Saturday BPKC Hitter of the Day: Tyler James 3-4 4R, HR, BB, 2 SB
Saturday BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Foster Griffin 6.1 IP 7 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 5 K 4-5 GO-FO 80p/56k

Sunday BPKC Hitter of the Day: MJ Melendez 3-4 3b, 5 RBI, 2 BB
Sunday BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Daniel Lynch 5 IP 3 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 7 K 4-3 GO-FO 70p/49k

Gm 1 Lexington Legends 8 Kannapolis Intimidators 2
Gm 2 Lexington Legends 8 Kannapolis Intimidators 4

The Legends rode the back of a pair of good outings by their 1st round picks to sweep a doubleheader from the White Sox Low-A squad on Sunday. Starter Jackson Kowar gave Lexington four innings of one-hit ball, giving up a run in the second after allowing a one-out triple before the offense took off. The offense pounded out eight runs in the middle innings, getting four runs in the third on five hits before using three hits and three walks the next innings to add on three more. Lefty Garret Davila finished off the final three innings to earn the win. The second game featured lefty Daniel Lynch dominating for five innings, striking out seven hitters over that time with just three hits and a run allowed. With the lefty dominating, the offense did more than enough with 12 hits and eight runs, seven of which came in the first two innings. First baseman Nick Pratto led the way with three hits, three runs and driving in two more alongside MJ Melendez and his four RBI.

Nick Pratto: 3-7 3R, 2b, 2 RBI, BB
Seuly Matias: 4-7 2b, 3 RBI, 2K
Kyle Isbel: 4-8 3R, RBI, 2K

Saturday Wilmington Blue Rocks 5 Myrtle Beach Pelicans 4
Sunday Myrtle Beach Pelicans 3 Wilmington Blue Rocks 0

The Rocks and starter Andres Sotilett managed to work around quite a few baserunners and earn a win Saturday night. Wilmington used three singles in the second inning to counter a two-run Myrtle Beach first frame to take a one-run lead. The Pelicans threatened plenty against Sotillet, collecting 10 hits in his six innings but just four runs crossed and the Rocks manufactured runs in the fifth and seventh to take the win. During Sunday’s game, Wilmington managed just four hits while going 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position to get shutout. The Pelicans scored a pair off starter Ofreidy Gomez in his six innings before adding another off Bryan Brickhouse in the loss.

Oliver Nunez: 3-5 2R, RBI, 2 BB, 3 SB
Emmanuel Rivera: 2-7 BB
Blake Perkins: 2-9 CS, 3K

Saturday NW Arkansas Naturals 6 Frisco RoughRiders 2
Sunday NW Arkansas Naturals 13 Frisco RoughRiders 2

The Naturals swept Frisco over the weekend, outscoring the Rangers farm club 31-5 during the three-game series. Saturday’s game featured Foster Griffin’s fifth quality start in a row while winning his fifth decision in a row as the lefty tossed six and one-third innings of one-run ball. A pair of three-run home runs by Erick Mejia and Alex Liddi would be all the Naturals would need with Griffin and Walker Sheller limiting Frisco. All nine Naturals hitters reached base at least once during the Sunday blowout as the club scored 13 runs with 14 hits and seven walks. Newly acquired third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez reached base all five times with three hits and a pair of walks while Liddi drove in four runs in the win.

Kelvin Gutierrez: 3-5 2R, 4 BB
Alex Liddi: 4-9 2R, 2b, HR, 7 RBI
Foster Griffin: 6.1 IP 7 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 5 K 4-5 GO-FO 80p/56k

Sunday Susp. Omaha Storm Chasers 4 Round Rock Express 3
Sunday Round Rock Express 5 Omaha Storm Chasers 3 F/7

The Saturday game was suspended in the middle innings and resumed on Sunday with the Chasers scoring a pair of runs for the win. Outfielder Paulo Orlando homered in the seventh to even things up before an error on a force attempt to get Terrance Gore out allowed him to score from second to take the lead. Reliever Jake Newberry finished off the ninth inning to secure the save and drop his ERA to 0.95. Starter Travis Oaks couldn’t avoid trouble, allowing five runs on 10 hits and three walks. A three-run first inning put him behind after a leadoff walk and four consecutive singles pushed the runs across. After a pair of home runs by Luis Villegas and Frank Schwindel tied the game a pair of rbi hits off Oaks in the sixth put the Chasers down for good.

