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.

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).

BPKC Hitter of the Day Rubendy Jacquez 4-5 2b, BB, RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Glenn Sparkman 7 IP 6 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 8 K 7-3 GO-FO 88p/62k

Lexington Legends 5 Greenville Drive 4

Starter Marcelo Martinez made his debut for the Legends Friday night and after starting things off rocky he smoothed things out pretty well. The leadoff hitter blasted the second pitch from the lefties hand for a solo home run. From there he settled down tossing five consecutive scoreless frames while striking out nine hitters along the way. With Martinez cruising the bats got rolling in the third inning with a two-run home run by Brewer Hicklen after MJ Melendez scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-1 Lexington. A rbi single by Kyle Isbel scored another in the sixth before a fielding error made it 5-1 in the seventh inning. The home half of the seventh saw Martinez give up a single and a walk before being lifted for Janser Lara. Much like the first inning Lara was greeted by a home run from the first hitter he faced, closing the gap to 5-4. From there Lara tossed two scoreless innings and handed it off to Tad Ratliff who gave up a couple of baserunners before securing the out that clinched their first playoff appearance since 2006.

Nick Pratto 3-5 2R, SB (22)
Brewer Hicklen 3-4 HR, 3 RBI, SB (29)
Kyle Isbel 2-5 R, 2b, RBI
Marcelo Martinez 6 IP 4 H 3 R 3 ER 1 BB 9 K 7-1 GO-FO 81p/60k

Tulsa Drillers 8 NW Arkansas Naturals 1

Emilio Ogando’s string of eight consecutive starts of two runs or less ended on Friday night as the lefty gave up five runs on five hits and a pair of walks over just two and two-thirds innings. Those five runs were part of a six-run third inning that put the Naturals in too big of a hole to dig out. The loss effectively ended their season.

Yunior Marte 3 IP 4 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 3K 3-2 GO-FO 44p/30k
Samir Duenez 2-4 RBI
Xavier Fernandez 2-2 R, 2b, BB

Omaha Storm Chasers 3 New Orleans Baby Cakes 0

Back from the bigs, Glenn Sparkman showed his experience tossing seven shutout innings against the Marlins Triple-A squad. Attacking the zone with 67 strikes on just 88 pitches Sparkman struckout eight against just six hits. The Chasers had staked Sparkman to a 3-0 lead in the first inning with a pair of two-out rbi doubles by Paulo Orlando and Humberto Arteaga. Relievers Josh Staumont and Richard Lovelady finished the job from there with Lovelady working the final inning and one-third to earn his eighth save of the season.

Richard Lovelady 1.1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 3 K 1-0 GO-FO 25p/16k
Humberto Arteaga 2-3 2b, RBI, BB
Ramon Torres 2-4 R

Game 1 Orem Owlz 3 Idaho Falls Chukars 1
Game 2 Idaho Falls Chukars 6 Orem Owlz 1

The Chukars lost a low scoring game in the first of the doubleheader on a late home run. Lefty Rylan Kaufman made his Idaho Falls debut tossing a scoreless first inning before giving up an unearned run in the second inning while striking out three. That Chukars evened the game in the fourth on a Bubba Starling solo home run it the fourth inning. Former Oklahoma State pitcher Jon Heasley worked from the third inning, tossing scoreless ball until the seventh when Angels 2nd round pick Jeremiah Jackson got into one for a two-run home run that decided the contest. In the second game Elvis Luciano was very good in his debut with the club, tossing six innings with just three hits and a pair walks allowed. The right-hander gave up just an unearned run while striking out five batters. A pair of extra-base hits scored three runs in the fourth inning when Julio Gonzalez tripled in three before Rubendy Jacquez doubled in another. The Chukars scored a couple more in the sixth inning before Domingo Pena tossed the final scoreless inning.

