BPKC Hitter of the Day: Brewer Hicklen 3-5 R, 2b, 3 RBI, 3 SB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Marcelo Martinez 6 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 3 BB 6 K 8-1 GO-FO 95p/67k

Lexington Legends 6 Lakewood BlueClaws 5 F/10

Starter Charlie Neuweiler gave up four runs in just four and one-third innings as he lost a 3-0 lead that the offense had given him. It was a bunt that scored Brewer Hicklen that gave Lexington a 1-0 lead before his double down the line in the third pushed the advantage to 3-0. After a two-run blast off Neuweiler gave up the lead Lexington put up a pair on a Cristian Perez single and a throwing error that scored Cal Jones after his steal. The game went to extras after the Phillies farm club scored in the eighth but Hicklen drove in the free runner in the tenth with a single prior to Garrett Suchey working a scoreless tenth for the win.

Nick Pratto: 1-5 2R, 2K, SB (19)
Ricky Aracena: 2-2 R
Charlie Neuweiler: 4.1 IP 5 H 4 R 4 ER 2 BB 2 K HR 5-4 Go-FO 81p/53k

Down East Wood Ducks 5 Wilmington Blue Rocks 1

It’s nine in a row in the loss column for Wilmington after Monday’s loss. The Rocks offense let the team down on this night, going 0-8 with runners in scoring position to limit them to just a single run. The Rangers High-A club had plenty of baserunners with eight hits off Dan Tillo along with a pair of walks, scoring two runs in the second and another pair in the fifth to tag him with the loss.

Dan Tillo: 6 IP 8 H 4 R 4 ER 2 BB 2 K 8-2 GO-FO 94p/52k
Rudy Martin: 1-3 BB, K, 3 SB
Emmanuel Rivera: 1-2 2BB

Burlington Royals 2 Danville Braves 0

Marcelo Martinez had his stuff working on this night to give the Royals a quality start. The lefty worked six shutout innings with three singles and three walks allowed, only allowing a runner to get to second base with two outs in the sixth inning before retiring the Braves. That work was enough to earn the win after Michael Emodi drove in a run in the second and Freddy Fermin singled in another in the third to build the lead before the rain came and wiped out the final innings.

Michael Emodi: 1-3 2b, RBI
Montae Bradshaw: 1-2 2b
Freddy Fermin: 1-2 R, RBI, BB, CS

Monday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Kelvin Gutierrez 3-3, 2R, HR, 3 RBI, BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Arnaldo Hernandez 9 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 6-8 GO-FO, 97p/80k

Hagerstown Suns 8, Lexington Legends 3

Starter Charlie Neuweiler was roughed up for the second start in a row as the right-hander couldn’t make it out of the second inning. Neuweiler gave up a run just two batters in when he gave up a single to the leadoff hitter and quickly moved him to third with a balk and a wild pitch. The very next hitter drove him in with a single to tie up the game 1-1. Three singles, a walk and a hit by pitch forced Neuweiler out of the game with just one out in the second inning as the club gave up five runs to dig a hole the offense couldn’t escape. The lineup couldn’t get much going outside of Nick Pratto’s big night at the plate, going 3 for 4 with hit 10th home run of the season while driving in the three Legends runs.

Nick Pratto: 3-4, HR, 2b, 3 RBI
Kyle Isbel: 2-4, 2R
MJ Melendez: 0-4, 2K

Lynchburg Hillcats 4, Wilmington Blue Rocks 0

Wilmington lost their second in a row to the Indians High-A club, with the offense going on hiatus. Lynchburg starter Sam Hentges limited the Rocks to just two hits and two walks over 6.1 innings as he struck out seven hitters. Just one more hit off the bullpen came for Wilmington as they were shut out. The lack of run support made starter Dan Tillo a loser despite a quality start of two runs over six innings for the lefty. A pair of two-out RBI hits in the third inning gave Lynchburg the two runs off Tillo and two more came later off the bullpen.

Dan Tillo: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 6-6 GO-FO, 91p/58k
D.J. Burt: 1-3, BB, SB
Julio Pinto: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1-1 GO-FO, 10p/8k

NW Arkansas Naturals 8, Midland RockHounds 0

Lefty Emilio Ogando kept his great run of pitching going on Wednesday during a blowout Naturals game. The Naturals piled up four singles with an error in the third to jump out to a 3-0 lead before a pair of home runs blew the doors wide open. In the third inning Alex Liddi homered behind a Kelvin Gutierrez single; an inning later it was Gutierrez tagging his fifth home run with two on base to push the score to 8-0. Those runs were plenty for Ogando who increased his scoreless streak to 24 innings with six shutout frames, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out six. Reliever Yunior Marte tossed the final three innings perfectly to secure the save.

Yunior Marte: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 5-3 GO-FO, 27p/20k
Emilio Ogando: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 8-3 GO-FO, 95p/63k
Nick Heath: 2-3, R, 2b, 2 BB

Omaha Storm Chasers 3, Oklahoma City Dodgers 1

One start after taking a perfect game into the sixth, Arnaldo Hernandez was about as efficient as one could be during a complete game victory. The right-hander pounded the strikezone with a ridiculous 80 strikes on 97 pitches over nine innings while working around five hits with six strikeouts. The Chasers offense backed him with 10 hits and three runs to earn the win including the eighth home run of the season by Jack Lopez to push the lead to 3-1 in the sixth inning.