Frank Schwindel: 2-7 HR – 19 game hitting streak
Elier Hernandez: 2-3
Cam Gallagher: 2-3 2 RBI

Saturday Idaho Falls Chukars 12 Great Falls Voyagers 10
Sunday Idaho Falls Chukars 13 Great Falls Voyagers 4

After Great Falls came from behind for wins on Thursday and Friday against Idaho Falls, the Chukars turned the tables against them on Saturday. Trailing 8-3 after five innings, the Chukars bashed their way for nine runs over the next three frames to secure a lead and a win. Eight different Idaho Falls hitters combined for 16 hits and Jordan Floyd tossed the final three innings scoreless to earn the win. The offense kept on rolling during the Sunday game, piling on 15 hits in scoring 13 runs with six different hitters collecting at least two hits. Pitcher Jon Heasley earned his first win as he allowed just two hits in five innings as he earned 11 groundball outs during an efficient outing.

Jon Heasley 5 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 1K 11-1 GO-FO 54p/38k
Tyler James 5-9 7R, HR, K, 4 SB, 1 CS
Nathan Eaton 5-10 5R, 2b, 2-3b, 6 RBI, 3K

Saturday Burlington Royals 6 Pulaski Yankees 4
Sunday Gm1 Princeton Rays 3 Burlington Royals 2
Sunday Gm 2 Princeton Rays 12 Burlington Royals 4

The Royals received one of Elvis Luciano’s better starts since joining the org on Saturday on the way to a win. The right-hander worked five innings around four singles and a pair of walks giving up a run in the third when he plunked the leadoff hitter and gave up a two-out, run-scoring single. He was able to get around the traffic on the bases with six strikeouts. A big three-run home run by Jackson Lueck provided three runs in the fourth inning before a couple late insurance runs earned the win. During the first of two on Sunday, Juan Carlos Negret doubled in a pair in the first inning but the offense couldn’t add on and the Rays tied it up in the fifth with a two-run home run before uber prospect Wander Franco walked it off with a seventh-inning run-scoring single. The second game was lost early with Bryar Johnson getting tagged for five hits, four walks while giving up six runs before reliever Ismael Maldonado gave up seven more in a blowout.

Juan Carlos Negret: 3-10 2R, 2b, 2 RBI, SB, 3K
Jackson Lueck: 1-6 2R, HR, 3 RBI, BB
Elvis Luciano: 5 IP 4 H 1 R 1 ER 2 BB 6 K 4-3 GO-FO 86p/53

Saturday Boxscores
Sunday 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: Frank Schwindel 2-4, HR, 2b, 2 RBI, BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Jake Kalish 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K, 4-1 GO/FO, 95p/65k

Omaha Storm Chasers 6, Sacramento River Cats 2

Omaha’s Jake Kalish continued his impressive string of starts by setting a new career high with 10 strikeouts, beating the nine-strikeout mark he set his last time out. The left-hander amazingly has been far more consistent as a starter the last two seasons than he has from the pen, putting up a sub-3 ERA when he starts compared to an over 5 run ERA from the pen. On this night he pounded the zone with 65 strikes on 96 pitches, allowing a run in the first before finishing the final three innings perfect with four strikeouts. The offense staked him to a 3-1 lead with three singles around a Sacramento error. Infielder Nicky Lopez provided an RBI single in that frame while collecting four hits and scoring on Frank Schwindel’s 17th home run of the season. Reliever Richard Lovelady finished the final two innings perfect to earn his fifth save of the season.

