Charlotte Knights 10, Rochester Red Wings 2
The Knights (43-34) evened up the series against the mighty Red Wings (46-29) with a dominant performance in Charlotte.
Overall, it was a fantastic evening for the Knights. The lower third of the order (Mario Camilletti, Andy Weber, and Dru Baker) combined to go 8-for-11 with a homer, a double, and five RBIs. The team as a whole collected 17 hits and went 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position. Those numbers will get the job done.
Dustin Harris opened the scoring with a solo homer in the first. In the second, Camilletti and Weber hit back-to-back singles with two outs after the first two Knights of the inning were retired. Those singles extended the inning for Dru Baker, who crushed a three-run homer to extend Charlotte’s lead to four. In the third, Edgar Quero lined a double to open the inning, Dustin Harris followed with a single, and Nolan Jones drove in Quero with a productive ground out.
On top of that, the pitching staff had a good game. Knights starter Mason Adams, 26, pitched five shutout innings, only allowing two hits and collecting five strikeouts along the way. When Adams was removed from the game, the Knights had a 5-0 lead, and the outcome was never in doubt after that point.
Knoxville Smokies 10, Birmingham Barons 4
The Barons (26-45) came up way short against Knoxville (40-31) and are off to a slow start in the second half of the Double-A season.
Barons starter Gabe Davis, 22, did not fool the Smokies, and he finished with three home runs allowed and only 2 1/3 innings pitched. The Smokies scored two in the first, three in the second, and two in the third to pull away early on. By the time Davis was removed from the game, the Smokies had a 7-1 lead with one out in the third. The Barons scored their first run on a productive ground out by Colby Shelton that drove in Anthony DePino, who had singled.
The sixth inning was Birmingham’s best frame. With one out, Caleb Bonemer walked, and with two outs, Samuel Zavala also walked. With two on and one out, Grant Magill drove in a pair with a single that Knoxville center fielder Andy Garriola nearly caught. Garriola dove but was unable to make the play. The ball got away, so both runners scored. However, the Barons were not close to completing the comeback.
Winston-Salem Dash 7, Hub City Spartanburgers 4
The Dash (40-31) rebounded from a heartbreaker on Tuesday with a strong performance in Hub City against the Spartanburgers (36-35).
After a scoreless first inning, Winston-Salem put a crooked number on the board in the second. George Wolkow opened that inning with a double, and Ryan Galvan drew a walk. After James Taussig grounded into a force out, Arxy Hernández walked to load the bases. That set the stage for Ely Brown, who drove in a pair with a double. From there, Bryce Eblin also picked up two RBIs by adding a single.
The Dash went back to work in the fifth, when Eblin was hit by a pitch to open the inning. Kyle Lodise crushed a double to drive in Eblin and extend the lead to five.
Meanwhile, Dash starter Justin Sinibaldi, 24, was quite effective, only allowing one run on six hits in 5 2/3 innings. Sinibaldi picked up five strikeouts and did not issue any walks. Sinibaldi’s only hiccup came on a solo home run by Hub City third baseman Luke Hanson in the sixth.
The Spartanburgers picked up three in the bottom of the eighth to pull within one. However, the Dash closed the door on any of Hub City’s hopes of coming back in the ninth. Wolkow, Galvan, and Taussig drew three consecutive walks to open the top of the ninth. From there, Hernández drove in an insurance run with a single, and two batters later, a sacrifice fly by Eblin got Winston-Salem’s lead back to three.
Columbia Fireflies 4, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 1
For the second straight day, the Cannon Ballers (35-36) offense was cold, and Kannapolis lost another low-scoring game against Columbia (36-35).
Kannapolis starter Alexander Martinez, 23, did not have a day to remember. Martinez lasted 1 2/3 innings, he threw 52 pitches, and only 23 of those 52 pitches were strikes. As a result of the lack of accuracy, Martinez allowed two runs and issued five walks during his brief time on the mound.
The game remained 2-0 until the bottom of the seventh, when the Cannon Ballers finally got on the board. Leandro Alsinois drew a leadoff walk, and Efren Teran got hit by a pitch. Two batters later, a wild pitch allowed Alsinois to score, and Teran advanced to third as the potential tying run. However, Matthew Boughton, last week’s Cannon Baller of the Week, grounded into a fielder’s choice out at home, and he was caught stealing second to end the inning.
That was as close as the Cannon Ballers would get. The Fireflies added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth against reliever Choyce Diffey to solidify the lead, not that it mattered. Kannapolis finished 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.