BPKC Hitter of the Day: Kort Peterson 4-5 R, 2b, 3b

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Glenn Sparkman 6.1 IP 6 H 2 R 2 ER 1 BB 4 K 9-3 GO-FO 104p/76k

Potomac Nationals 3 Wilmington Blue Rocks 1

The Rocks received one of Cristian Castillo’s best starts of the season, but a poor offensive output cost them another game. The lefty entered the game with an 8.78 ERA but was able to give a quality start with six strikeouts. The only hiccup came in the second inning when the Nats Telmito Agustin connected on a home run to right with a man on to put the Rocks down 2-0. Outfielder Kort Peterson followed up a big night on Monday with a 4 for 5 effort in this one, including scoring Wilmington’s only run with a third inning double before coming home on Khalil Lee’s run-scoring single. Wilmington would threaten in three different innings including two times with Peterson in scoring position but fail to come through with another RBI knock fall to 5-7 versus Potomac.

Khalil Lee: 2-4 RBI
Emmanuel Rivera: 1-4
Meibrys Viloria: 0-2 2BB

NW Arkansas Naturals 7 Arkansas Travelers 2

Starter Glenn Sparkman gave the Naturals his second quality start in a row, working six and one-third innings with two runs allowed. Having come into the game without a walk allowed, Sparkman handed out his first free pass of the season in the third frame before finishing the effort without another. The Naturals offense pounded out 14 hits on the night, the fifth time in their last six games to do that, which helped them push across seven runs. Infield John Brontsema drove in three runs, two in the second inning with a double and another with a single in the ninth. Newly signed Luis Vasquez finished the game off with three strikeouts in the last inning and one-third, running his total to seven in three appearances for the Naturals.

Samir Duenez: 2-4 R, 2b, BB
John Brontsema: 2-4 2R, 2b, 3 RBI, BB, SB (3)
Nicky Lopez: 2-5 R

Iowa Cubs 8 Omaha Storm Chasers 4

Veteran Kyle Lohse’s comeback effort hit a bump in Omaha Tuesday night. The right-hander with over 400 major league starts got tagged for 10 hits in four and two-thirds innings leading to seven I-Cubs runs. Those runs were more than enough to put the game away with the Chasers struggling offense collecting just six hits with the former CWS darling Michael Roth limiting the Chasers to just two.

Hunter Dozier: 2-4 2 RBI
Josh Staumont: 2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 3 BB 1 K 4-1 GO-FO 42p/22k
Richard Lovelady: 1.2 IP 3 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 2 K 33p/26k

Tuesday Boxscores

Wednesday Probables
Omaha – Trevor Oaks 2-2 3.38 ERA 1.26 WHIP
Wilmington – Jace Vines 1-4 7.62 ERA 1.73 WHIP
Lexington – Dan Tillo 0-1 3.68 ERA 1.16 WHIP

BPKC Hitter of the Day; Chase Vallot 2-5 2HR, 4 RBI, 3K

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Matt Wynne 1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 1 K

Columbia Fireflies 9 Lexington Legends 1

The Legends were limited to one run on offense by Mets starter Marcel Renteria over seven and two-thirds innings. The Legends were given few opportunities with just five hits in the game while their starter Collin Snider was knocked around for six runs on eight hits in just four innings. Outfielder Seuly Matias had a single and a double while also driving a ball to the wall in left that was flagged down.

Seuly Matias: 2-4 2b, K
Travis Jones: 2-4 RBI
Sal Biasi: 3 IP 0 H 0 R 1 BB 5 K 2-2 GO-FO 45p/28k

Wilmington Blue Rocks 12 Potomac Nationals 7

The Rocks offense was rolling on Wednesday night, a team that had struggled with runners in scoring position knocked out eight hits in fifteen chances while pounding out sixteen hits and twelve runs. Leading the way was third baseman Emmanuel Rivera and designated hitter Chase Vallot, as the pair drove in eight of the runs. Two five-run innings accounted for most of the damage with Vallot homering in each inning and Rivera collecting rbi hits in both frames. All nine hitters in the starting lineup had a hit on the night with Rivera pacing the way with four to raise his average to .284. Starter Arnaldo Hernandez was the beneficiary of the offense, earning his third win with five innings of four-run ball as he tried to work around seven hits and three walks. Wilmington had to use five pitchers with Matt Wynne coming into a bases-loaded jam in the ninth but slipping out without a run crossing to earn the save.

Emmanuel Rivera: 4-5 2R, 2b, 4 RBI
Khalil Lee: 2-4 2R, RBI, HBP
Gabe Cancel: 2-4 R, 2b, RBI

Springfield Cardinals 7 NW Arkansas Naturals 2

Starting pitcher Emilio Ogando lasted just an inning and two-thirds before getting the hook. The lefty had given up a solo home run, a pair of walks and two singles with two outs when manager Mike Rojas pulled him. With the bases loaded reliever Walker Sheller gave up a double that scored all three runners still on base to push the Cardinals advantage to 6-1. Forced into multiple innings the bullpen limited Springfield to just one run the rest of the way but the offense was unable to get back into the game in another loss.

Anderson Miller: 1-4
Walker Sheller: 3.1 IP 4 H 0 R 2 BB 3 K 55p/36k 2-3 GO-FO
Donnie Dewees: 0-4 R, SB (4)

Omaha Storm Chasers 8 Iowa Cubs 7 F/10

Omaha starter Kyle Lohse made his first start since July of 2016 on Wednesday in Des Moines. After working a pair of scoreless innings to start the game Lohse struggled, giving up five runs on seven hits over the next two innings. The I-Cubs were getting plenty of good swings in that time connecting on quite a few line drives and a home run by Efren Navarro. Luckily for the Chasers, their offense had already padded the lead with a six-run third inning following a solo run in the first. In that inning, the Chasers walked in a run with a bases-loaded walk to Ryan O’Hearn before Paulo Orlando unloaded the bases with a grand slam. Previous to the game Orlando had got off to a very slow start with the Chasers, going 0-22 before connecting on a double and slam in this one. The Omaha bullpen held the game at 7-5 until the ninth when Mike Broadway gave up a two-run home run to Mark Zagunis to send the game to extra innings. In extras, the Chasers moved their free runner around before Josh Staumont finagled his way out of a bases-loaded threat with his twenty-fourth strikeout of the season to earn the save.

Adalberto Mondesi: 2-5 2R, 3b, 2SB
Bubba Starling: 2-4 R, 2b, BB
Richard Lovelady: 1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 2 K 18p/12k 1-0 GO-FO

Wednesday Boxscores

Omaha – Trevor Oaks 1-2 3.09 ERA 1.07 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Glenn Sparkman 1-2 3.72 ERA 1.24 WHIP
Wilmington – Cristian Castillo (lhp) 1-2 7.23 ERA 1.82 WHIP
Lexington – Dan Tillo (lhp) 0-1 3.52 ERA 1.30 WHIP