Richard Lovelady: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1-3 GO-FO, 23p/15k
Nicky Lopez: 4-5, R, RBI
Donnie Dewees: 2-3, R, 2b, BB

Game 1 – NW Arkansas Naturals 4, Tulsa Drillers 0
Game 2 – Tulsa Drillers 8, NW Arkansas Naturals 1

The Naturals added three pitchers on rehab assignments in the last two days with Eric Skoglund making the start on Monday, while Blaine Boyer and Jesse Hahn pitched in Tuesday’s doubleheader. Starting the game, Boyer tossed just 13 pitches, walking the leadoff hitter before earning a pair of outs and handing the ball to Foster Griffin. The lefty left his struggling season behind him on this day, earning the win with an efficient 6.1 innings that saw him yield just two hits and a walk. The offense backed him up with a pair of home runs from Khalil Lee and Nick Dini while Kelvin Gutierrez added an RBI single. For Lee, it was the outfielder’s second Double-A home run, coming on the first pitch he saw, traveling 393 feet with an exit velocity of 103 mph. In game two, Jesse Hahn worked a quick inning giving up a bloop single before earning a double play and a 3-1 groundout. With just 10 pitches tossed, Hahn completed the rest of his work in the Naturals pen. In relief, new Naturals lefty Luis Lugo struggled, giving up a two-run home run and two other hits while walking two in just two-thirds of an inning. Things didn’t get better for Naturals pitching as the next three pitchers gave up at least one run while the offense couldn’t counter with a 0-6 effort with runners in scoring position.

Khalil Lee: 1-5, HR, HBP, 2 E
Foster Griffin: 6.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 5-5 GO-FO, 74p/45k
Nick Heath: 2-4, 2R, BB

Wilmington Blue Rocks 8, Salem Red Sox 6

The Rocks kept their winning ways going Tuesday night with a come from behind win in the first game of their series with Salem. Trailing 4-3 in the seventh inning, hot-hitting Meibrys Viloria tied the game up with an RBI single before a wild pitch allowed Emmanuel Rivera to score to give Wilmington a lead. An inning later, the Rocks put a firm grasp on the game with the Puerto Rican connection of Gabriel Cancel and Rivera doubling in runs following a D.J. Burt RBI single to give the Rocks an 8-4 lead. That was enough for the Rocks to hang onto and extend their winning streak to five games.

Gabriel Cancel: 1-2, 2R, 2b, RBI, 3 BB
Emmanuel Rivera: 3-5, R, 2b, 2 RBI
Meibrys Viloria: 2-4, R, 2 RBI

Elizabethton Twins 10, Burlington Royals 3

A pair of college bats in the Twins farm did in the Royals on this night as Trevor Larnach and Chris Williams combined for seven hits and seven RBI. Most of the damage came off 2017 draftee Bryar Johnson, with the right-hander giving up nine hits and seven runs in just 3.1 innings to take the defeat.

Juan Carlos Negret: 1-3, R, RBI, BB
Jose Marquez: 2-5, R, 2b, RBI
Jackson Lueck: 1-4, K

Missoula Osprey 6, Idaho Falls Chukars 5

The Chukars defense gave them trouble in their finale in Missoula. Defensive errors in the third inning keyed a three-run inning that gave the Diamondbacks rookie squad a 4-2 lead. The league’s second best offense countered to tie the game at 5-5 but a missed catch error by first baseman Nick Hutchins with two outs in the ninth allowed Missoula to walk things off for a win.

