LHP J.C. Cloney went five strong innings, allowing only two hits while walking one and striking out two. Marcelo Martinez and Janser Lara kept Lexington in the fight, combining for three innings of one-run ball, and closer Tad Ratliff worked out of a late-game rally as Lakewood loaded the bases and threatened to force a fifth game.

Lakewood righty Spencer Howard also went five innings, allowing a single run on three hits, walking none and striking out six. Reliever James McArthur stifled Lexington’s offense over three shutout innings, giving up only one hit, walking one and striking out two. Connor Brogdon took the loss in his inning of relief (1 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K).

The Legends went down in order in the first, with Kyle Isbel flying out to LF Matt Vierling on a 2-1 pitch middle-in, MJ Melendez working the count before a swinging strike three right around his knees put him away, and Nick Pratto lifting a pitch right down the heart of the plate to RF Jhailyn Ortiz to end the inning. Cloney got Vierling to whiff on a 1-2 pitch on the outer third of the plate, but CF Simon Muzziotti stayed inside a pitch on the black and sent a base hit to short. Muzziotti stole second, but 1B Jake Scheiner flew out to LF Brewer Hicklen and C Rodolfo Duran‘s grounder to SS Cristian Perez went for the third out when Perez tossed to 3B Manny Olloque, who tagged Muzziotti to end the inning.

Hicklen got the top of the second underway when he flew out to Muzziotti on a 1-1 change-up that split the plate, Olloque took a 98-MPH heater to left that Vierling had to chase to the warning track, and Perez grounded to 2B Dalton Guthrie on the first pitch he saw for the third out. In the home half, Ortiz popped up to Perez (also on the first pitch), who had to chase it into the middle of the diamond. SS Nick Maton smacked a liner just to the right side of second, but 2B Ricky Aracena made a great diving grab to put him away. DH Colby Fitch reached on an miscue by Aracena, then swiped second when Aracena dropped the throw from Sebastian Rivero. Cloney walked Guthrie, but 3B Jose Antequera left them stranded when he lined out to Aracena.

In the top of the third, Howard struck out RF Cal Jones on a 3-2 pitch up and in, then Rivero struck out looking. Aracena flew out to Vierling to end the top half. Vierling led off the bottom of the inning with a 1-3 ground-out. Muzziotti sent an 82-MPH slider into center for a base knock, but was nabbed at second by about five feet on Rivero’s throw to Aracena. Scheiner popped up to Pratto on a 3-0 outside pitch to end the inning.

Isbel grounded into a 4-3 putout on a 93-MPH middle-low fastball to start the top of the fourth. Melendez ripped a 92-MPH inside fastball deep to right, but foul. Howard countered with an 81-MPH change-up that Melendez swung over, but an 0-2 curve got way out of control and Melendez took first on a HBP. He then took second when Howard’s first pitch to Pratto nearly took out his right ankle. At this point, Howard’s velocity was consistently 3-4 MPH lower than his first-inning fastballs. Pratto struck out looking on a 1-2 inside 81-MPH change-up. Duran struck out looking to begin the bottom of the inning, while Ortiz grounded out, Olloque-to-Pratto, and Maton flew out to Jones in right.

The Legends got a little offense going in the top of the fifth, as Olloque led off with a base hit to left. Perez cracked what would turn out to be a key hit in this pitchers’ duel, driving a double into left to score Olloque, moving to third when Jones sent a slow bouncer to second. Maton ranged past the second-base bag to field it, but had no play. Rivero went down on strikes, and Aracena popped out to Duran on a bunt attempt. Jones was able to swipe second, but Isbel struck out after working a full count. In Lakewood’s half, Fitch, Guthrie, and Antequera went down in order.

McArthur took over on the hill to start the sixth, retiring Melendez, who struck out looking, and Pratto, who lined out to Viering. After walking Hicklen, Olloque sent the first pitch he saw into center. With runners at first and second, Perez ended the inning when he popped up to Antequera. Marcelo Martinez took over in the bottom half, retiring Vierling on a fly-ball to Isbel. Muzziotti caught everyone off-guard when he dropped a push-bunt past Martinez and beat it out to first. Scheiner walked next, and Legends pitching coach Mitch Stetter made a visit to the mound (along with the Lexington infield, en masse), a meeting that home plate umpire Justin Whiddon tried in vain to bring to a conclusion. Martinez induced a pop-out from Duran, put away by Aracena (infield fly rule in effect). That would bring an end to Martinez’s night, with Janser Lara taking over. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. Ortiz shot a 2-2 99-MPH (!) pitch off the low-outside corner into right to score Muzziotti and tie the game. Scheiner was sent right behind him, but Jones gunned him down at home.

McArthur got Jones to fly out to center on a 71-MPH curve on the outside corner to start the seventh. Rivero also flew out to center on a 92-MPH fastball that caught an awful lot of the plate. Muzziotti had to sprint back and to his right to get to it. Aracena turned on and grounded a 1-0 fastball to Scheiner to end the top half. Lara’s velocity varied widely (along with his location) as he faced Maton to lead off the bottom half of the inning. The Lakewood shortstop fought an eight-pitch battle before popping up to Rivero for the first out. Fitch worked one of the best at-bats seen all night, coaxing the walk out of Lara after working his way through ten pitches. Guthrie flew out to left and Antequera grounded into a 5-4 force-out to end the inning.

To begin the eighth, Isbel lined out to Scheiner on a bunt attempt, the ball (somehow) jumping off his bat on a low trajectory all the way to first base and just inside foul territory. Had one not seen the drag-bunt attempt, one would have thought it was a swinging out. Melendez took a short hack at a high 76-MPH curve but struck out on the pitch. Pratto took a hard cut at a 1-1 pitch that came right down the middle at 87, but grounded out to first for the third out. Lara came back to the mound for the bottom of the inning, inducing a 4-3 ground-out from Vierling on a low-and-away 94-MPH fastball. Muzziotti grounded out to Perez, and the Lexington shortstop had to rush to make the out at first. Scheiner flew out to Isbel to end the inning.

Connor Brogdon took over for McArthur in the top of the ninth. Right out of the gate, he had some trouble with locating and Hicklen drew the walk. Working the count to 1-1 in between three attempts to pick off Hicklen, Olloque drove a 1-1 slider into center when it caught a bit too much of the plate. Now with runners at the corners, manager Marty Malloy and the Lakewood infield rallied to Brogdon. Perez drove an 0-2 97-MPH fastball into right for the first out, but it would score Hicklen and the Legends would take a 2-1 lead. Brogdon intentionally walked Jones, then struck out Rivero. Aracena followed by grounding out to Scheiner.