Jack Lopez: 1-3, HR, BB
Frank Schwindel: 2-3, 2b, RBI, BB
Billy Burns: 3-4, R, RBI

Idaho Falls Chukars 6, Billings Mustangs 0

Another double-digit strikeout performance for Kris Bubic as the former Stanford lefty put away 10 hitters for the second time in three starts for Idaho Falls. Working five scoreless innings, Bubic allowed just two singles and a walk while tossing 50 strikes on 80 pitches. The Chukars broke a scoreless tie in the sixth with a pair of doubles by Reed Rohlman and Jose Caraballo to lead to two runs. An RBI single by Nathan Eaton an inning later would tack on another to make it 3-0 Idaho Falls. The Chukars added three more runs in the ninth with a hit by pitch and four singles. Those runs were plenty for Tyler Gray as the fellow 2018 draftee tossed the final four innings with just one hit allowed, striking out six to earn the save.

Kris Bubic: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K, 2-2 GO-FO, 80p/50k
Tyler Gray: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1-3 GO-FO, 57p/33k
Jose Caraballo: 2-5, R, 2b, 2 RBI

Wednesday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Jeison Guzman 3-6 2R, HR, 3 RBI, 2 SB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Julio Pinto 1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 3 K 14p/11k 

Columbia Fireflies 6 Lexington Legends 3

For the second day in a row Legends pitchers struggled to keep the ball in the yard against the Mets Low-A squad. Starter Holden Capps gave up two runs in four innings, giving up a solo home run in the third inning. Reliever Sal Biasi replaced Capps, trailing 2-1 after four innings, but struggled in his two innings with five hits allowed including a pair of home runs putting Lexington in a 6-1 hole. In the seventh inning, shortstop Cristian Perez drove in a pair of runs with a single to cut the deficit in half but they could get no closer in the loss. The Legends have dropped the first five games of the second half.

MJ Melendez: 3-5 2b, 3b
Nick Pratto: 3-5 R, 2b
Seuly Matias: 0-3 R, BB, HBP

Wilmington Blue Rocks 6 Lynchburg Hillcats 5

The Rocks didn’t collect many hits on Monday but they made the most of what they had. With just six singles, three of those accounted for four runs with two hits accounting for three runs in the second inning prior to a wild pitch that scored the fourth run in the frame. Starter Dan Tillo struggled with his control, walking four in five innings while allowing two runs (1 ER) against five strikeouts. Right-hander Arnaldo Hernandez gave up three runs in the sixth that left the game even at 5-5. Tied into the eighth inning, Nick Heath created his own offense, walking, then stealing second and third base. During the steal of third, a ball got away from the Lynchburg pitcher which allowed Heath to race home with the eventual winning run.

Dan Tillo: 5 IP 4 H 2 R 1 ER 4 BB 5 K 6-3 GO-FO 93p/55k
Khalil Lee: 0-4 3K
Gabe Cancel: 1-4 3K

Oklahoma City Dodgers 7 Omaha Storm Chasers 1

Starter Scott Barlow gave up six runs in three innings on seven hits to dig a hole that was too large for Omaha to get out of. The Chasers were limited to just five hits while the defense was uncharacteristically poor with three errors. The only run for Omaha came in the first inning on a wild pitch which allowed Donnie Dewees to score. The loss dropped the Chasers record to 12-10 for the month.

Donnie Dewees: 0-3 R, BB, SB (9)
Jorge Bonifacio: 1-3 BB
Frank Schwindel: 1-4

Orem Owlz 2 Idaho Falls Chukars 1

The Chukars lost the rubber game of their series with Orem in a rare Pioneer League low scoring game. Orem’s third baseman Tim Millard provided both runs, doubling in local product Nonie Williams with a first-inning double off second-round pick Jonathan Bowlan. That was the only run off Bowlan in his four innings as he was able to work around the other three hits he allowed. A Brady Cox single drove in the tying run in the second inning but Millard answered in the sixth inning with a solo home run off Marcelo Martinez. The Chukars got the tying run in scoring position with one out in three of the final four innings but failed to tie the game in the loss.

Kyle Isbel: 1-4 SB, K
Jonathan Bowlan: 4 IP 5 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 2 K 5-2 GO-FO 63p/44k
Marcelo Martinez: 4 IP 3 H 1 R 1 ER 2 BB 7 K 0-4 GO-FO 50p/34k

Burlington Royals 11 Danville Braves 10

The Royals surrendered a 6-1 lead to fall behind 10-6 before a five run seventh inning gave them their first win. Shortstop Jeison Guzman drove in a pair in the inning before stealing second and scoring on Jose Marquez’s two-run single. The final run came on a throwing error before Emmanuel Estevez locked down the final two innings to secure the win.