Nathan Eaton: 1-5, HR
Angel Medina: 2-4, 2R, 2b, HR, 2 RBI
Andres Martin: 2-3, 2 RBI

Tuesday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Manny Olloque 4-5 2-2b, HR, 3 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Austin Cox 5 IP 3 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 9 K 2-3 GO-FO 75p/52k

Greensboro Grasshoppers 11 Lexington Legends 10 F/11

The Legends built a big lead and received a quality start from young Yefri Del Rosario but the bullpen was unable to hang on to the lead in an extra-innings loss. The two teams slugged five home runs in the first five innings of this one with Manny Olloque breaking up the scoreless tie in the second with a three-run home run. Following a pair of solo efforts by Greensboro in the third inning, the Legends countered with a pair of home runs by Seuly Matias and Sebastian Rivero during a five-run inning that gave Lexington an 8-2 lead. That lead was built thanks to Del Rosario’s best outing since joining the club as the right-hander tossed six innings with the two solo home runs allowed among his five hits while striking out eight with just one walk. The bullpen of Collin Snider and Tad Ratliff couldn’t match Yefri’s outing with the two pitchers giving up six runs over the final two innings to send the game into extras. In the tenth, the two teams exchanged two runs innings before Greensboro scored a run in the eleventh that Lexington couldn’t counter in the loss.

Seuly Matias: 2-6 HR, 2K
Brewer Hicklen: 1-4 R, 2b, 2 RBI, BB
Yefri Del Rosario: 6 IP 5 H 2 R 2 ER 1 BB 8 K 2-4 GO-FO 84p/59k

Lynchburg Hillcats 4 Wilmington Blue Rocks 0

The Wilmington lineup was dominated by the Indians Eli Morgan as the Indians right-hander spun six innings of three hit ball while striking out 10 hitters. Wilmington starter Ofreidy Gomez kept pace with five shutout innings before a four run sixth handed him and his team a loss. Three consecutive singles started that frame before a bases loaded walk and a throwing error by Emmanuel Rivera opened the door to the multiple run inning. The Rocks failed to threaten the rest of the way in defeat.

Gabe Cancel: 0-4 3K
Emmanuel Rivera: 0-4 2K
Blake Perkins: 1-3 SB, Sac

Corpus Christi Hooks 9 NW Arkansas Naturals 2

The Naturals and Foster Griffin jumped out to a 2-0 lead through four and a half innings with an Alex Liddi solo home run and an RBI groundout in the fifth. Unfortunately, the lefty who fought his control most of the outing walked a pair before a single and a two out bases loaded double put him in a position to lose. The Astros Double-A squad piled on from there scoring six runs over the next three innings off the NW Arkansas pen to put the game away.

Foster Griffin: 4.2 IP 4 H 3 R 3 ER 5 BB 8 K 0-5 GO-FO 105p/58k
Khalil Lee: 0-4 K
Elier Hernandez: 1-4

Memphis Redbirds 4 Omaha Storm Chasers 3

With Glenn Sparkman in Kansas City, the Chasers were forced to use a bullpen start for another game. Each team collected nine hits, each of which had two with runners in scoring position, but Memphis did a tad more with their hits. The Cardinals Triple-A squad doubled in a run in the first inning before getting a run scoring single in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. After the Lopez’s, Jack and Nicky, drove in runs with singles in the second inning the teams remained tied until the sixth. In that frame, Josh Staumont gave up a solo home run and a one-out double that was converted into a run with a hit later in the inning gave Memphis a 4-2 lead. The Chasers got within a run with a Billy Burns solo home run and twice put runners in scoring position over the final two innings but failed to push them across in the loss.

Billy Burns: 2-4 HR, BB
Frank Schwindel: 1-4
Nicky Lopez: 1-5 2K

Burlington Royals 4 Greeneville Reds 2

The Royals 5th Round pick, Austin Cox continued his stellar start in Rookie ball despite failing to earn a decision. The lefty worked four perfect innings to start before three singles fell in during the fifth inning to break up his 10.2 innings scoreless streak. Despite that one run, Cox ended his day with 14 swinging strikes among his 52 strikes thrown while striking out nine in that time. The Royals loaded the bases in the sixth, getting a hit by a pitch and a walk to score two runs prior to a pair of runs scoring hits in the seventh to build a 4-1 lead that was enough to earn the win.