Jon Heasley 5 IP 5 H 2 R 2 ER 0 BB 4 K 6-3 GO-FO 71p/57k
Elvis Luciano 6 IP 3 H 1 R 0 ER 2 BB 5 K 8-4 GO-FO 89p/54k
Hunter Strong 1-4 R, 3b, 2BB

Friday Boxscores

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: Nick Pratto 3-5 R, 2b, RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Marcelo Martinez 6 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 2 BB 10 K 6-2 GO-FO 93p/67k

Lexington Legends 7 Asheville Tourists 6 F/11

Outfielder Seuly Matias was back in the lineup for the Legends on Tuesday after tweaking his back during a game on August 1st. With the outfielder’s timing likely being off, his teammates had to carry the offensive load, in particular, Nick Pratto with the first baseman connecting on three hits, scoring a run and driving in another. Lexington built a 3-0 lead with single runs in the first, second and fourth innings. Starter Garrett Davila gave back two runs, tossing a wild pitch that scored a run in the fifth before a solo homer off him in the sixth. The teams would exchange runs over the next few innings with two runs by the Rockies Low-A squd in the seventh and a solo home run in the ninth allowing them to send it into extra innings. Again the two teams would exchange runs in the tenth with each squad scoring their free baserunner. In the eleventh inning catcher, Sebastian Rivero would pick off the lead runner at 3rd base to help end that inning without a run allowed. The catcher would again play a factor in the bottom of the inning as the free baserunner, moving to third on a sac bunt by Carlos Diaz before scoring on Kyle Isbel’s sacrifice fly to center to walk the game off for the Legends.

Sebastian Rivero: 2-5 2R
Seuly Matias: 0-5 R, 3K
Cal Jones: 2-4 2R, RBI

Salem Red Sox 7 Wilmington Blue Rocks 0

The Rocks were shut down in the first game of their series in Salem on Tuesday. Starter Ofreidy Gomez struggled mightily in his two innings to start, allowing six runs including his 10th home run allowed this year. The 6-0 deficit was too large for the offense to overcome as they mounted just six hits and three walks as they failed to threaten the three Red Sox pitchers.

Tyler Zuber: 1 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 K 1-1 GO-FO 14p/11k
Gabriel Cancel: 2-4 2b
Emmanuel Rivera: 2-4

Omaha Storm Chasers 5 Salt Lake Bees 0

Newly acquired pitcher Jorge Lopez was efficient in finding his groove on Tuesday afternoon for the Storm Chasers. The former Brewers reliever making his second start for Omaha gave up just three singles and a walk. Backed by an Humberto Arteaga double in the second and a solo home run by Paulo Orlando in the fourth inning, Lopez found his own groove in that fourth, striking out six of the final nine hitters he would face in his five and two-thirds innings. With a getaway day and a day off tomorrow manager, Brian Poldberg let loose with the bullpen with five different relievers getting work in replace of Lopez to finish off the shutout with just three hits and a walk the rest of the way with the offense adding on additional runs including a Ramon Torres two-run home run.

Frank Schwindel: 1-4 R, RBI – 15 game hitting streak
Jorge Lopez: 5.2 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 7 K 3-5 GO-FO 73p/50k
Jesse Hahn: 0.2 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 2 K 17p/10k

Burlington Royals 2 Danville Braves 1

For the second start in a row, left-hander Marcelo Martinez was absolutely dominant for Burlington. Striking out 10 or more for the third time this season he pounded the strikezone with 67 strikes on 93 pitches while earning six groundouts and 10 strikeouts. After allowing just one hit last time out, I Martinez kept the opponent hitless in this one while working around a pair of walks. The Royals scored a pair of runs in the second inning with a Freddy Fermin RBI double and a Braves that allowed Fermin to score. The no-hitter shutout lasted until the eighth inning when reliever Ted Cillis gave up a rbi single to Zack Soria to cut the lead in half but reliever Kyle Hinton worked a scoreless ninth to secure the win.

Juan Carlos Negret: 1-4 2K
Freddy Fermin: 2-4 R, RBI
Rhett Aplin: 2-4 R

Tuesday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Kyle Kasser 6-6, 4R, 3 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Marcelo Martinez 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 12 K, 1-1 GO-FO, 75p/53k PO

Transaction: Jorge Lopez added to Omaha Storm Chasers roster.

Hagerstown Suns 2, Lexington Legends 1

The umpire in this Low-A game had places to be and things to do, creating a strikezone that had hitters questioning the results for most of the game. The Lexington hitters were especially flummoxed with Hagerstown starter Andrew Lee striking out a career-high 12 Legends batters including six on called strikes in just six innings. Lexington starter Carlos Hernandez took advantage of the strikezone as well, striking out six in his seven innings while working incredibly efficiently with 55 strikes on his 74 pitches thrown. The game was 0-0 into the seventh when the Legends loaded the bases off reliever Jorge Pantoja, scoring a run on a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead. That lead didn’t last long, as Hernandez got touched for a solo home run by Jake Scudder to leadoff the Hagerstown seventh inning. From there the bullpens held the two teams scoreless into extra innings. In the tenth, free baserunner Marten Gasparini got caught stealing third to help squash any kind of scoring effort prior to a Legends error allowing Hagerstown to walk the game off in their half.