As closer Tad Ratliff took over in the Lakewood half of the ninth, Carlos Diaz took over at third. Duran worked a seven-pitch at-bat into a lead-off single. Matt Kroon entered to pinch-run for the Lakewood catcher. Ortiz followed with a grounder to Diaz to force Kroon at second. After Maton went down on swinging strikes, Fitch sent a slider into left for a base hit. Another slider, this one to Guthrie, was bounced back to Ratliff, who lunged to stop the come-backer but deflected it away from a charging Perez, and Guthrie reached to load the bases. Stetter and the infield paid a visit to Ratliff to break up the action and perhaps give Ratliff a chance to take a deep breath. On the first pitch he saw, Antequera grounds to Diaz, who took the force at third for the final out of the game, the series, and the season.

Lara earned the win (though he also picked up a blown save; baseball is a weird game), his first of the series, while Ratliff earned his third save. The Lexington closer finished all four games of the series (5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K).

Lexington was most recently in the championship in 2001, their first year of existence, and were up 2-0 in the series vs. Asheville when the terrorist attacks on 9/11 occurred. The remainder of the series was canceled, and the two teams were named co-champions. Cloney’s five shutout innings came in his first appearance since September 1^st. The two teams combined to leave 15 runners stranded.

Kyle Isbel, Nick Pratto, Cristian Perez, and Jeison Guzman had a pair of hits each, and Daniel Lynch gave the pitching staff four solid innings on which to build, as Lexington took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.

Lynch came loaded for bear, as he hit 95 on his second pitch of the game, and 97 (and inside) on Jake Scheiner, who still ended up reaching on an slow-rolling infield single that Perez fielded and threw to second in an unsuccessful attempt to nab Matt Vierling, who reached on Pratto’s error. In the bottom of the inning, Rodolfo Duran popped up to Manny Olloque at third, then Jhailyn Ortiz grounded into a force-out as Perez nabbed Scheiner on a 6-4 putout to Ricky Aracena at second.

In the top of the second, Perez picked up a base knock, then advanced to second, on an infield single off of an incredibly low-and-outside pitch that SS Nick Maton had to bare-hand, his throw getting well past Scheiner at first. RHP Andrew Brown then balked Perez to third. With Cal Jones popping up to Scheiner, Guzman sent a 93-MPH outside fastball to the left field wall, scoring Perez. After Aracena drew the walk, Isbel singled to center after Brown threw him back-to-back change-ups, driving in Guzman. Vierling cut into shallow center for the play and dropped the ball, allowing Aracena to score just ahead of the throw home. Isbel then had to slide back into first after Duran threw to second to head off Isbel. However, Scheiner wasn’t covering first and Isbel made it back easily. Duran got another shot at gunning down Isbel, this time springing out of the crouch and blocking a 1-0 curve that bounced about a foot in front of the plate.

Maton reached on an error by Aracena to start the bottom of the second, and after Madison Stokes went down on strikes, he made it to third on a Dalton Guthrie double to right. Jose Antequera got Maton home on a sac fly to Isbel in center, but Guthrie was left stranded after Vierling flew to Brewer Hicklen in left.

In the top of the third, Brown had trouble locating and walked Melendez. This was followed by a single from Pratto off a 2-0 inside fastball grounded to right that turned into runners on second and third after the ball got past Ortiz. Hicklen sacrificed to center and Melendez came home. After a strikeout for Olloque, Perez lined a single into left off a 2-1 fastball and Pratto scored. Vierling threw home in a failed attempt to get the runner, but Duran cut down Perez at second when he tried to advance on the throw.

Lynch got Muzziotti to start the bottom of the third on a 1-0 fastball that he tried to pull, only to ground out to Pratto. Scheiner was able to send a 94-MPH heater to center for a base hit, and Duran reached when Olloque couldn’t stop his grounder. Scheiner and Duran advanced into scoring position when Lynch was called for a balk. Ortiz worked the count full after Lynch worked back from a 3-0 count, and Scheiner scored when Ortiz put the next pitch in the air to Cal Jones in shallow-right-center, whose throw to third kept Duran at second. Maton struck out to end the threat.

After Jones worked the count full but struck out to start the top of the fourth, Guzman sent a base hit into right. Aracena followed that with a single of his own, Guzman advancing to third. Brown was able to induce the double-play grounder from Isbel on a high-and-inside pitch to end the inning.

Stokes grounded to Perez for the first out of the bottom of the inning, but Guthrie sent a 1-2 pitch into right field that Lynch left high in the zone. Jose Antequera sent his own base hit into left on another high pitch, but Vierling grounded into a 5-4 force-out, once again on a high pitch in virtually the same spot. Muzziotti struck out swinging on a low-and-away pitch, stranding two.

The top of the fifth began with Melendez grounding out to Scheiner at first. Back-to-back singles by Pratto and Hicklen put runners on first and second, though this was followed by back-to-back fly-outs to center by Olloque and Perez and it all went for naught. Scheiner started the Lakewood half with a “single” to Perez after an eight-pitch battle with Legends reliever Garrett Suchey (it hit the heel of his glove, but he had to range back into shallow-left-center to get it). Duran walked on five pitches, then Ortiz struck out on three pitches, foul-tipping a 79-MPH curve into Melendez’s glove, while trying to hit the ball to Pennsylvania. Maton singled on a 1-0 change-up that sat high in the zone, but Jones’ throw home kept the bases loaded. Stokes drove in Scheiner on a base hit to center, and that would be it for Suchey.

With RHP Collin Snider taking over, an 0-1 95-MPH fastball ended in a 5-4-3 double play, and with it the best chance Lakewood had to even the score.

A 1-2-3 top of the sixth took the BlueClaws only six pitches to get through, as RHP Luis Carrasco‘s easy heat (96-97) dominated Lexington’s batters. Third baseman Antequera made a very good throw to retire Aracena for the third out, coming in and just over the foul line on the weak grounder, then throwing across his body to Scheiner to get the runner. Snider began the bottom of the inning with a 95-MPH inside on the Lakewood third baseman. He sent the next pitch, another fastball up and in, to his counterpart at third, but Olloque’s bad throw was more than Pratto could handle, and thus allowed Antequera to reach. Vierling grounded into what might have been a 6-4-3, but Perez had to get a handle on the ball when it hopped inches from his feet, and Vierling beat out the turn from Aracena. Muzziotti lined 96-MPH heat on a hard liner to Olloque, who gloved it for the second out. Scheiner singled to center and Vierling moved up a base, but Duran flew out to Hicklen to end the inning.

