Gwinnett Stripers 5, Charlotte Knights 1
The Stripers (28-22) scored early, putting up five runs in the first three innings off of Knights (25-25) righthander Duncan Davitt, while the Charlotte offense couldn’t respond, and Gwinnett won their second game of the series, 5-1. Davitt recorded his second loss of the season and has consistently had a hard time in his outings, amounting to a 7.26 ERA through 10 games (eight starts).
Gwinnett didn’t score any more runs once the Knights bullpen took over, but the bats couldn’t strike up a rally at any point and went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left eight on base. A pair of walks to Ryan Galanie and Caden Connor allowed for Rikuu Nishida to drive in the sole run for Charlotte in the seventh, but otherwise the team posted just four hits. Lefthander Tyler Schweitzer allowed the only other hits (two) for the Stripers in his two innings, but the bullpen otherwise combined for three walks and three strikeouts.
Biloxi Shuckers 7, Birmingham Barons 6 (11 innings — completed game postponed from rain May 21)
It took three tries for this game to officially end after being postponed in the top of the 11th inning Thursday, postponed again on Friday, before finally wrapping up Saturday. The Barons had a two-run lead in the 11th, 6-4, but still managed to lose the game, getting walked off by the Shuckers in the bottom half of the inning, 7-4.
Let’s recap Melissa’s initial write-up of the first 11 1/3 frames from Thursday:
The Barons and Shuckers spent the night slugging it out, neither side able to land the haymaker before the skies got the last word. Eleven innings of chaos, Barons up 6-4, and then the rain yanked the plug. The ending? It’s on hold until tomorrow.
Things started late after a rain delay of more than an hour, and Biloxi jumped on Birmingham starter Connor McCullough early with single runs in the first and second innings. McCullough shook it off and gave the Barons five innings, two runs, five hits, no walks, five punchouts. The Barons? They went to the air. Jason Matthews uncorked a solo shot in the third, Alec Makarewicz matched him in the fourth, then Makarewicz did it again in the sixth. Three solo homers, and suddenly Birmingham had a 3-2 lead.
Biloxi answered back in the seventh, taking Nick Altermatt deep to knot things up. Nine innings, still gridlocked. In the 10th, Birmingham looked ready to blow it open with the ghost runner in, Anthony DePino single, and bases loaded, but the Barons fizzled and settled for one measly run. Shuckers answered right back. 4-4, on to the 11th.
That’s when Birmingham landed the big blow. The 11th started with a circus: bunt single, ghost runner scores, wild throw, Matthews gunned down stretching for second. Enter Jordan Sprinkle, who promptly launched one to left. Barons up 6-4.
The top of the 11th never finished. The game was suspended with the Barons still at-bat and three opponent outs away from a win if the weather ever plays nice.
Fast forward to two days later, Birmingham didn’t score any runs in the remainder of the 11th, and though Phil Fox managed to get the first two Biloxi batters out, three back-to-back base hits sealed a blown save and a loss.
Biloxi Shuckers 7, Birmingham Barons 4 (Game two)
Righthander Dylan Cumming fumbled through his 3 2/3 innings, giving up seven runs on 10 hits, earning his third loss of the season for the Barons (16-27) as the Shuckers (21-21) got the W, 7-4. Birmingham was outhit 6-12, and though they chipped away throughout the game, they mustered only four runs. As a team, they went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left five on base, but Biloxi was more efficient and went 5-for-11 with RISP. Similarly to Charlotte, the bullpen shut it down after Cumming was taken out of the game, combining for just two hits across four pitchers (4 1/3 frames), with four walks and four strikeouts.
Offensively, four batters recorded an RBI, and both Anthony DePino and Jason Matthews mashed a solo homer — Matthews’ second in as many games. Alec Makarewicz stayed hot in consecutive games, posting the only multi-hit day (2-for-4) and posting an RBI while also scoring once. The Barons are riding a four-game losing streak into Sunday, where they will attempt to stave off a sweep.
Greensboro Grasshoppers 4, Winston-Salem Dash 2
The Dash (26-18) had an early two-run lead through four, but the Grasshoppers (27-17) jumped on the Winston-Salem bullpen to steal the game back and drop their second consecutive game, 4-2. They are still on the hook for the series win if they can seal the game Sunday, however. Winston-Salem’s bats recorded six hits but went just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position with seven left on base, unable to convert on their opportunities.
George Wolkow has been hot at the plate over the last two weeks, getting at least one hit in nine of his last 10 games, including another two Saturday with one of the Dash’s RBIs. Grant Magill also posted a multi-hit day with two doubles, but it was Ely Brown’s double that drove in the other run for Winston-Salem.
Righthander Mason Adams made his second start since returning from his injury (first with the Dash) and was spotless for two frames, surrendering just one hit while striking out two. Frankeli Arias followed that up with a scoreless third, but Jake Curtis blew the save and let Greensboro back into the game, tying it up at two. The offense seemed to roll over and didn’t score any additional runs, and Morris Austin wound up with his first L of the season after giving up a two-run bomb that ultimately won the game for the Grasshoppers.
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 5, Myrtle Beach Pelicans 4
The Cannon Ballers (23-21) scored all five in the first five innings, and nearly gave the game back to the Pelicans (18-24) before closing the game out to win, 5-4. Myrtle Beach posted double the hits that Kannapolis did (10-5), but the Ballers were slightly more efficient with runners in scoring position, going 3-for-13 while the Pelicans went 1-for-12. Abraham Nuñez was the sole Baller to get more than one hit (2-for-4), and he scored twice out of the three times he got on base and even stole one. Jaden Fauske drove in two runs without getting a hit, thanks to a fielder’s choice and an RBI groundout in the third.
Kanny dropped a two-run lead in the top of the fifth as Caedmon Parker gave up three, allowing the Pelicans to take a one-run lead, 3-2. Thankfully, the Ballers scored three right back in the bottom of the fifth as James Taussig drove one in on an RBI single, but the other two were handed over from two wild pitches, 5-3.
While he still ended up with the win, righthander Gabriel Rodriguez relinquished one final run to the Pelicans, 5-4, but was otherwise solid in his three frames, striking out five while giving up just two hits. Things got a bit interesting once it was a one-run game, but Landen Payne closed it out for the save and prevented a sweep across the entire organization.