Angel Medina: 1-5 R, 3b, 2 RBI
Freddy Fermin: 2-5 2b, 2 RBI
Charlie Neuweiler: 5 IP 9 H 5 R 5 ER 1 BB 8 K 2 HR 2-2 GO-FO 91p/59k

Monday Boxscores

Tuesday Probables
Omaha – TBD
Wilmington – Jace Vines 2-8 5.94 ERA 1.75 WHIP
Lexington – Andres Sotillet 5-4 3.80 ERA 1.38 WHIP
Idaho Falls – Jon Heasley 0-0 0.00 ERA 1.33 WHIP
Burlington – Elvis Luciano 0-1 7.36 ERA

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Gabe Cancel 3-4 R, 2b, 2 RBI, 2BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Dan Tillo 5 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 4 BB 5 K 9-1 GO-FO 91p/47k

Lexington Legends 5 Rome Braves 5 Suspended/10

The Legends wrapped up their first half with a kiss your sister suspended game after ten innings tied with Rome 5-5. Lexington finished the first half tied for second place in the South Atlantic League South with a 37-31 record, 2.5 games behind the Rome Braves. Both Seuly Matias and catcher MJ Melendez had double digit home runs with Matias leading the league comfortably with 22 despite missing 12 of Lexington’s games. The other two All-Stars on the club, Sebastian Rivero, and Nick Pratto, struggled in June each hitting below .200. The clubs top starting pitcher during the 1st half was Andres Sotillet with a 5-3 record, 1.30 WHIP, and 2.98 ERA.

1st Half MVP – Seuly Matias .244/.314/.632 42R, 10-2b, 1-3b, 22-HR, 40 RBI 5 SB

Team Leading Average: Cristian Perez .376 27 games, Brewer Hicklen .311
Team Leading OBP: Hicklen .369
Team Leading SLG: Seuly Matias .632

Wilmington Blue Rocks 10 Winston-Salem Dash 1

The Blue Rocks finished off the first half with a thumping of the Dash, using a five run second inning on their way to a big win. The Rocks finished the 1st half 31-39 in fourth place, 7.5 games back of 1st place Potomac. The Rocks as a team finished in the upper half of on-base percentage but had a lesser than league average OPS with a bottom 1/4 finish in average and slugging. The team finished last in the league in strikeouts for the first half while the team ERA was towards the bottom of the league as well. Prior to his injury, Rudy Martin was pacing the team offensively before Khalil Lee took over with a .399 OBP thanks to 47 walks in 66 games. Overall, outfielder Kort Peterson led the offense with a .862 OPS while finishing the first half with the fourth most doubles in the league and the sixth best OPS. On the pitching side, Dan Tillo has become their best starting pitcher since his promotion six starts ago with a 1.27 WHIP and a 3.23 ERA. Reliever Bryan Brickhouse paced the bullpen with a league-leading 12 saves while striking out nearly 12.5 per 9 against a sub 1 WHIP thanks to just six hits allowed in 22.1 innings.

1st Half MVP – Kort Peterson .292/.365/.498 34R, 17-2b, 2-3b, 8-HR, 33 RBI

Team Leading Avg/OPS: Kort Peterson .292/.862
Team Leading OBP: Khalil Lee .399
Team Leading K/9 Starter: Ofreidy Gomez 8.2

NW Arkansas Naturals 4 Arkansas Travelers 3

The Naturals stayed alive in Texas League first half with a win over first-place Arkansas on Sunday with a walk-off win. With the game tied 2-2 into the eighth inning shortstop, Nicky Lopez connected on his first home run of the season, turning on an inside pitch and drive it out to right. In the ninth inning closer, Jake Newberry gave up a two-out single that scored the tying run. In the bottom half of the ninth inning, John Brontsema tried to score on an infield groundball by Donnie Dewees only to see him cut down at the plate. That play allowed Nathan Esposito to advance to third base though and from their, Erick Mejia walked it off for the Naturals with a single through the left side. With one game to play in the first half the Naturals and Tulsa Drillers are one game behind the Travelers.

Nicky Lopez: 1-3 HR, BB
Erick Mejia 3-5 2b, RBI
Elier Hernandez 1-4 2b

Reno Aces 8 Omaha Storm Chasers 6

Left-hander Jonathan Dziedzic couldn’t survive the first inning, giving up seven hits and seven runs to put his squad in a hole that they were unable to dig out of. Pitcher Arnaldo Hernandez, called up from Wilmington relieved Dziedzic, tossing four and one-third innings with just one unearned run allowed before turning things to the bullpen who put up three scoreless innings. The offense nearly came all the way back, scoring six runs on thirteen with infielder Ramon Torres helping pace the offense with two runs scored and another driven in.