Isbel lost an eight-pitch at-bat with Carrasco to start the top of the seventh. Melendez sent a liner into center that Muzziotti booted, then advanced to second when the Lakewood center fielder semi-casually threw the ball back to the infield. After Pratto walked, Hicklen struck out and Melendez was caught while trying to swipe third, the final out of the inning. In the bottom half, RHP Daniel Duarte took over from Snider, with Ortiz striking out swinging, Maton striking out looking, and Stokes grounding out to Duarte.

It was a quiet top of the eighth, with Olloque, Perez, and Jones out in order. In the bottom half, Olloque was lifted for Carlos Diaz. Duarte added another pair of strikeouts in Guthrie and Antequera to start the bottom half, but Vierling would send an 87-MPH slider to left for a two-out double. Muzziotti, however, was first-pitch-swinging and flew out to Isbel.

Lefty Keylan Killgore came out to pitch the top of the ninth, retiring Guzman on a fly-out to left and Aracena on swinging strikes. Isbel singled to center when Killgore located back-to-back pitches in the same middle-high part of the zone. Duran lost hold of a middle-in pitch from Killgore and Isbel took off for second, then advanced to third on a wide-ranging throw to second. A wild pitch later, Isbel scored to make it 6-3, Lexington. After Melendez walked, another wild pitch to Pratto allowed him to move to second. Killgore got Pratto on a swinging strike three after ten pitches, but Duran still had to throw him out at first when the pitch skipped off his glove and rolled a couple of feet away. Lakewood’s final three outs were not nearly as eventful, as closer Tad Ratliff sat down Scheiner and Duran on strikes, with Ortiz popping up to Melendez in foul territory to end the game.

Snider picked up the win, with Duarte earning the hold and Ratliff getting his second save of the series. Lakewood’s Brown took the loss.

Lynch threw 57 of his 79 pitches for strikes over four innings of work, allowing two runs on five hits, walking none and striking out four. Suchey was 14-24 for strikes, giving up one run on three hits in a third of an inning before giving way to Snider, who was 12-18 for strikes in 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Duarte’s four strikeouts in his two shutout innings of relief were another highlight for the Legends. He spotted fifteen of nineteen pitches for strikes. Ratliff followed suit, with 11 of 15 in the zone.

Tonight, Lakewood’s Spencer Howard (9-8, 3.78 ERA) will get the start. Lexington will counter with JC Cloney (3-1, 2.73 ERA with Lexington; 12-1, 2.21 ERA overall). First pitch time is 7:05 PM, EST.

We saw another dominant performance by a Legends starter, this time RHP Jackson Kowar (5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K), who followed up his Sept 5^th win vs. the visiting Rome Braves in the first round of the playoffs (5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K) with another excellent showing. Kowar landed 67% of his pitches for strikes (69 pitches, 46 strikes), sat 94-95 mph with his fastball and touched 96 several times throughout the night. He made it look effortless.

Following Kowar, LHP Marcelo Martinez put the hammer down with a fastball that seemed anything but. Sitting at 87-89 mph and pairing it with a breaking ball at 75-77, he seemed to mystify Lakewood batters over two scoreless innings (1 H, 0 BB, 4 K). After giving up a lead-off single to Simon Muzziotti, Jake Scheiner struck out swinging on a pitch near the heart of the plate, Rodolfo Duran popped out to Nick Pratto, And Jhailyn Ortiz flew out to CF Kyle Isbel. All three batters made outs on pitches that cut well into the outer third of the strike zone and just about belt-level.

Martinez continued to live on the outer third of the plate in the seventh, breezing through Madison Stokes, Dalton Guthrie, and Jose Antequera, and all in or very close to the same part of the strike zone in which he set up residence in the sixth.

Janser Lara hit a speed bump in the eighth, giving up a lead-off single to Matt Vierling on an 0-2 pitch that caught an awful lot of the plate. Muzziotti grounded out to Cristian Perez on a waist-high pitch but moved Vierling up to second. After Scheiner flew out to center on a pitch right down Broadway, Duran turned hard on a middle-in pitch and dropped it over the left-field wall and cut Lexington’s lead to three.

Visions of Monday night danced in our heads.

The Legends’ batters went down in order in the bottom of the eighth. The top of the ninth brought Tad Ratliff (whom I am tempted to nickname “Bulldog”) to the bump. Ratliff came right at lead-off batter Maton, who swung at a (seemingly) fat pitch, but only managed to ground out to Aracena. Stokes was next, and he went down easily on three swinging strikes (all outer-third). Guthrie started his own brief two-out rally, singling past Perez, but Antequera lost a six-pitch battle to the Lexington closer to close out the victory for the Legends.

On the offensive side, Lexington started off with MJ Melendez‘s first-pitch homer to opposite field off of Lakewood lefty Kyle Young. Pratto walked and swiped second after several pick-off attempts, then Brewer Hicklen walked behind him. Third baseman Manny Olloque grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, ending the threat.

Beyond a hard-hit single by C Sebastian Rivero in the bottom of the second, the Legends had nothing going in the inning. However, the third had Isbel singling to center and moving to third on a Pratto double to right, an inside pitch that wasn’t inside quite enough. When Hicklen grounded to Maton at short, he reached first when Maton went for the easy out at third. Pratto was erased, but Isbel scored on the play, making it 2-0, Lexington.

The fourth inning was a quiet one, and other than an Aracena base knock to left, there was no action of which to speak. Isbel grounded out to move Aracena into scoring position, but Melendez struck out on a 1-2 pitch that just nicked the low-outside corner, and Pratto flew out to center on a 2-2 outside pitch.

It was all outs for the Legends in the sixth, with Hicklen, Olloque, and Perez going down in order. The (lucky) seventh was another story.

Cal Jones led it off with an 0-2 worm-burner right through the middle of the infield, and after Rivero and Aracena both flew out, Isbel continued what became a two-out rally when he sent a base hit on the same path through the infield and into center, moving Jones to second. Melendez followed suit with his own single, this on a two-strike count, and Jones scored. When Muzziotti tried for Jones at home and Duran couldn’t corral the throw, both runners moved into scoring position. Lakewood reliever Julian Garcia let one fly and Duran couldn’t get to it, allowing Isbel to score. Pratto tacked on a run when he scored Melendez on a right-field single, and that would be it for Garcia. RHP James McArthur (1 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K) took over and put out the fire when he struck out Hicklen looking.

By now, it was 5-2, Lexington, and the last home game of the season at Whitaker Bank Ball Park would end that way.

With the series tied at one, the Legends hit the road for Lakewood, NJ, to play Game Three of the Championship tomorrow at 7 PM in the BlueClaw’s First Energy Stadium. LHP Daniel Lynch faces RHP Andrew Brown (6-3, 2.10 ERA, 14 appearances, 68 2/3 IP, 49 H, 2 HRA, 16 BB, 58 K).