Rhett Aplin: 1-3 2R, 2BB
Brhet Bewley: 1-1 3BB, 2 SB
Marlin Willis: 2.2 IP 1 H 1 R 1 ER 2 BB 1 K 5-0 GO-FO 37p/18k

Orem Owls 7 Idaho Falls Chukars 5

Idaho Falls pitchers Jon Heasley and Domingo Pena couldn’t hang on to a 4-1 lead that the offense had handed them, giving up three in the fifth to tie the game before allowing three more in the loss. The Idaho Falls offense had plenty of opportunities with seven hits and six walks but went scoreless from the fourth through eighth innings to fall behind.

Kyle Isbel: 2-3 2 RBI, BB
Reed Rohlman: 2-4 R, 3b, RBI
Jon Heasley: 4.1 IP 5 H 3 R 2 ER 1 BB 5 K

Sunday Boxscores

Monday Probables
NW Arkansas – TBD
Wilmington – Gerson Garabito 3-6 4.05 ERA 1.45 WHIP
Lexington – Carlos Hernandez 5-3 3.76 ERA 1.20 WHIP
Burlington – Elvis Luciano 0-3 8.25 ERA 1.75 WHIP
Suprise – Angel Zerpa 1-2 3.77 ERA 1.05 WHIP

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Frank Schwindel 2-3 R, 2b, RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Foster Griffin 7 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 4 K 7-6 GO-FO 104p/68k

Lexington Legends 3 Columbia Fireflies 0

The Legends employed the bullpen in this one and they handled things quite well with Holden Capps, Jacob Condra-Bogan, and Andrew Beckwith tossing eight shutout innings before the rain came in for the save. On offense, wild pitches scored the Legends first two runs with Seuly Matias walking and coming in on a wild pitch in the second before Cristian Perez singled and scored on a wild pitch in the third inning. Infielder Dennicher Carrasco connected on his seventh home run of the season in the eighth inning. Left-hander Holden Capps struggled with the strikezone some during his spot start but tossed four innings before turning things to Condra-Bogan struckout three in his three innings before Beckwith tossed a scoreless eighth.

Cristian Perez: 1-4 R, SB (4) – 12 game hit streak
Seuly Matias: 2-2 R, 2BB, SB (4)
Nick Pratto: 1-3 BB

NW Arkansas Naturals 1 Arkansas Travelers 0

Two pitchers pulled the Naturals within a game of first place with a 1-0 shutout win on Monday. Left-hander Foster Griffin, after three abysmal starts, rebounded with seven innings of shutout work, working around four hits and a walk before giving way to Jake Newberry. The Naturals offense was kept at bay most of the game before Anderson Miller singled to left in the fifth inning to score Jecksson Flores who advanced to second after a single and an error by the Arkansas leftfielder. Reliever Jake Newberry earned his 11th save after navigating three hits over the final two innings.

Anderson Miller: 2-4 RBI
Nicky Lopez: 1-3 BB
Jake Newberry: 2 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 K 3-0 GO-FO 22p/16k

Omaha Storm Chasers 2 Albuquerque Isotopes 0

Much like the other two clubs, the Chasers received quality pitching with starter Jon Dziedzic tossing seven innings of shutout ball. The crafty lefty navigated five hits and a pair of walks, getting eight groundouts and striking out five to earn his third win of the season. The Chasers first baseman Frank Schwindel who is in the middle of another of his hot hitting stretches, hitting .390 with a 1.091 OPS over his last 20 games, connected on an RBI double to score Corey Toups before Logan Moon drove him in with a single to provide both runs in the seventh inning. Relievers Kevin Lenik and Brandon Maurer worked the final two innings to secure the win.

