Charlotte Knights 9, Oklahoma City Comets 8
The Knights (36-30) yanked a walk-off out of the chaos, toppling the Comets in a game that pinballed from the jump. Rikuu Nishida did his thing in the first — walk, swipe second, score on a Caden Connor double — then Dustin Harris with an RBI knock for a quick lead. Tyler Schweitzer issued three runs over the next two frames, but Connor blasted a solo shot in the fifth to knot things up. The Comets snatched the lead right back in the sixth, only for Harris to answer with a go-ahead bomb in the bottom half after Dru Baker worked a walk, and Mario Camilletti ripped an RBI triple to put Charlotte up 6-4.
Unfortunately, the lead evaporated instantly. Charlotte’s defense went full Keystone Kops in the seventh, gifting the Comets an unearned run and letting Peyton Pallette, fresh off the Cleveland Guardians roster, get tagged for three earned. Suddenly it’s 8-6, Comets. But the Knights didn’t roll over. Baker coaxed another walk in the eighth, Camilletti doubled, and pinch-hitter Andy Weber came up huge with a two-run double to tie it at 8-8. Ben Peoples worked two final scoreless frames, allowing only one hit, one walk, and nothing else. In the ninth, Michael Turner laced a one-out double, and Korey Lee smoked a line-drive two-bagger to walk it off. It’s honestly wild to think how good the Knights would be with even league-average pitching. Their offense is an absolute machine, leading the International League in runs, RBIs, OBP, and OPS while ranking second in home runs, batting average, slugging percentage, walks, and hits.
Birmingham Barons 8, Biloxi Shuckers 0
The Barons (23-37) made this one a laugher early. Sprinkle got things rolling in the first with a walk, a swipe of second, and a jog home on Makarewicz’s RBI knock. Then came the fireworks: Jacob Burke detonated a three-run shot, and the fourth was a full-on burial with Anthony DePino’s three-run blast piling up an 8-0 cushion. Six of eight runs courtesy of the long ball. That’ll play.
That was all the rope the Barons’ arms needed as Biloxi never really came close to a rally. Birmingham’s staff scattered six hits and fanned nine, with Gabe Davis handling the bulk of the work, tossing four scoreless innings with three hits, three walks, and three punchouts. Aric McAtee grabbed the win with two clean frames. The Shuckers had their chances with six walks and two Barons errors, but went ice-cold with runners on, a brutal 1-for-15 showing.
Winston-Salem Dash 9, Greenville Drive 1
The Dash (34-26) stomped Greenville, putting on a hitting and pitching clinic. Justin Sinibaldi came out dealing, tossing five shutout innings and scattering three hits, two walks, and five punchouts. The offense finally cracked the code in the fourth with Kaleb Freeman’s fifth bomb of the year, then Caleb Bonemer followed with a solo shot, his 18th of the season, in the sixth. The Dash bats never let up, racking up 11 hits and nine walks, and Ryan Burrowes ran wild with three steals, pushing his season total to 21. Not a bad night to be wearing Winston-Salem colors.
The game turned into a rout in the seventh when the Dash erupted for six runs, highlighted by George Wolkow’s three-run blast, his ninth homer of the year.
Greenville scratched across its lone run in the eighth, but James Taussig answered immediately with his first home run since joining the Dash yesterday. Winston-Salem’s hurlers combined to hold the Drive to just four hits, ensuring there would be no comeback.
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 6, Fredericksburg Nationals 4
Kannapolis (31-29) spotted Fredericksburg a two-run head start off Riley Eikhoff, then got down to business in the third. Abraham Núñez poked a single, Matthew Boughton worked a walk, and Jaden Fauske cashed in Núñez with a base hit to make it 2-1.
Then the Ballers took the lead in the fourth when Nathan Archer and Efren Teran ripped back-to-back doubles, Boughton drew another free pass, and a Fredericksburg miscue let Teran stroll home for a 3-2 advantage.
Fredericksburg worked to tie it in the sixth, but the Ballers took command in the seventh with four straight walks, a Teran single, and suddenly it was 6-3. The Nats scratched out a run off Marco Barrios in the eighth, but that was all she wrote. Teran was everywhere, Boughton kept grinding out walks, and Kannapolis walked off with the W.
DSL Mariners 14, DSL White Sox 13 (10 innings)
This was a full-on runfest, the kind of game where the scoreboard operator earns hazard pay. Both sides traded haymakers and, in a rare twist for the DSL’s usual seven-inning fare, they played into extras. Sox (3-5) up 12-11 after seven, but that was just the start. Tied at 13 after nine, so on to bonus baseball. The M’s cashed in their ghost runner with a couple of singles in the 10th and walked it off. The fireworks included bombs from Sebastian Romero (5) and Ronald Cardozo (1), a double from Dionys Medina, and a triple from Hector Hernandez. The pitching has seen better days. The Sox put out seven arms, all mostly battered. David Colmenares was the lone bright spot, getting two outs and surrendering no hits, no runs, one walk, and his ERA is still sparkling at 1.59.
ACL Royals 10, ACL White Sox 2 (7 innings)
The ACL White Sox (10-20) never stood a chance and faceplanted out of the gate. The carnage started early as Kansas City hung a quick three on the board, and while José M. Mendoza tried to spark something in the second with his sixth bomb of the season (a two-run shot), that flicker of hope was snuffed out fast. The second inning was a full-on disaster, with the Royals teeing off for six more runs. Justin Fuson wore nine earned runs, and Cesar Nunez allowed a solo shot in the fourth. The Sox bats never found an answer, managing just five hits and one walk as the Royals cruised the rest of the way.