Jorge Bonifacio: 1-3 R, 2b, 2 BB
Ramon Torres: 2-4 2R, 3b, RBI
Richard Lovelady: 2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 2 K 3-1 GO-FO 24p/17k

Idaho Falls 3 Ogden Raptors 1 – Suspended

Sunday Boxscores

Monday Probables
Omaha – Trevor Oaks 3-3 2.29 ERA 1.20 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Scott Blewett 4-4 5.40 ERA 1.58 WHIP
Idaho Falls Chukars Suspended Game
Idaho Falls Chukars Game 2 – Connor Mayes

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Cam Gallagher 3-5, R, 2-2b, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Dan Tillo 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 10-1 GO-FO, 82p/51k

Frederick Keys 5, Wilmington Blue Rocks 2

The Rocks will like to get out of their spacious home park after another night of limited offense. On Thursday, they went just 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position as they were unable to capitalize on seven hits and six walks, scoring just a run in the first inning and in the ninth. The lack of offense overshadowed another solid start from lefty Dan Tillo, the 2017 third round pick from Iowa Western. Making his third Carolina League start, Tillo struggled with his control early, walking three of the first six hitters he faced, but was able to navigate it with just one run allowed thanks to the groundballs that he’s so adept at creating. An error on a potential double-play ball when an Oli Nunez throw went wild allowed a Keys runner to score. From that point, Tillo found the zone, locked in and put away the next nine hitters he would face from the end of the second until two outs in the fifth when Ryan McKenna won a seven-pitch at-bat bat by lining the first hit against the Wilmington pitcher into leftfield. After the starter left the game, Wilmington’s Carter Hope couldn’t match the effort, allowing four runs (3 ER) on a wild pitch and bases-loaded double that scored all three runners. The Rocks offense couldn’t get much going following that hit, falling to 21-32 on the season.

Khalil Lee: 1-2, 2b, 2 BB, CS (1)
Xavier Fernandez: 2-4, R, 2b, RBI
Josh Mitchell: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1-0 GO-FO, 15p/11k

Frisco RoughRiders 7, NW Arkansas Naturals 0

Another rough start for Foster Griffin in a lopsided loss for NW Arkansas on Thursday. The former first round pick got knocked around for 10 hits and seven runs in just 5.1 innings including seven extra-base hits, two of which went for home runs. The last two times out now Griffin has given up 26 hits and 16 runs in just 12 innings of work, ballooning his ERA to 5.76 ERA on the season. Those runs were plenty to put away the Naturals who were held scoreless on seven hits and a walk as Frisco starter Richelson Pena tossed a complete game shutout.

Erick Mejia: 1-4
Nicky Lopez: 0-4
Elier Hernandez: 1-4

Oklahoma City Dodgers 9, Omaha Storm Chasers 6

The Chasers built a lead in the seventh inning, but the bullpen couldn’t stop walking hitters in a late loss. Lefty Jonathan Dziedzic hit a bump in the road in the second and third innings, giving up four straight hits in the second that scored two runs before a solo home run allowed in the third to fall behind 3-1. From there, the lefty straightened things out to get into the sixth with just those three runs allowed. The Chasers evened the game with back to back doubles in the sixth before the Omaha lineup scored three more in the seventh with a wild pitch that scored Adalberto Mondesi, before Ryan O’Hearn singled in a run, and Cam Gallagher’s double scored another to go up 6-3. Reliever Luis Vasquez struggled in the seventh, walking a pair as part of a two-run inning after Wily Peralta gave up a hit and a pair of walks. That small one run lead was given away in the eighth when Mike Broadway struggled, loading the bases with a pair of hit by pitches, a walk and a single in a four-run inning to put Omaha behind in the eventual loss.

Adalberto Mondesi: 1-4, 2R, BB, 2 K
Frank Schwindel: 4-5, R, 2b, SB
Ryan O’Hearn: 2-5, 2R, 2b, 2 RBI

Thursday Boxscores

Friday Probables
Omaha – Heath Fillmyer 3-4, 5.58 ERA, 1.66 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Zach Lovvorn 3-3, 5.09 ERA, 1.43 WHIP
Wilmington – Jace Vines 2-6, 5.43 ERA, 1.59 WHIP
Lexington Gm1 – Garrett Davila 3-1, 3.50 ERA, 1.31 WHIP
Lexington Gm2 – Janser Lara 1-2, 2.78 ERA, 1.24 WHIP

BPKC Hitter of the Day Elier Hernandez 3-4 2R, 2-2b, RBI, OF Assist

BPKC Pitcher(s) of the Day Andres Sotillet, Dan Tillo, Zach Lovvorn and Jon Dziedzic
25 IP 13 H 1 R 0 ER 4 BB 25 K 32 GO-6 FO

Lexington Legends 3 Asheville Tourists 0

A pair of Legends pitchers combined to shutout Asheville to even up their series at 1-1. Starter Andres Sotillet put together his third quality start in four chances, shutting out the Rockies farm club for six innings. A three-run fourth inning by Lexington saw the club get three of their six hits in the frame with Nick Pratto singling with one out prior to scoring on a Dennicher Carrasco double. An additional two runs were scored on a Sebastian Rivero single and a squeeze bunt by Marten Gasparini. That run support would be all the offense could give but also all that Sotillet and Holden Capps would need as the pair yielded just one free pass and worked around eight hits in the shutout win.