Making their second appearance in the South Atlantic League Championship, as they were declared co-champions while holding a 2-0 lead in their inaugural season with the Asheville Tourists when the September 11^th attacks occurred, the Lexington Legends got off to a very good start Monday. They had dominant pitching, inning after inning. Their defense was firing on all cylinders. Everything was going smoothly.

And then, it wasn’t. The Legends went down to defeat against the Lakewood BlueClaws in eleven innings, 6-5.

Starting righty Yefri Del Rosario did his level best over six innings, striking out seven and walking two while giving up a single hit in the process. Lakewood had to wait until the fifth inning for that one-base knock from SS Nick Maton, which ultimately went for naught. After walking lead-off batter Matt Vierling, he got Simon Muzziotti on a high, bounding one-hopper to 1B Nick Pratto, then set down Jake Scheiner and Rodolpho Duran on swinging strikes.

Lexington got on the board first when Pratto walked and Brewer Hicklen crushed a 2-2 pitch over the right-field wall. Del Rosario gave up a walk to Madison Stokes, but induced a couple of fly-outs to left and a pop-up to Ricky Aracena to strand the Lakewood runner.

Cal Jones singled on a fastball on the outer third of the plate, a hard liner to left off of Lakewood starter Damon Jones. Sebastian Rivero went down on strikes and Aracena popped up to his counterpart at second, Dalton Guthrie, but Kyle Isbel reached on a bad throw by Maton and Jones advanced to third. The threat was ended when C MJ Melendez flew out on a 2-0 pitch to Muzziotti in center.

It was two more strikeouts for Del Rosario in the top of the third, when 3B Jose Antequera went down looking, Vierling flew out to Jones, and Muzziotti whiffed on a fastball right down the heart of the plate.

Pratto started the bottom of the third with a shot over the right-field deck that he hit off of an inside fastball, down 0-2 in the count, giving the Legends a 3-0 lead. Hicklen and 3B Manny Olloque grounded out to Antequera, SS Cristian Perez drew the walk but was stranded when Jones swung on a third strike in the dirt and was tossed out at first by Duran.

The top of the 4^th was uneventful, as Scheiner grounded out to Perez, while Duran and Jhailyn Ortiz added to Del Rosario’s “K” collection. The bottom of the fourth saw Lexington tack on another run when Isbel doubled on a 1-2 inside pitch and Melendez brought him home on a short drive to center, extending Lexington’s lead to 4-0.

After Maton finally gave Lakewood their first base hit of the night in the top of the fifth, Stokes was called out on strikes after an eight-pitch battle and Guthrie grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Lexington faced off against righty reliever Gustavo Armas and got nothing out of him beyond a seven-pitch Hicklen walk. Hicklen was cut down at second on a steal attempt with Jones batting after Olloque popped up and Perez did the same to Scheiner.

Lakewood had nothing going in the top of the sixth, but Jones led off the bottom of the inning a hard-hit single, deep to left, that was cut off quickly by Vierling. Rivero dropped a nice sac bunt to move Jones to second, but only after Armas tried twice in vain to pick him off. Aracena struck out swinging, but Isbel once again came through, driving in Jones to make it 5-0, Lexington. Isbel would be nailed at second on a steal attempt.

As RHP Janser Lara entered the game in the seventh, he got Scheiner on a ground-out to Aracena, walked Duran on four somewhat controversial pitches (at least two could have been strikes), Ortiz struck out swinging. Lara walked Maton, but Stokes struck out on a 2-2 pitch and stranded two runners in the process.

The bottom of the seventh saw walks to Melendez and Hicklen, but little else, as Pratto and Olloque struck out swinging and Perez lined out to Scheiner on what sounded like a much harder-hit ball than it actually was.

The eighth inning was a routine one for both sides. The ninth, however, was not.

With RHP Daniel Duarte on the mound for his second inning of work, Josh Stephen singled on a 3-2 pitch that caught the heart of the plate. Scheiner was first-pitch swinging, swatting a hard-hit grounder to right. Duran followed this with the first of three straight homers for Lakewood. Ortiz hit a solo shot to right, and that would be it for Duarte as he gave way to RHP Tad Ratliff with Lakewood down by one.

Maton chased Ortiz’s homer with his own solo shot to right, and the BlueClaws had tied the game. This all happened before Lexington could get a single out.

Isbel, Melendez, and Pratto went down in order, and it was extra-inning time.

Ratliff retired Vierling, Stephen, and Scheiner in order to start the tenth inning. After Hicklen struck out looking, Olloque shot a laser beam to the center-field wall for a one-out double. SS Jeison Guzman entered to pinch-run for him, and new pitcher Connor Brogdon entered the game for Lakewood. He began by putting Perez on intentionally, but Jones and Rivero couldn’t get the winning run home.

With Garrett Suchey entering the game in the eleventh inning, Duran singled and move to second on Ortiz’s sacrifice bunt. After Maton grounded out to Perez, Duran moved to third. Stokes drove in what would be the winning run on a single to center after Such threw three straight pitches in the same zone and Stokes caught onto it.

Lakewood’s Zach Warren closed it out in the bottom of the inning, striking out Aracena, getting Isbel on a fly-out to right, and walking but stranding Melendez after Pratto ended the game striking out on a pitch in the dirt.

A tough loss for the home team, to be sure, but Game Two will see Jackson Kowar on the hill for the Legends facing LHP Kyle Young. The 6’10” Young has compiled a 13-5 record over four minor-league seasons, with a 2.74 ERA and 26 walks against 141 strikeouts in 151 1/3 innings. He recorded a .230 BAA in 59 1/3 innings this season across three leagues, with the vast majority of his innings at Lakewood. He gave up 9 walks in that span. He has never faced Lexington in his career.

Game Two of the South Atlantic League Championship is Tuesday at Whitaker Bank Ball Park at 6:05 PM.

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Cal Jones 2-4 2R, HR, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Yefri Del Rosario 7 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 9 K 4-6 GO-FO 86p/65k

Lexington Legends 7 August GreenJackets 0

The Legends, on the cusp of their first playoff appearance since 2006, used a full team effort got them one step closer on Thursday night. Starter Yefri Del Rosario continued his run of excellent pitching putting together perhaps his best start yet. Twirling seven scoreless innings, Del Rosario set a new career high with nine strikeouts while pounding the zone with 65 strikes on just 86 pitches while working around four hits and a walk. After a pair of scoreless innings, the Lexington offense broke the tie with a Cal Jones home run in the third inning before breaking it open with a six-run fourth frame. Outfielder Kyle Isbel’s two-run double in that fourth inning capped the scoring in the inning and the game. The win combined with a Greenville loss lowered the Legends magic number to just one game.