Jon Dziedzic: 7 IP 5 H 0 R 0 ER 2 BB 5 K 8-6 GO-FO 96p/61k
Adalberto Mondesi: 0-4 K
Ryan O’Hearn: 0-2 2K

Monday Boxscores

Tuesday Probables
NW Arkansas – Zach Lovvorn 3-4 5.65 ERA 1.54 WHIP
Wilmington Gm 1 – Dan Tillo 2-2 3.77 ERA 1.18 WHIP
Wilmington Gm 2 – Jace Vines 2-7 5.68 ERA 1.65 WHIP
Lexington – Janser Lara 1-3 3.57 ERA 1.39 WHIP

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, HR, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Arnoldo Hernandez 6.1 IP 3 H 2 R 2 ER 3 BB 8 K 2-6 GO-FO 97p/60k

Asheville Tourists 6 Lexington Legends 4

The Legends had a reliever struggle in relief of Janser Lara that put the game out of reach late in this one. It was the hard-throwing Lara that gave Lexington a solid start, working five innings with seven strikeouts against five hits and one walk. The only damage off Lara came in the fourth after Lexington had taken a 2-0 lead with a two-run triple from Brewer Hicklen. In that fourth Lara gave up a solo home run to Casey Golden, now tied with Seuly Matias for the home run lead, prior to a triple by Ryan Vilade to knot the game back up 2-2. That score held up until the seventh when reliever Sal Biasi struggled to end the inning, allowing five hitters to reach with two outs including a pair of run-scoring doubles as part of a four-run frame. The Legends would get a run back in the ninth via a Hicklen rbi groundout but the rally would end there in the loss.

Janser Lara 5 IP 5 H 2 R 2 ER 1 BB 7 K 0-5 GO-FO 84p/56k
Nick Pratto 2-4 2R, 2K
MJ Melendez 1-4 R, 2b

Wilmington Blue Rocks 4 Salem Red Sox 3

The Rocks received another quality start from Arnoldo Hernandez as the right-hander seemed to find a groove after giving up a home run to Bobby Dalbec. At that point in the game Hernandez had given up a pair of hits and not yet recorded a strikeout through one complete inning but from that point he got much more aggressive, striking out a season high. In addition to the strikeouts, Hernandez would yield just one more hit while working through six and one-third innings. A three-run third inning which featured an Oli Nunez two-run double and a rbi single by Khalil Lee to drive in Nunez had given Hernandez a lead to work with. That 3-2 lead was added to in the seventh with a wild pitch that scored Chris DeVito after the catcher tried to throw him out at third and tossed it away. The 4-2 lead was secured by Bryan Brickhouse with one and one-third innings of work despite the hard-throwing right-hander allowing his third hit of the season. Third baseman Emmanuel Rivera had to leave the game after an injury during a swing he made late in the game.

Khalil Lee 1-3 RBI, BB
Bryan Brickhouse 1.1 IP 1 H 1 R 1 ER 2 BB 2 K 0-1 GO-FO 34p/18k
Chris DeVito 2-3 2R, 2b

Midland RockHounds 11 NW Arkansas Naturals 3

This start for Foster Griffin didn’t go that well as the lefty was hit often and hit hard while he stayed aggressive in the zone for a bit too long. In seven inning Midland connected on sixteen hits which accounted for nine runs against Griffin despite him throwing 69 strikes on 90 pitches without walking a hitter. The Naturals couldn’t match that type of offensive night of their own, collecting nine hits and just three runs in a losing effort.

Foster Griffin 7 IP 16 H 9 R 8 ER 0 BB 6 K 4-3 GO-FO 90p/69k
Nicky Lopez 0-4 K
Donnie Dewees 1-5 R, 2b

Omaha Storm Chasers 11 Round Rocks Express 1

The Chasers had on of their largest offensive outputs of the season Friday night in Papillion, putting up 17 hits on the board while scoring 11 runs. A 4-1 game was broke open in the sixth when Round Rock turned to former major league pitcher Tim Lincecum. The Chasers quickly countered with three runs, getting a run on an error that scored Terrance Gore and a two-run home run by Frank Schwindel to push the advantage to 7-1. A reliever for Round Rock, Michael Roth, wouldn’t fare much better giving up three more runs with a two-run by Humberto Arteaga double mixed in to put the game well out of reach.