Seuly Matias 1-3 R, HBP
Nick Pratto 1-4 R, 2K
Andres Sotillet 6 IP 6 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 7 K 93p/62k 4-1 GO-FO

Wilmington Blue Rocks 6 Salem Red Sox 1

The Rocks did a little bit of everything in a comfortable win on Saturday against the Red Sox High-A club. Starter Daniel Tillo worked an outstanding six innings in his second start for the Rocks, moving through the first five innings without a hit allowed. The lefty wandered around the zone some, plunking three hitters and walking one in that time but his seven strikeouts allowed him to navigate any problems as he got through six with just two hits allowed. Wilmington’s offense matched his effort with a three-run second, getting a pair on a fielding error and another on a Khalil Lee rbi single. Two innings later Lee was driven in by Gabe Cancel on a rbi single to expand the lead to 4-0. Outfielder Kort Peterson would put up a couple of highlights late in the game, hitting a two-run home run in the sixth and stomping out a Salem rally in the eighth by tossing out Carlos Tovar from right field as he tried to advance to third base on a hit. After dropping the first six games these two played Wilmington has now won two in a row and will search for a series win in Sunday’s effort.

Khalil Lee 1-3 R, RBI, 2BB
Meibrys Viloria 2-3 R, BB
D.J. Burt 3-5 R, 2b, 2 SB (12)

NW Arkansas Naturals 6 Midland RockHounds 1

The Naturals countered Midland’s 19 hit effort from Friday night with outstanding pitching and big nights from a couple hitters in the middle of their lineup on Saturday. Starter Zach Lovvorn worked seven innings of one-run ball (0 ER) by turning to the worm burner as the righty helped create 13 groundouts while on the hill. Those groundouts limited Midland to just five hits and a pair of walks while he tossed in five strikeouts as a complement to his night. It was Elier Hernandez and Anderson Miller who helped back Lovvorn as the two corner outfielders combined for seven hits and three rbi. The 4 for 4 effort helped raise Miller’s average to .257 after a cold start to his season. For Hernandez, it was his third three-hit effort in his last four games played while the two doubles give him five extra-base hits in that time period. Reliever Franco Terrero worked the final two innings to push his scoreless streak to 8.1 innings.

Donnie Dewees 2-4 R
Anderson Miller 4-4 2b, 2 RBI
Zach Lovvorn 7 IP 3 H 1 R 0 ER 2 BB 5 K 13-1 GO-FO 97p/64k

Omaha Storm Chasers 2 Round Rock Express 1

Just like the other three minor league teams, the Chasers received outstanding starting pitching with Jonathan Dziedzic working six scoreless innings of two-hit ball. Only one of the two singles against the lefty advanced to second and neither got further than that as he worked an efficient 67 pitches, hitting the zone with 47 strikes while earning nine groundouts in an impressive performance. The Chasers offense didn’t provide a lot of backing but just enough with a first inning groundout from Frank Schwindel that scored Billy Burns after a leadoff double and a sixth inning solo home run by Adalberto Mondesi. Reliever Wily Peralta worked the final three innings to earn the save, yielding one run in the process.

Adalberto Mondesi 1-3 HR, SAC
Ryan O’Hearn 1-3
Billy Burns 1-2 R, 2b, BB, CS

Saturday Boxscores

Sunday Probables

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Travis Jones 4-8, 2R, 2b, HR, 4 RBI, SB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Jake Kalish 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 5-6 GO-FO, 70p/46k

Game 1 – Lexington Legends 6, West Virginia Power 4
Game 2 – Lexington Legends 7, West Virginia Power 6 – F/7

The Legends trailed 2-0 at the resumption of the suspended game on Sunday, but quickly dispersed of the deficit on their way to a win. Third baseman Dennicher Carrasco hit his fifth home run of the season in the second inning to quickly tie the game up. An inning later, Travis Jones drove in a run and later scored on an error off the bat of MJ Melendez. A pair of solo home runs off Collin Snider tied the game in the third and fourth innings before Jones quickly grabbed the lead back with a solo home run of his own in the fifth. Scoreless relief work by Julio Pinto and Tyler Zuber secured the win, while the Legends offense tacked on another run in the ninth with a Ricky Aracena RBI single. The win put Lexington a game over .500 for a moment.

The Legends took control of game two momentarily with a five-run fourth inning before getting a late hit for the doubleheader sweep. With the game tied 1-1 after three innings, Lexington put that five spot up with three consecutive hits with two out, getting a double from Cal Jones to score two runs prior to a two-run single by Julio Gonzalez and another RBI single from Travis Jones. Starter Janser Lara would struggle in the fourth, giving up two runs before lefty Robert Garcia would take over. Unfortunately, Garcia wouldn’t fare much better, allowing three runs in the sixth to tie the game. With the game tied and two outs in the final inning, an infield single by Brewer Hicklen would score Julio Gonzalez after his leadoff walk to give Lexington the lead and the eventual doubleheader sweep.