MJ Melendez: 1-3 R, BB
Nick Pratto: 1-4 R
Kyle Isbel: 1-4 2b, 2 RBI

Wilmington Blue Rocks 5 Lynchburg Hillcats 0

Wilmington’s best starting pitcher, Gerson Garabito, was just that in a must have spot for his club in the finale versus Lynchburg. Going six and one-third innings, the righty worked around four hits and a walk while striking out seven, lowering his ERA to 3.16 while adding on to his career high in innings (142.1). The offense got a pair of runs in the second inning with last night’s hero Vance Vizcaino driving in Emmanuel Rivera and Meibrys Viloria with a single. That score held up until the eighth inning when Rudy Martin plated three with a double to centerfield.

Gerson Garabito: 6.1 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 7 K 5-4 GO-FO 91p/60k
Meibrys Viloria: 2-3 2R, BB
Rudy Martin: 1-5 2b, 3 RBI

NW Arkansas Naturals 8 Tulsa Drillers 4

The Naturals offense employed a patient approach to keep their season alive against first-place Tulsa, walking seven times as part of their good night on offense. After giving up three runs in the first three innings, starter Jace Vines settled in to give his club a quality start by working into the seventh inning. Three different Naturals walked twice in the game while they broke open the 3-3 game by scoring five runs between the fourth and fifth innings. Back to back singles by Alex Liddi and Anderson Miller plated three in the fourth before a Mejia groundout and a Duenez single in the fifth pushed the advantage to 8-3. Those eight runs were plenty as the Naturals bullpen of Gabe Speier and Walker Sheller tossed the final two and two-thirds with just a run allowed to secure the win.

Samir Duenez: 2-4 R, RBI, BB
Kelvin Gutierrez: 1-3 R, RBI, 2BB
Jecksson Flores: 0-2 2R, 2BB, SB

Omaha Storm Chasers 11 Colorado Sky Sox 5

After starting pitcher Aaron Brooks got the call to the big league’s prior to the game for Milwaukee, the Sky Sox turned to struggling reliever Tim Dillard to make the spot start. The Chasers took advantage, tagging the sidearm reliever for a run in the first inning and nine more in the second inning to blow open the game 10-0. Chasers starter Jon Dziedzic took advantage tossing four no-hit innings before surrendering his first hit and runs in the fifth. The game was pretty meaningless to the Sky Sox who lead the division going into the night and will decide their season’s fate with a five games series against Tulsa starting tomorrow night.

Jon Dziedzic: 5 IP 2 H 3 R 3 ER 4 BB 3 K 3-8 94p/53k
Frank Schwindel: 1-3 R, 2b, 2 RBI, BB
Nicky Lopez: 3-5 2R

Idaho Falls Chukars 8 Ogden Raptors 6

The Royals 6th round draft selection Zach Haake made his Idaho Falls debut on Thursday, tossing two and two-thirds innings with a hit, a walk and a run allowed while on the hill. Idaho Falls had already given their pitching staff a lead with three runs in the first inning as Nathan Eaton hit his second home run in as many days to plate two runs before a Jose Caraballo double scored Bubba Starling to make it 3-0. The Chukars tacked on single runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings after Ogden had pulled with a run to take a 6-3 lead. Reliever Jose Rodriguez struggled in the eighth inning though, giving up two hits, three walks, and two runs before Andrew Edwards, back on a rehab stint, tossed a wild pitch to even the game. The Chukars despite giving up the lead had the answer the very next inning as a pair of doubles from Nathan Eaton and Brady Cox broke the tie before Hunter Strong’s single tacked on an insurance run. Edwards would close out the game with a perfect ninth to keep the Chukars playoff hopes alive.

Zach Haake: 2.2 IP 1 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 1 K 3-1 GO-FO 46p/27k
Nathan Eaton: 2-5 2R, HR, 2b, 2 RBI
Hunter Strong: 2-4 2R, BB, RBI

Thursday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Manny Olloque 3-5 2 HR, 6 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Yerelmy Garcia 9 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 2 K 12-5 GO-FO 98p/69k

Lexington Legends 18 Augusta GreenJackets 3

The Legends offense enjoyed Augusta pitching on this night as the lineup worked them over for three multi-run innings in the first five frames to blow open the game early and kept piling on late. A three-run first frame that featured a Nick Pratto RBI double quickly answered Augusta’s run in that inning. Two innings later Pratto’s single brought in MJ Melendez after his double prior to a Hicklen triple and Manny Olloque home run that improved the score to 7-1. Again in the fifth, it was a four-run frame, this time with a Cal Jones home run increased the score to 11-2. The runs and more gave start J.C. Cloney a comfortable margin to work with as the lefty tossed seven innings to win his 12th game of the season.

MJ Melendez: 3-6 2R, RBI, 3K
Nick Pratto: 4-5 4R, 2b, 3 RBI, BB
Kyle Isbel: 2-5 2R, 2-2b, BB

Wilmington Blue Rocks 4 Lynchburg Hillcats 3

The Rocks facing a must-win game to keep their season alive, did just that with a narrow win to start their series with Lynchburg on Monday. Spot starter Carter Hope did his best to keep his club in front with four and two-thirds inning of two-run ball with both runs coming in the first inning. A passed ball allowed Wilmington to trim the lead in half in the third inning before taking the lead in the fourth with four singles including the rbi variety from Vance Vizcaino and Jackson Lueck. That 3-2 lead held until the ninth when Wilmington got an important insurance run with after a wild pitch and sac bunt put Angelo Castellano to third before Blake Perkins rbi groundout. That run would come in handy after Tyler Zuber allowed a run in the ninth on a one-out triple before shutting the door with a pair of strikeouts.

Jackson Lueck: 2-3 R, RBI, SB
Meibrys Viloria: 1-4 R
Vance Vizcaino: 2-4 2b, RBI, 2K

Arkansas Travelers 7 NW Arkansas Naturals 0

Newly acquired right-hander Jon Perrin struggled for the Naturals in a big loss to Arkansas on Monday. The former Brewers pitcher lasted just an inning and two-thirds as he gave up six runs in the second frame. The bullpen did a good job of allowing just one more run but it wasn’t good enough as the offense couldn’t get anything going in the loss. NW Arkansas will go into the five game series with Tulsa trailing them by four games.