Adalberto Mondesi 1-4 2R, 2b, RBI, BB
Ryan O’Hearn 1-3 R
Cam Gallagher 3-4 2R, RBI, BB

Friday Boxscores

Saturday Probables
Omaha – Jonathan Dziedzic (lhp) 1-5 3.66 ERA 1.31 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Zach Lovvorn 2-3 5.87 ERA 1.54 WHIP
Wilmington – Dan Tillo (lhp) 1-2 4.70 ERA 1.28 WHIP
Lexington – Andres Sotillet 2-2 3.35 ERA 1.30 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

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Seuly Matias 2-4 2HR, 4 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Jon Dziedzic 7 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 8 K 8-2 GO-FO 96p/65k

Delmarva Shorebirds 9 Lexington Legends 5

Coming into this game Janser Lara was exhibiting better control, having walked fewer than 3 per 9 innings while showing off the good fastball and breaking ball combination to miss bats. That wasn’t the case on this night though as the Latin right-hander struggled with the zone, throwing just 39 strikes among his 70 pitches while walking three and allowing six hits in just three innings of work. It wasn’t a ton of hard contact with four of the five singles coming on the ground and the other as a soft line drive but the high pitch counts and the wild pitch and errors drove him out of the game early. Piggyback partner Andres Sotillet was also knocked around on his arrival into the game, allowing three runs on eleven hits over the final six innings. The closest the Legends got after the third inning was a three-run deficit in the eighth inning on Seuly Matias’s second two-run home run on the night.

Nick Pratto: 1-4 R, 2b
Jeison Guzman: 3-4 2R, HR
Brewer Hicklen: 2-4 2b

Carolina Mudcats 4 Wilmington Blue Rocks 3

Hard throwing Ofreidy Gomez struggled with the zone and threw a few too many hittable pitches in Carolina in game one of the series with the Mudcats. The right-hander that works in the low to mid 90s hit the zone with just 53 of 99 pitches, walked three and gave up six hits and four runs in four and two-thirds. Trailing 4-1 after a rain delay Emmanuel Rivera doubled to left-center to bring Wilmington within a run but Xavier Fernandez and Chris DeVito would fail to advance him home, ending the rally in the inning and eventually the game.

Emmanuel Rivera: 2-4 2b, 2 RBI
Khalil Lee: 1-4 2k, SB(7)
D.J. Burt: 1-4 R, BB

Tulsa Drillers 9 NW Arkansas Naturals 3

The Drillers got to Foster Griffin early and late while the offense had plenty of hits but didn’t do enough damage with them in a loss. Three separate two-out doubles plated a single run in the first and two more in the second against Griffin while the Naturals answered with just a run-scoring double by newly promoted Brandon Downes over the first two innings. Zeroes went up over the next three innings before another two-out two run double in the sixth added to the tally against Griffin. From there the Drillers tacked on against the bullpen while the Naturals added a couple of late runs in a loss.

Nicky Lopez: 2-5
Brandon Downes: 2-4 2b, HR, 2 RBI
Foster Griffin: 7 IP 10 H 5 R 5 ER 1 BB 5K 8-3 GO-FO 97p/62k

Omaha Storm Chasers 3 Iowa Cubs 2

The Chasers received an outstanding start from Jonathan Dziedzic to snap their losing skid. The lefty spun seven innings of scoreless ball allowing just three hits while filling the zone with 65 strikes on 96 pitches in that time. The eight strikeouts for Jon was a season high and a nice rebound effort from the seven runs he allowed against New Orleans. The game was scoreless until the seventh when Paulo Orlando unloaded on a three-run home run to give the Chasers all they would need to secure a win.