MJ Melendez: 1-8
Brewer Hicklen: 5-7, 2R, RBI, BB, 3 SB, CS
Dennicher Carrasco: 2-7, 3R, HR, 2 RBI, BB

Game 1 – Salem Red Sox 7, Wilmington Blue Rocks 3 – F/7
Game 2 – Salem Red Sox 7, Wilmington Blue Rocks 3 – F/7

The Rocks were swept in Salem for the second time this season as both starting pitchers struggled to silent the Red Sox bats. In game one, Arnaldo Hernandez gave up nine hits in just 4.1 innings while surrendering five runs in the process. That was more than enough as the Rocks put together just three runs in the second before going down without any damage the rest of the way as the top four in the order combined to go 0-12. In the second game, it was more of the same as Dan Tillo ran into trouble in the fifth inning of his first High-A start after being staked to a 3-1 lead. A two-out, base-clearing double from the Carolina League’s leading home run hitter, Bobby Dalbec, did the damage, scoring three runs and putting Tillo in line for the loss. The Sox tacked on three more off reliever Matt Wynne an inning later to put the game out of reach. All told, Salem combined for 21 hits in the two games to just nine for Wilmington.

Dan Tillo: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 8-1 GO-FO, 91p/55k
Khalil Lee: 0-3, 3 BB, K, HBP, SB (10)
Kort Peterson: 2-7, R, 2b, 2 RBI, K

Game 1 – NW Arkansas Naturals 6, Springfield Cardinals 3 – F/7
Game 2 – NW Arkansas Naturals 4, Springfield Cardinals 1 – F/7

The Naturals offense got back on track Sunday after being shut down the previous night, knocking around the Cardinals pitching for six runs prior to a long rain delay. Those six runs came with three consecutive two-run innings as they leaned on a singles barrage, hitting eight of them in those three innings while also reaching base with three walks and a hit by pitch in that time. Reliever Walker Sheller worked 2.1 scoreless before getting help from Jake Newberry to close things out. In game two, the Naturals received a three-run first inning home run by Alex Liddi along with some solid pitching by Jake Kalish in a spot start opportunity to sweep the Cardinals. The left-hander worked five innings of one-run ball before turning things over to Michael Mariot who earned the save with the Naturals by working two perfect innings.

Foster Griffin: 4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 5-2 GO-FO, 67p/43k
Jecksson Flores: 2-6, 2R, HR, BB
Nicky Lopez: 2-5, R, 2 RBI, BB

Iowa Cubs 3, Omaha Storm Chasers 2

The Chasers were unable to finish the series off with a win Sunday despite an early 2-0 lead. It was a second inning solo home run by Ryan O’Hearn that gave Omaha their lead before a sac fly by Frank Schwindel an inning later pushed it to 2-0. Starter Trevor Oaks spun six shutout innings to keep that lead into the seventh, but an error opened the door in that frame. Following a one-out hit by pitch, shortstop Humberto Arteaga made a throwing error on a possible double play ball that kept both runners safe and opened the door for the Cubs. A single loaded the bases and following a strikeout, Mike Freeman singled to center to tie the game up. The Chasers last eight hitters in the game went down in order and Freeman came through again, connecting on a walk-off single against lefty Eric Stout to split the four game series.

Ryan O’Hearn: 1-4, HR, 2K
Manny Olloque: 1-3, R
Trevor Oaks: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 11-5 GO-FO, 98p/60k, 1 HBP

Sunday Boxscores

Monday Probables
Omaha – Jonathan Dziedzic (lhp) 1-5, 3.66 ERA, 1.31 WHIP
NW Arkansas – TBD
Wilmington – Jace Vines 2-5, 6.10 ERA, 1.69 WHIP
Lexington – Nolan Watson 2-4, 7.34 ERA, 1.79 WHIP

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Nick Pratto 3-4 HR, 4 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Grant Gavin 2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 4 K 0-2 GO-FO 31p/20k 

Lexington Legends 7 Delmarva Shorebirds 4

The Legends offense enjoyed their return to home Wednesday morning, taking it out on the Orioles Low-A squad with a pair of home runs. Following a run allowed in the first by starter Dan Tillo, the Legends staked their hard luck lefty to a lead with a three-run blast by Brewer Hicklen in the second inning. The ball cleared the batter’s eye in center, his second of the season for the former UAB star. First baseman Nick Pratto would get his day going in the third inning with a single before driving in Jeison Guzman two innings later to push the score to 4-1. A pair of solo home runs off Tillo in the sixth and seventh inning would close the gap to 4-3 but Pratto would answer with a three-run home of his own, a majestic blast that would easily clear the tall right-field wall to expand Lexington’s lead to 7-3. Those runs were more than enough to earn Tillo his first victory of the season while snapping the Legends three game losing streak.

Brewer Hicklen: 1-4 HR, 3 RBI, 2K
Seuly Matias: 0-4 R, 2 K
Sebastian Rivero: 1-4 R

Potomac Nationals 5 Wilmington Blue Rocks 1

The Rocks offense was punchless in the series finale against Potomac while the pitching staff’s problems with Juan Soto remained. Outfielder Kort Peterson doubled on a line drive to left field in the first inning and came home two hitters later on Khalil Lee’s groundout. From there the offense went missing, walking four times but failing to get a hit for the rest of the game. The Nats quickly tied the game in the second inning getting three consecutive singles off starter Jace Vines. Tied until the fifth inning Vines faced off against Nats top prospect Juan Soto with one out and two on. The prospect that is quickly rising up the charts connected on his sixth home run against the Royals organization, clearing the right-field fence to put Potomac up 4-1. Two more singles and a groundout pushed the advantage to 5-1 which with the Wilmington offense on lockdown would be more than enough to put the game away and hand Vines his fifth loss on the season.