Erick Mejia: 1-3 2b
Jecksson Flores: 2-4 2b
Walker Sheller: 2.1 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 2 BB 3 K 2-1 GO-FO 58p/36k

Omaha Storm Chasers 7 Iowa Cubs 6

After three perfect innings to start his night, Arnaldo Hernandez’s usual quality control and command wavered while the defense behind him buckled. It started in the fourth inning when a line drive off the bat of rehabbing Kris Bryant clanked off the glove of Paulo Orlando, opening the door to a four-run inning as Hernandez struggled to get out of that jam, allowing three singles after the error. Down 4-2 just one inning later Donnie Dewees lost a ball in the night sky, allowing Bryan to come all the way around from first base to push the advantage to 5-2. The Chasers struggled most of the night with their opportunities, getting a pair of runs thanks to erratic control from Tyler Chatwood in the second inning but failing to do more against the wild righty. Despite those missed opportunities, the Chasers would answer the bell in the eighth with four runs on six hits including Brian Goodwin’s two-run double that tied the game. Just one hitter later fellow rehabber Jorge Soler got a weird bounce hop between the shortstop and third baseman, allowing Goodwin to score to give the Chasers the lead. That slim margin was enough for Omaha to hang on for the win and secure the series win for the year over the Cubs.

Nicky Lopez: 3-5 K, 12 game hit streak
Donnie Dewees: 3-4 2R
Brian Goodwin: 2-4 R, 2-2b, 3 RBI, BB

Burlington Royals 1 Bluefield Blue Jays 0

Burlington starter Yerelmy Garcia was the story in this one with the right-hander tossing a complete game shutout on less than 100 pitches for the rookie club. The right-hander earned 12 strikeouts as he pounded the zone, yielding just four hits and a walk to earn the win. The Burlington offense didn’t do much with just two hits on the night but it was enough, getting the game’s only run in the seventh inning when Eric Cole singled, advanced to second after Michael Emodi was hit by a pitch and ultimately scoring on a two-out Bluefield error by the right-fielder. That 1-0 lead would hold up thanks to Isaiah Henry tossing a runner out at the plate with two outs in the ninth as Bluefield tried to score off a single, ending the game and securing the win for Garcia.

Eric Cole: 1-3 R
Isaiah Henry: 1-3 K, Assist
Jose Marquez: 0-4 K

Idaho Falls Chukars 8 Grand Junction Rockies 5

Idaho Falls jumped out to a lead in the first inning when Chase Vallot connected on a grand slam and was quickly followed by Nick Hutchins solo home run. That 5-0 lead lasted until the fifth as the Rockies sandwiched a pair of single run innings around a three-run frame to tie the game. Tied 5-5 into the sixth the Chukars got a leadoff triple from Hunter Strong and a Julio Gonzalez single to reclaim the lead. Infielder Kyle Kasser tacked onto the lead in the same inning with a single that brought home Gonzalez to make it 7-5. A pair of doubles by Hutchins and Reed Rohlman tacked on a run in the ninth before Jaret Hellinger finished off his third inning of scoreless relief to secure the save.

Chase Vallot: 1-4 HR, 4 RBI, BB
Nick Hutchins: 2-4 2b, HR, 2 RBI, BB
Ted Cillis: 2.1 IP 4 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 2K 4-1 GO-FO 42p/30k

Monday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Kort Peterson 3-3 HR, 2b, RBI, BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: J.C. Cloney 6.2 IP 4 H 1 R 1 ER 3 BB 8 K 5-3 GO-FO 99p/60k

Transaction – Ryan O’Hearn called up from the Omaha Storm Chasers

Hagerstown Suns 6 Lexington Legends 5

It’s been small improvements in each start for the 1st round pick Jackson Kowar as the right-hander has tossed an additional inning each of his last two times outs. The right-hander gave up a solo home run in the second inning after retiring the first five hitters he faced and then allowed three hits and a run in the fourth frame. The most surprising thing so far has been the right-hander’s lack of strikeouts with just one in this outing and just four in nine and one-third innings since joining the team. The Legends tied the game up in the sixth with an RBI groundout from Cristian Perez and an pRBI double by Nick Pratto. That tie didn’t last when Garrett Davila gave up a two-run home run in the bottom half of the inning to put the Legends back behind. A couple more runs of insurance in the eighth dug a deeper hole for Lexington that they nearly dug out of with a three-run ninth that featured a Cal Jones two-run home run but they fell short with Kyle Isbel’s strikeout with the tying run left on second.

Seuly Matias: 1-4 R
MJ Melendez: 2-4 R
Kyle Isbel: 2-5 R, K, SB

NW Arkansas Naturals 3 Arkansas Travelers 2

Starter Foster Griffin gave the Naturals another solid start while the offense gave the lefty his third consecutive winning decision. Spreading out seven hits and a pair of walks in five and two-thirds innings with three strikeouts and seven groundouts. A Kort Peterson solo home run and an RBI groundout by Samir Duenez gave NW Arkansas a 2-0 lead. After Arkansas scored in the third an error by their defense in the fifth allowed NW Arkansas to regain their two run advantage. An inning later Griffin ran into trouble, giving up a pair of two out hits to cut into the lead but reliever Pedro Fernandez got them out of the inning with the lead intact. From there Fernandez would toss two more scoreless innings before handing off to Andres Machado who tossed a scoreless ninth for the save.

Foster Griffin: 5.2 IP 7 H 2 R 2 ER 2 BB 3 K 7-5 GO-FO 93p/62k
Erick Mejia: 2-3 R, BB, SB
Pedro Fernandez: 2.1 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 3 K 1-1 GO-FO 30p/23k

Fresno Grizzlies 5 Omaha Storm Chasers 3

Starter Trevor Oaks ran into a bit of early trouble before finding his groove. The PCL’s ERA leader gave up single tallies in the first two innings before a three-run third tagged him for five runs to start the game. The Chasers had a three-run third inning themselves with a two-run Frank Schwindel double providing the runs for the visitors. Those would be the final runs for the Chasers though as the Astros Triple-A squad shut them down the rest of the way to secure the series split.

Nicky Lopez: 0-3 R, BB
Frank Schwindel: 2-4 R, 2b, 2 RBI, 2K
Trevor Oaks: 5 IP 8 H 5 R 5 ER 1 BB 5 K 4-2 GO-FO 94/57k

Idaho Falls Chukars 7 Orem Owlz 1

After the Chukars gave up 46 runs this weekend, they turned to their ace in lefty J.C. Cloney. The former Arizona Wildcat starter was up to the task for Idaho Falls, working six and two-thirds innings while allowing just a run on four hits while striking out eight to lead the club to a much needed win. The offense capably backed him up with a pair of multi-run innings, scoring three in the fourth and four more in the ninth with Reed Rohlman leading the charge with a pair of doubles and three runs driven in.  Those runs would be plenty after a pair of relievers tossed the final innings scoreless to secure the win.