Hunter Dozier: 1-3 BB
Ryan O’Hearn: 1-3 BB
Cam Gallagher: 1-4 R

Thursday Boxscores

Friday Probables
Omaha – Heath Fillmyer 2-2 5.46 ERA 1.54 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Zach Lovvorn 0-3 5.90 ERA 1.45 WHIP
Wilmington – Gerson Garabito 1-2 2.12 ERA 1.18 WHIP
Lexington – Nolan Watson 2-2 6.33 ERA 1.74 WHIP

BPKC Hitter of the Day Nick Pratto 3-5 3R, 2b, HR, 2 RBI 

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Janser Lara 4 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 2 BB 5 K 2-2 GO-FO 55p/33k

Lexington Legends 11 Charleston RiverDogs 4

The Legends offense liked their first visit to the Yankees Low-A stadium in Charleston with the club connecting on fifteen hits Friday night. The squad scored runs in six of the nine innings including a five-run third frame that included back to back doubles by Seuly Matias and MJ Melendez. A Nick Pratto two-run blast in the sixth inning pushed the advantage to 10-4 which was more than enough for Andres Sotillet and Janser Lara. In his piggyback role, Lara struckout five hitters against just one hit allowed over the final four innings to earn the save.

Seuly Matias 2-5 R, 2-2b, RBI, 2K
MJ Melendez 2-4 2R, 2b, 3b, 2 RBI, BB
Marten Gasparini 2-5 R, 2-2b

Wilmington Blue Rocks 8 Frederick Keys 5

The Carolina League’s most patient squad was back at it against Frederick in the first game of their series. The offense walked eight times on the night with three different hitters walking twice while the also connected on eleven hits to push across eight runs despite a 2 for 10 effort with runners in scoring position. Infielder D.J. Burt drove in three runs on the night while also connecting on his first extra-base hit with a double that drove in a run in the fifth. That two-run inning was the first of four consecutive two-run innings that led to the eventual win. Newly promoted reliever Carter Hope got the win with two innings of one-run ball (0 ER) as his comeback effort jumped to the next level before handing things off to Matt Wynne for the win.

Jace Vines 6 IP 5 H 4 R 4 ER 3 BB 2 K 12-2 GO-FO 80p/46k
Emmanuel Rivera 2-3 HR, 2BB
D.J. Burt 2-4 2b, 3 RBI, BB

Springfield Cardinals 9 NW Arkansas Naturals 1

Starter Foster Griffin struggled the second time through the lineup Friday, giving up a pair of runs in the third before running into more trouble in the fifth. The lefty made an error in the fifth which opened up a five run frame, tagging him with six runs on the night. That was more than enough to put the game out of reach while the Naturals offense collected just six hits and one run.

Nicky Lopez 2-3 BB
Anderson Miller 2-4 2b, RBI
Foster Griffin 4.2 IP 6 H 6 R 4 ER 3 BB 1 K 6-3 GO-FO 79p/47k

New Orleans Baby Cakes 8 Omaha Storm Chasers 4

The Chasers Jon Dziedzic struggled in the sixth inning, giving up five singles and a walk before reliever Wily Peralta gave up a triple that allowed two runners still on base when he left. That run of hits pegged seven runs to Dziedzic’s line and left the Omaha offense too far behind. Leadoff Adalberto Mondesi struggled in his first game back at Werner Park going 0-4 with four strikeouts while the offense went 3-11 with runners in scoring position.

Ryan O’Hearn 1-4
Hunter Dozier 1=4 2 RBI
Humberto Arteaga 2-3 R, BB hitting .288

Friday Boxscores

Saturday Probables
Omaha – Andres Machado 0-3 7.91 ERA 2.02 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Zach Lovvorn 0-3 5.84 ERA 1.34 WHIP
Wilmington – Anthony Bender 1-0 3.79 ERA 1.74 WHIP
Lexington – Nolan Watson 2-1 5.79 ERA 1.59 WHIP