Kort Peterson: 1-4 R, 2b
Khalil Lee: 0-4 RBI
Meibrys Viloria: 0-1 2BB

Iowa Cubs 4 Omaha Storm Chasers 2

The Chasers offensive struggles continued Wednesday afternoon as their former teammate Alec Mills limited them to just two run over six and two-thirds innings. The 1 for 6 effort with runners in scoring position held Mills outing together after the Chasers had multiple runners on in the third and fourth before he righted the ship to breeze through the final two plus innings. On the other side, Trevor Oaks struggled with his command again walking four hitters in back to back starts for the first time in his career while hitting the zone with just 60 of 109 pitches. The walks and seven hits allowed yielded three runs against Oaks before the bullpen let in another to drop the Chasers sixth consecutive game.

Trevor Oaks: 5 IP 7 H 3 R 3 ER 4 BB 2 K 7-3 GO-FO 109p/60k

Cam Gallagher: 3-4 RBI
Hunter Dozier: 1-3 BB

Wednesday Boxscores

Thursday Probables
Omaha – Jonathan Dziedzic 0-4 3.53 ERA 1.29 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Foster Griffin 2-3 3.72 ERA 1.45 WHIP
Wilmington – Ofreidy Gomez 1-2 4.87 ERA 1.87 WHIP
Lexington – 0-1 2.20 ERA 0.92 WHIP

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Nick Dini 3-4 2R, 2b, RBI, BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Dan Tillo 6.1 IP 1 H 3 R 3 ER 3 BB 10 K 6-2 GO-FO

Columbia Fireflies 4 Lexington Legends 3 F/10

Starter Dan Tillo took a no-hitter to the seventh inning for the second time this year only to make a mistake that cost him a chance at a win. The lefty was dominant early, striking out the first nine hitters he faced as he showed his low 90s control while working his slider in and away. The Fireflies started to make contact in the fourth frame, but Tillo continued to put them down, taking his no-hitter into the seventh with just a walk allowed in that time. Despite this pitching effort, the offense wasn’t creating any separation, getting no-hit on their own until the sixth when they finally broke through with a Travis Jones single to break up the dual no-no’s and giving Lexington a 1-0 lead. One inning later, Seuly Matias pushed the advantage to 2-0 with his eighth home run of the season. With that 2-0 lead, Tillo got a quick groundout to start the seventh frame before he lost the strike zone, walking a pair and elevating his pitches more than he had in the previous innings. With two on, Tillo elevated a pitch to left-handed Quinn Brody and he did the rest, driving it out the opposite way for Columbia’s first hit on the night, giving them a 3-2 lead in the process, and ending Tillo’s night. The game remained a one-run deficit until the ninth when Nick Pratto unloaded on his third home run of the season to tie the game and send it into extra innings. The Legends free baserunner, Jeison Guzman, made a baserunning mistake in the tenth before Columbia doubled to end the game with just their second hit of the affair.

Seuly Matias: 1-4 HR
Nick Pratto: 1-4 HR
Josh Mitchell: 1.2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 3 K 1-1 GO-FO

Potomac Nationals 12 Wilmington Blue Rocks 2

Starter Cristian Castillo’s struggles continued with the lefty watching his ERA balloon to nearly nine after a seven-run three-inning effort. Nationals talented prospect Juan Soto kept his hit parade going with two home runs, his fourth and fifth against the Royals organization in just the nine games against this season. The talented outfielder and possibly Top-10 overall prospect has nine home runs in just 25 games this season while hitting .375 across the Low-A and High-A levels. The Rocks managed just five hits in this one with three coming from Kort Peterson while struggling with runners in scoring position again in the loss.

Khalil Lee: 1-3 RBI, BB
Kort Peterson: 3-5
Emmanuel Rivera: 0-4

NW Arkansas Naturals 9 Springfield Cardinals 2

Starter Glenn Sparkman continued his solid season, working a career-high innings in this one while continuing his walkless run. The right-hander worked eight innings, allowing just two runs (1 ER) on five hits while pounding the zone with 69 strikes on 96 pitches. With those pitches, he earned a season-high thirteen groundouts while pushing his streak of work without a walk allowed this season to 27.1 innings. The offense gave Sparkman the win for his solid effort, pounding out 13 hits with three hit efforts from Nicky Lopez and Nick Dini to push across nine runs in the win.

Nick Dini: 3-4 2R, 2b, RBI
Nicky Lopez: 3-5 2R, 3b, RBI
Glenn Sparkman: 8 IP 5 H 2R 1 ER 0 BB 2 K 13-8 GO-FO 96/69k

Omaha Storm Chasers 6 Iowa Cubs 4

The Chasers struggled with runners in scoring position, going just 3 for 17 in this one, but they did enough to earn a series victory in Des Moines. Infielder Ramon Torres singled in Omaha’s first run after an Adalberto Mondesi sac bunt pushed Humberto Arteaga into scoring position. An inning later it was Arteaga doing to the work with a RBI single to bring in Paulo Orlando after his leadoff double. Home runs by Frank Schwindel and Mondesi gave Omaha their fourth and fifth runs over the next two innings. Those homers came in handy after starter Trevor Oaks ran into some trouble in the fifth with a three-run home run allowed of his own that trimmed the Omaha lead. Oaks would leave the damage there after six innings before the two clubs swapped single runs before Jason Adam shut the door for his second save of the season.

