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Charlotte Knights 8, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 5
Alas! The Knights breached .500 with an 8-5 victory over the Jumbo Shrimp that was truly a team effort. The usual suspects all got on the bases at some point, but LaMonte Wade Jr. and Caden Connor had especially productive nights. Wade contributed to his climbing OBP — now at .396 — by working two four-ball walks and contributed two RBIs with his timely single in the fifth to pull the Knights ahead, 5-3. Connor went 2-for-3, enjoyed a free trip to first, too, and tacked on an RBI to bring his season totals to 17 RBIs and 22 walks thus far. Caden quietly has been a reliable bat for the Knights.
In their momentous win, the Knights managed to pull off a double steal in the fifth. Wade secured second while Jacob Gonzalez nabbed home in what will certainly only serve as fodder to give Gonzalez a chance in the show.
Although things were ugly for starter David Sandlin, who couldn’t get past two full innings, the pen jumped in to lend a hand. After Sandlin exited with the contest knotted at three apiece, Chris Murphy silenced the Jumbo Shrimp with two quick innings. Old friend Jonathan Cannon, who was demoted to the arm barn for nearly a month, somewhat redeemed himself by giving up just one run in 3 ⅔ innings and earning a hold. It won’t be enough to erase his 9.87 ERA, but at least Cannon can begin forging a path back to good standing. Ben Peoples closed the game out, continuing to be one of the best relievers in the system.
Knoxville Smokies 8, Birmingham Barons 1 (Game 1/7 innings)
Bham lost its spunk in game one of their doubleheader against Knoxville. The Barons mustered four hits and four walks but struck out 11 times in the abbreviated game, but it’s not like the pitching helped them. Starter Christian Oppor lengthened his streak of poor starts, giving up five runs in three weak innings that sapped him of 77 pitches. His lack of control — seven walks and nearly 60% total pitches thrown were balls — once again got the best of him. Jared Kelley did worse after taking over for Oppor in the fourth, quickly relinquishing three more runs to squeeze put Bham in an unwinnable position. Oppor and Kelley are staring down demotions with the next round of affiliate player promotions and demotions.
Jeral Perez knocked the only Barons run in during the top of the sixth, but by then the morale wasn’t there and Bham was just hoping to save face with hopes of avenging themselves in the nightcap.
Knoxville Smokies 3, Birmingham Barons 2 (Game 2/7 innings)
And that nightcap was nearly worse than the opener, but a last-minute comeback attempt salvaged what would’ve been a pitiful night. The lineup went hitless until the seventh, but Wilfred Veras finally got the team rolling with a leadoff single in that frame. Jeral Perez finished his night 0-for-3, but Andy Weber and Calvin Harris made up for lost time and got on the bases, putting a tally on the board. Jason Matthews drew a walk to load the bases to put the Barons in perfect position to secure their comeback. Jordan Sprinkle traded an out for a run with his sac fly, but the inning ended soon after from Samuel Zavala’s ground out. A win truly wasn’t in the cards for Bham tonight.
Hudson Valley Renegades 3, Winston-Salem Dash 2
The Dash are lucky they even got on the board, and that the Renegades weren’t very active, either. The bats didn’t even miss that much (only seven strikeouts), but hardly any balls in play landed. At least Grant Umberger gave plenty of a running start to a team that struggled to put everything together. He dazzled on the mound, holding the Renegades to four hits, a run, and seven strikeouts through six innings.
Despite having two runs (one from a Caleb Bonemer solo shot) to work with and a one-run lead, Aric McAtee needed more than what the Dash offense provided. He handed Hudson Valley two runs from a blooper between first and second, costing Winston-Salem the win at the last moment.
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 3, Columbia Fireflies 2
With their third straight win under their wings, the CBs are making a concerted effort to crawl out of last place in the Carolina League South. Max Banks added a second quality start to his 2026 resume, allowing just one run and three hits through six. Although Choyce Diffey cut the game close by letting a run in, the three cheap runs provided by the Cannon Ballers turned out to be enough.
Kanny got on the board early with Abraham Núñez’s leadoff triple, Javier Mogollón’s single, and Stiven Flores’ single to put early pressure on Columbia’s pitching. The offense took their time throughout the rest of the game, waiting until the seventh to strike again with what would be its game-ending punch. Once again, Mogollón came through to move Nathan Archer home. Mogollón’s stats may not be flashy, but he’s been an unsung hero of a team that has been frustrating to watch to start the season.
ACL White Sox 1, ACL Guardians 0
The ACL Sox came out on top in a game that seemed like it was a pitching duel, but in reality it put everyone to sleep. The Sox elicited 14 strikeouts from the Guardians to silence them, with rehabbing Phil Fox claiming four in his 1 ⅔ innings to close out the night. The Complex Sox squeezed out three hits in what was a very anticlimactic night, but at least they only went down on strikes three times. Alexander Albertus, who hasn’t been able to surpass Single-A ball in his five years in the minors, contributed two hits and the only RBI of the game with a ground-rule double in the first.
Hopefully, there will be more exciting games to come.