Reed Rohlmann: 2-5 R, 2-2b, 3 RBI
Hunter Strong: 2-3 R, 2 RBI, BB
Jared Hellinger: 1.1 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 3 K 19p/15k

Monday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day Reed Rohlman 4-5 3R, 2-2b, HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Marcelo Martinez 6 IP 5 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 4 K 7-6 GO-FO 81p/57k

The Future Game’s rosters were released on Friday with minor league home run leader Seuly Matias being named the Royals only selection.

Game 1 Lexington Legends 7 West Virginia Power 6
Game 2 West Virginia Power 8 Lexington Legends 7 F/10

The Legends outscored the Power 4-3 after resuming their 3-3 suspended game. First baseman Nick Pratto drove in a pair of runs on two hits while Matt Morales homered. Reliever Jacob Condra-Bogan tossed the final inning and one-third with two strikeouts to earn the save.

The Legends starter Charlie Neuweiler yielded four runs (3 ER) in the first two innings before righting the ship over his final three innings. The Legends offense countered with a run-scoring double by Cal Jones in the second inning, a rbi single in the third frame before Seuly Matias connected on his 25th home run to tie the game. The two teams exchanged runs in extra innings with Cal Jones picking up his second rbi of the game with a single in the ninth but an Oneil Cruz single in the tenth gave West Virginia a walkoff win.

Nick Pratto 4-9 R, 2 RBI BB
Cal Jones 2-6 R, 2b, 2 RBI
Charlie Neuweiler 5 IP 6 H 4 R 3 ER 1 BB 5 K 7-2 GO-FO 84p/51k

NW Arkansas Naturals 3 San Antonio Mission 2

Outfielder Elier Hernandez doubled in a pair in the first inning before scoring on a groundout by Kelvin Gutierrez to give the Naturals a 3-0 lead. Starter Emilio Ogando tossed five shutout innings to start before getting touched up for a solo home run in the sixth inning. Reliever Gabe Speier gave up a run in the seventh to cut the lead to just one run but reliever Yunior Marte finished off with two scoreless innings to secure the win.

Emilio Ogando 6 IP 7 H 1 R 1 ER 3 Bb 5 K 6-3 GO-FO 97p/62k
Elier Hernandez 2-4 R, 2b, 2 RBI
Jecksson Flores 1-4 R, 2b, 2K – hits in 32 of 33 games

Memphis Redbirds 4 Omaha Storm Chasers 2 

Needing a bullpen start after movement up to Kansas City the Chasers combo of Eric Stout and Luis Vazquez gave up four runs through seven innings. The only run by the Chasers came via a Cam Gallagher single to drive in Paulo Orlando after his single and stolen base in the second inning. The Redbirds countered with three hits in the second to score two runs off Stout before adding a third the next inning with two more hits. A solo home run off Luiz Vazquez moved the score to 4-1 which would be more than enough after Omaha added just a solo home run in the ninth by Ramon Torres.

Nicky Lopez 0-3 BB
Cam Gallagher 1-3 RBI
Ramon Torres 1-4 HR

Princeton Rays 5 Burlington Royals 2 F/10

Starter Marcelo Martinez gave Burlington a quality start with six innings of one-run ball for the lefty, allowing five hits against four strikeouts. The six innings with no walks push the lefties total to just two walks in 21 innings against 28 strikeouts. A two-run triple from Jose Marquez gave Burlington a 2-0 lead, a lead that bullpen would quickly lose in the seventh with Martinez out of the game. The game stayed tied until the tenth inning when the Rays Carlos Vargas connected on a three-run home run to put the game away for Princeton. It was the seventh consecutive loss for Burlington, their third straight extra innings loss.

Jeison Guzman 3-5 2-SB
Rhett Aplin 2-4 R
Juan Carlos Negret 0-5 2K

Idaho Falls Chukars 22 Orem Owlz 3

The Chukars offense exploded early against Orem and local boy Cole Duensing, scoring six off Duensing in the first two innings before seven additional runs to push the score to 13-0. The offense didn’t stop there, scoring nine more runs in the final four innings of the game while pounding out 25 hits. All nine hitters in the lineup had at least one hit with only Brady Cox missing out on a multi-hit game though he did reach base with two walks in addition to his double. Leading the way for the Chukars was Reed Rohlman with three extra base hits including his first home run of the season during a four hit day.

Tyler James 4-5 4 R, RBI, 2 BB, 3 SB
Kyle Isbel 4-7 2R, 2b, 3 RBI
Nathan Eaton 4-7 3R, 2-2b, 3b, 4 RBI

Friday Boxscores

Saturday Probables
Omaha – Jake Kalish 5-4 4.16 ERA 1.34 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Scott Blewett 4-4 5.38 ERA 1.60 WHIP
Wilmington – Jace Vines 2-8 5.25 ERA 1.62 WHIP
Lexington – Andres Sotillet 5-5 4.37 ERA 1.41 WHIP
Burlington – Malcolm Van Buren 0-1 23.63 ERA 4.50 WHIP
Idaho Falls – Jonathan Bowlan 0-0 2.45 ERA 1.18 WHIP

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Sebastian Rivero 3-3 4R, 2b, HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Jake Kalish 7 IP 7 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 4 K 6-8 GO-FO 99p/67k

Royals 1st Round Pick RHP Jackson Kowar signed for $2,147,500.

Lexington Legends 18 Asheville Tourists 10

31 hits, 9 walks, 8 home runs and 28 runs for the two teams combined in this one as the Legends outslugged the Rockies Low-A affiliate. Three Legends hitters combined for 10 of the team’s 15 hits with Brewer Hicklen, Sebastian Rivero and Cal Jones pacing the offense with three home runs between them, eight runs scored and eleven RBIs. None of the eight pitchers between the two squads tossed a scoreless outing while each team went scoreless in two individual innings. Lexington’s fifth, sixth and eighth innings featured four runs apiece as they created too large of a gap to be overcome in the win.

Seuly Matias: 0-4 2R, 3K
Nick Pratto: 2-5 2R, BB, 2K
Brewer Hicklen: 4-6 2R, 2b, HR, 4 RBI, 2 SB

Winston-Salem Dash 5 Wilmington Blue Rocks 2

The Rocks piled up 10 hits and three walks, both of which were more than the Dash could put together. Unfortunately, not one hit went for extra bases and Wilmington’s 2 for 14 effort with runner’s in scoring position was outdone by a pair of home runs, a double and a couple of Wilmington errors that accounted for two unearned runs in the loss. Starter Ofreidy Gomez took the tough-luck loss despite giving up just one earned run (3 R) after a pair of unearned runs scored in the fourth on a throwing error by Travis Jones. The Rocks missed out on multiple scoring chances over the final five innings in the loss.

