Charlotte Knights 18, Durham Bulls 7 (11 innings)
I can assure you that the score is not a typo. The Knights (31-28) really scored 11 runs in the 11th inning to pull away with a victory by a double-digit margin in extras. As a result, the Knights have a 2-0 series lead in Durham against the Bulls (24-35).
Korey Lee opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the second. That was the eighth homer of the season for Lee, who has a solid slash line of .245/.330/.484.
Meanwhile, Knights starter Duncan Davitt, 26, had a solid first two innings, but things were not so easy in the third and fourth. The Bulls scored one in the third and three in the fourth to take a 4-2 lead. Davitt was removed after four innings, and despite striking out six, he allowed four runs, all earned.
The Knights were not close to done, and in the fifth, Dru Baker led off with a single. With one out, Mario Camilletti and Braden Montgomery hit back-to-back singles to get back within a run. Then, Michael Turner hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game. However, in the bottom half, old friend Austin Slater hit a solo homer against reliever Tyler Schweitzer to put the Bulls back in front.
In the seventh, still trailing by a score of 5-4, Andy Weber started a rally with a one-out single for the Knights. Camilletti walked, and Montgomery singled to load the bases. From there, Turner picked up another RBI with a single to tie the game.
In the eighth, Weber drove in Lee with a two-out single to give the Knights a lead. Camilletti proceeded to line a double to center to drive in Weber to make it 7-5, but the game was far from over. In the bottom half, with runners on the corners and one out, Charlotte reliever Jairo Iriarte fielded a slow roller down the third base line. Iriarte made a late decision to throw the ball to first, but his throw was off the mark, and both runners scored. Just like that, the game was tied yet again, and extra innings were required. Great relief pitching by Knights reliever Adisyn Coffey resulted in the Knights preventing the Bulls from walking it off.
After a scoreless 10th, a two-run single by Turner gave the Knights a lead that they did not relinquish. Granted, it was extremely easy for the Knights to hold their lead in the bottom of the 11th, as they seriously scored 11 times that inning. The finishing blow was a grand slam by Camilletti, although by that point, the Bulls had a position player on the mound. We do not see teams use a position player in extra innings often, but it made sense in this unique situation.
Birmingham Barons 2, Knoxville Smokies 0
The Barons (21-31) took a 2-0 series lead with a low-scoring victory over Knoxville (26-26).
With the game still scoreless in the top of the third, Colby Shelton broke the ice with a homer with two outs and nobody on base. That was Shelton’s third homer with Birmingham and his 10th overall this season. From there, Alec Makarewicz kept the inning alive with a single, and he advanced to second on a passed ball. Anthony DePino delivered a clutch RBI single to extend Birmingham’s lead to two. Surprisingly, the score remained 2-0 for the rest of the game.
Barons starter Dylan Cumming, 27, played a large role in this victory. Cumming pitched six shutout innings, only allowing four hits. Cumming was also quite efficient, only needing 78 pitches (13 per inning) to make it through six excellent frames. The Barons bullpen took care of the rest, as Jacob Heatherly pitching a scoreless seventh inning. Finally, Phil Fox retired all six batters he faced to seal the deal.
Winston-Salem Dash 2, Hub City Spartanburgers 1
The Dash (32-21) did not get their first hit until the seventh, and they only finished with two hits overall. Incredibly, however, they defeated Hub City (25-27) with their second 2-1 win in a row.
Winston-Salem starter Drew McDaniel, 25, had an excellent performance, pitching four scoreless innings and only throwing 52 pitches (13 per inning). McDaniel only allowed three hits, all of which were singles. Despite McDaniel’s great start, when he left the game, the game was still tied because the Dash offense could not get anything going. The first of two Winston-Salem hits came in the seventh, when Kyle Lodise singled, but he was stranded.
With the game still scoreless, Hub City finally got on the board in the top of the eighth against reliever Mathias LaCombe. Chandler Pollard hit a leadoff single, he stole second, and he advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Boston Smith on the stolen base attempt. From there, a balk by LaCombe allowed Pollard to score the game’s first run.
The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the ninth, when the Dash offense finally came to life. Ely Brown drew a leadoff walk, Caleb Bonemer flew out, and Ryan Burrowes drew the second walk of the inning. With runners on first and second and one out, the stage was set for George Wolkow, who delivered in a high-leverage spot. Wolkow crushed a 1-2 pitch deep to center field. At first, it was unclear if center fielder Paxton Kling would be able to track it down, and Kling was close, but he was unable to make a very challenging catch. Brown and Burrowes raced home, and Wolkow’s double gave the Dash a thrilling, comeback victory.
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 8, Hickory Crawdads 3
The Cannon Ballers (27-26) climbed back above .500 with a convincing victory to even their series against Hickory (29-22).
Kannapolis opened the scoring in the top of the second, when James Taussig crushed a two-run blast to give the Cannon Ballers an early lead. From there, the Cannon Ballers led the rest of the way.
In the fourth, Taussig and the Cannon Ballers went back to work. With one out, Stiven Flores walked, and with two outs, Matthew Boughton kept the inning alive with a single. That extended the inning for Taussig, who drove in another run with a timely single. From there, Boughton and Flores pulled off a double-steal that made the score 4-0.
Kannapolis starter Blaine Wynk, 22, got the job done, pitching three scoreless innings, only allowing three hits and not issuing any walks. The bullpen also did its part, only allowing three runs in six innings. That was good enough for the Cannon Ballers to cruise to a victory, as the offense added four insurance runs late in this game. One of those scored on an Abraham Núñez RBI single in the seventh. The other three scored on Taussig’s second homer of the day and sixth of the season.