0 hole as the Grasshoppers plated three runs in the third inning.
The lone run of the game for the Emperors came in the home half of the third, as Alex Lodise — who also tallied the only extra base hit in this one — brought Logan Braunschweig home via sacrifice Fly to make it a 3-1 deficit.
All in all it was a disappointing outing for the Emperors, who will try and regroup for Saturday’s matchup.
(57-47) Augusta GreenJackets 3, (62-41) Hickory Crawdads 4
- Juan Mateo, SS: 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI
- Carter Beck, CF: 2-3
- Parker Brosius, RF: 2-4, R
- Caleb Klein, LF: 2-4, R
- Jacob Jarrell, C: 2-4
- Landon Beidelschies, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K
Despite registering an even dozen hits and getting five solid innings from their starter, the GreenJackets failed to tack on an addition to the win column on Friday.
Landon Beidelschies started on the bump for the GreenJackets and put together one of his best starts of the season thus far. In five innings of work, the lefty gave up two unearned runs on three hits, walking a pair and striking out five as well.
While it’s a small sample size, Beidelschies has only given up three runs in his last 13.2 innings pitched at low-A, while also striking out 15 in the same stretch. Again, it’s a smaller sample size, but perhaps the 22-year-old is finally turning a corner in his first pro season.
Offensively, it was a bit of a mixed bag. As we mentioned, the GreenJackets tallied 12 hits, but only one of which was for extra bases — a Juan Mateo double that plated a pair of runs and tied the game.
On the flip side, Augusta batters struck out a dozen times in the process as well, which proved to be a major rally killer the entire night.
In terms of individual performances, several relatively new farmhands had successful nights. First rounder Carter Beck continues to impress after he went 2-5 on the night, while Parker Brosius also tallied a pair of hits as well. Catcher Jacob Jarrell also tallied his first professional hit as well in what was undoubtedly a cool moment for him.
(13-34) DSL Braves 2, (2o-26) DSL Red Sox Blue 10
- Edelson Cabral, DH: 1-3, 3B, R, BB
- Jose Nelo, 1B: 2-4
- Elioberto Mondesir, CF: 2-3, BB
- Hector Aguilar, SP: 1.1 IP, 10 H, 8 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
The DSL squad came up short in this one but, to be fair, the offense didn’t really have much of a chance to get going.
Hector Aguilar got the start and only recorded four outs before being pulled. In that 1.1 innings of work, the DSL Red Sox tagged Aguilar for eight runs on 10 hits, putting the DSL Braves in an early 8-0 hole.
One pitching highlight in this one was Geowin Gomez, who came on in relief and spun 4.1 innings, giving up two runs and striking out eight in the process.
Offensively, Edelson Cabral tallied the lone extra base hit, a triple, while also scoring one of the team’s two runs on the day as well. Jose Nelo and Elioberto and Mondesir each registered two hits as well.