Rudy Martin: 2-3 RBI, HBP
Meibrys Viloria: 2-3 RBI, BB
Ofreidy Gomez: 6 IP 3 H 3 R 1 ER 1 BB 5 K HR

Corpus Christi Hooks 7 NW Arkansas Naturals 2

After starter Scott Blewett pitched six and one-third innings with just a run allowed, the Naturals bullpen gave things up. Reliever Franco Terrero after tossing a scoreless final two outs in the seventh and a scoreless eighth struggled in an attempt to close out the ninth, giving up a leadoff double and a single sandwiched around an error by third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez. The Naturals would turn to Bryan Brickhouse, but after the right-hander got one out, the inning got out of hand with him giving up a single and back to back home runs to Yordan Alvarez and Lorenzo Quintana to hand the Naturals in a 7-2 loss.

Khalil Lee: 2-5 CS, 2K
Jecksson Flores: 3-4 2R, 2-2b
Scott Blewett: 6.1 IP 6 H 1 R 1 ER 2 BB 4 K 8-2 GO-FO 85p/55k

Game 1 Omaha Storm Chasers 7 Nashville Sounds 0
Game 2 Omaha Storm Chasers 6 Nashville Sounds 3

A day after the bullpen was forced into plenty of action after a starting pitcher injury the Chasers got exactly what they needed from Jake Kalish with the lefty spinning seven shutout innings to save the bullpen. The Chasers offense rewarded him with seven runs including a pair of home runs from Cheslor Cuthbert and Nicky Lopez that accounted for five of the team’s runs.

The second game was more of the same for the Chasers with the offense knocking out 10 hits including home runs from Ryan O’Hearn and Humberto Arteaga in this one. Four singles in the first inning helped to three Omaha runs with O’Hearn driving in Donnie Dewees with a single. In the fifth O’Hearn connected on his 11th home run to start the inning before Arteaga expanded the lead to 6-0 with a two-run job. After Eric Stout tossed three and two-thirds innings scoreless the Sounds got three runs off Michael Mariot and Jake Newberry to trim the lead in half but Newberry got the final outs to secure the win.

Nicky Lopez: 3-7 2R, HR, 2 RBI, BB
Cheslor Cuthber: 2-3 HR, 3 RBI
Ryan O’Hearn: 2-6 2R, HR, 2 RBI

Bluefield Blue Jays 6 Burlington Royals 2

The Royals ruined a nice start to their game with pitcher Austin Cox twirling beautiful baseball over his three and two-thirds innings. The lefty put away nine hitters via strikeout in that time with two walks and one hit allowed. When he left the Royals had a 2-0 lead thanks to Juan Carlos Negret’s second home run of the season. Left-hander Marlin Willis couldn’t match the effort though with six hits and six runs allowed from the fifth through seventh innings, more than enough to put away the good guys as the Royals went scoreless the after the home run.

Austin Cox: 3.2 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 2 BB 9 K 2-0 GO-FO 62p/36k
Marlin Willis: 2.2 IP 6 H 6 R 6 ER 2 BB 3 K
Juan Carlos Negret: 1-3 HR 2 RBI

Monday Boxscores

Tuesday Probables
Omaha – Glenn Sparkman 7-2 3.44 ERA 1.23 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Foster Griffin 3-9 6.38 ERA 1.65 WHIP
Wilmington – Gerson Garabito 3-6 4.05 ERA 1.45 WHIP
Lexington – Yefri Del Rosario 0-3 8.44 ERA 1.94 WHIP
Idaho Falls – J.C. Cloney 3-0 1.35 ERA 0.75 WHIP
Burlington – Elvis Luciano 0-2 4.15 ERA 1.27 WHIP

BPKC Hitter of the Day: MJ Melendez 3-4 2R, HR, 1-2 CS-Att

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Janser Lara 4 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 7 K 1-1 GO-FO 64p/40k

Lexington Legends 4 Greenville Drive 3

The Legends homered their way to a series win over the Red Sox Low-A squad on Tuesday. Starter Andres Sotillet generated groundballs getting nine in five innings but also gave up a single tally in the first three innings after allowing seven hits including a solo home run in the third. Piggyback partner Janser Lara entered in the sixth and kept Greenville’s offense static the rest of the way while the Lexington offense powered their way back even. In the seventh Ricky Aracena unloaded on a home run to trim the deficit to one run, it was just Aracena’s fourth career home run but a no-doubt shot that landed some 377 feet away and cleared the left field bleachers. An inning later a double by Dennicher Carrasco allowed MJ Melendez to score from first base to tie the game up. In the ninth Lara worked around a pair of hits and a walk with the help of a Melendez caught stealing, sending the game to the home half where he as awarded with a win thanks to the bat of Cal Jones. The Alabama outfielder hitting just .162 tagged a ball to left into the left-field stands to walk the game off for Lexington.

Cal Jones 1-4 HR
Ricky Aracena 1-4 HR
Seuly Matias 0-4 K

NW Arkansas Naturals 4 Arkansas Travelers 2 F/10

NW Arkansas couldn’t continue their team run of 10 hit games going but they did receive some excellent pitching which allowed the offense time to do enough in extras to win the game. Starter Foster Griffin led the way on this night, working around eight hits and a walk while giving up two runs over seven innings. Four of the hits allowed by Griffin came in the seventh when Arkansas got a pair of infield hits in front of a line drive to left to even the game but  Anderson Miller’s assist at the plate on the trail runner kept the game even. The Naturals bullpen of Jake Newberry and Luis Vazquez kept the Trevelers off the board from the eighth on, getting six strikeouts over that time. Despite a free runner in the tenth, the Naturals had two runners tossed out trying to advance to third base. With two outs and a runner on second for the third time in the inning catcher, Nick Dini took the game in his own hands walking it off with his first Double-A home run of the season.

Nick Dini 1-4 HR, 2 RBI
Nicky Lopez 2-3 3b
Jake Newberry 2 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 4 K 1-1 GO-FO

New Orleans Baby Cakes 16 Omaha Storm Chasers 0

A position player pitched in this one, enough said.

Frank Schwindel 1-3 BB
Ryan O’Hearn 1-4
Josh Staumont 1 IP 2 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 2 K 1-0 GO-FO 25p/15

Tuesday Boxscores

Wednesday Probables
NW Arkansas – Zach Lovvorn 1-2 4.85 ERA 1.85 WHIP
Wilmington Gm1 – Jace Vines 1-5 7.08 ERA 1.81 WHIP
Wilmington Gm2 – Anthony Bender 1-1 4.81 ERA 1.85 WHIP