Adalberto Mondesi: 2-4 HR, 2 RBI, SB (3)
Bubba Starling: 2-3 SB (1)
Jason Adam: 1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 3 K 11p/9k

Thursday Boxscores

Friday Probables
Omaha – Jon Dziedzic (lhp) 0-3 2.10 ERA 1.23 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Foster Griffin (lhp) 2-2 2.96 ERA 1.36 WHIP
Wilmington – Jace Vines 1-4 8.06 ERA 1.84 WHIP
Lexington – TBD

BPKC Hitter of the Day Dennicher Carrasco 2-3 2R, HR, 2 RBI, SB (2)

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Heath Fillmyer 6 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 6 K 4-5 GO-FO 87p/58k

Hagerstown Suns 9 Lexington Legends 7

The Legends received six and one-third innings of no-hit ball from their starting pitcher only to watch their bullpen cough things up late in the game. The offense combined for seven runs on twelve hits as Nick Pratto and Dennicher Carrasco helped pace the club to their early lead. Starter Dan Tillo put up another good start as he continued to pile up the groundouts, collecting 15 in his seven innings of work. The Iowa Western lefty only struckout two hitters on the day but kept the ball down as he does naturally, to get through those six innings no-hit. In the seventh Tillo gave up a lazy pop up in shallow right-center that the Legends had surrounded before it fell for a double before Carrasco played ole with a ball that also accounted for a double to plate Tillo’s second run allowed in his seven innings of work, leaving with a 5-2 lead. Reliever Julio Pinto did that lead in quickly with three hits and a walk allowed in his two-thirds of an inning. The offense took the lead back briefly but Sal Biasi would give up a grand slam in the ninth that would prove too large of a lead to overcome for the offense.

Dan Tillo 7 IP 2 H 2 R 2 ER 3 BB 2 K 15-2 GO-FO 84p/49k
Nick Pratto 3-5 2R, 2b, RBI
Dennicher Carrasco 2-3 2R, HR, 2 RBI

Wilmington Blue Rocks 2 Frederick Keys 0

The Rocks received a quality pitching effort from their staff and just did enough on offense to earn another win against Frederick. Starter Arnaldo Hernandez spun six innings of four-hit ball, giving up a pair of free passes but keeping the Orioles club off the board thanks to some good outfield defense by Rudy Martin. A third-inning steal and wild pitch pushed D.J. Burt to third where he scored from on Emmanuel Rivera’s infield single. Reliever Grant Gavin struggled with his control in the seventh, walking three, but getting a big two bases-loaded strikeout to end the threat. Another infield single scored a run in the seventh for Wilmington prior to Gavin and Bryan Brickhouse keeping the Keys off the board for the final three innings.

Bryan Brickhouse 1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 1 K 1-1 GO-FO 16p/10k
Meibrys Viloria 2-4
Khalil Lee 0-3 BB, K

NW Arkansas Naturals 4 Tulsa Drillers 1

Emilio Ogando navigated around four walks in five innings, allowing just a solo home run before yielding to Yunior Marte and Jake Newberry in a Naturals win. The Naturals offense which has struggled early in the year pushed four runs across in the first two innings with Elier Hernandez doubling in a run in the first and Erick Mejia tripling in another in the second. From there they went scoreless but it wouldn’t matter after Ogando and Marte did the bulk of the work. It was Marte tossing three relief innings, striking out five in that time against just a walk and a single allowed for the right-hander. Closer Jake Newberry secured the ninth for his third save.

Samir Duenez 0-4 RBI
Yunior Marte 3 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 5 K 1-1 GO-FO 47p/32k
Nicky Lopez 2-4 R, RBI

Omaha Storm Chasers 5 Memphis Redbirds 0

Starter Heath Fillmyer spun another good start for the Chasers to earn his first victory as a member of the organization. The right-hander limited a pretty potent Cardinals org lineup to just three singles and a walk. Pounding the zone with a 67% strike rate Fillmyer k’d six hitters, all swinging while collecting 15 swinging strikes in those six innings. Omaha’s struggling offense did enough with twelve hits and four walks to push across five runs, the last two coming via bases loaded walks issued by a struggling Redbirds reliever.

Ryan O’Hearn 1-2 RBI, 2 BB
Ramon Torres 3-4 R, 2-2b
Kevin Lenik 2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 K 4-0 GO-FO 22p/18k

Friday Boxscores

Saturday Probables
Omaha – Trevor Oaks 0-2 3.31 ERA 1.10 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Glenn Sparkman 1-1 3.72 ERA 1.03 WHIP
Wilmington – Cristian Castillo (lhp) 1-1 3.52 ERA 1.37 WHIP
Lexington – Andres Sotillet 0-1 1.93 ERA 1.29 WHIP