Outfielder Seuly Matias tweaked his lower back on a swing in his second plate appearance in this game, leaving during the at-bat. No news as to the extent of the injury just yet.

Seuly Matias: 0-1, K
Nick Pratto: 0-4, 2K
Carlos Hernandez: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 5-6 GO-FO, 74p/55k

Wilmington Blue Rocks 2, Buies Creek Astros 1

The Rocks and Astros, much like in a couple of their games in their previous series, had a pitching duel going on Wednesday. The Rocks were held hitless for 7.2 innings until Vance Vizcaino broke up the no-hitter with an infield single. The lack of hits left the Rocks down 1-0 after Ofreidy Gomez gave up a leadoff home run to Corey Julks before finding a groove that got him through seven innings with just that run allowed. Trailing 1-0, the Rocks finally got things going in their final turn at-bat of the night, getting a one-out walk by Rudy Martin and a single by D.J. Burt to threaten. After a pair of stolen bases by Martin and Burt, the Rocks manager gave Gabriel Cancel a green light with a 3-0 count and he came through with an infield single to even the game at 1-1. One hitter later, the Rocks would gain their first lead after Emmanuel Rivera drove in Burt with a sac fly. That lead would be plenty for Tyler Zuber with the right-hander working a perfect final inning to earn the save.

Ofreidy Gomez: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 8-3 GO-FO, 96p/58k
Rudy Martin: 0-3, R, BB, SB (19)
D.J. Burt: 1-4, R, 2K, SB (27)

Arkansas Travelers 13, NW Arkansas Naturals 7

The Naturals built a 6-1 lead on Wednesday only to watch the bullpen get knocked around and turn the game lopsided the other way. Starter Jace Vines gave a quality start with three runs allowed in his six innings, leaving with a 7-3 lead for Cristian Castillo. That lefty reliever couldn’t get much done at all, allowing five runs in two-thirds of an inning. The work on the Naturals bullpen continued an inning later with five runs off the combination of Franco Terrero and Grant Gavin, turning a once 7-3 lead into a 13-7 deficit and an eventual Naturals loss.

Jace Vines: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 6-4 GO-FO, 95p/60k
Samir Duenez: 3-3, 2R, RBI, 2 SB
Kort Peterson: 2-3, 2b, HR, 3 RBI, BB

Omaha Storm Chasers 7, Las Vegas 51s 4

The Chasers got their first look at pitcher Jorge Lopez after the Milwaukee Brewers trade Wednesday night. The right-hander made his first start after working from the bullpen for the Sky Sox and Brewers the entire season. After a pair of shutout innings, Lopez gave up a couple of home runs in the third inning, then left after a single in the fourth that came around on his reliever replacement. The Chasers had jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first on a pair of doubles by Cam Gallagher and Elier Hernandez. It was a Hernandez triple that put the Chasers up 5-4 prior to a couple more insurance runs late with Jon Dziedzic tossing the final four innings to secure the win.

Nicky Lopez: 1-5, R
Elier Hernandez: 2-3, 2b, 3b, 2 RBI, BB
Cam Gallagher: 2-4, 2 R, 2b, RBI

Burlington Royals 3, Pulaski Yankees 0

Starter Marcelo Martinez tossed an absolute gem before the rains came and ended he and his teammates’ night early. The Mexican left-hander dominated the Yankees lineup for six innings, allowing just a fourth-inning infield single. From the first inning on, he dominated the lineup with 12 strikeouts including the final five he faced on the night. Working efficiently in those six innings, Martinez had just one three-ball count while earning 23 swinging strikes. The offense backed the young pitcher with a run in the third inning on a Juan Carlos Negret single before scoring a pair in the fifth on a Matt Morales triple and a wild pitch. With Martinez dominating, that was more than enough to take the victory when the rains washed the game away after the sixth inning.

Juan Carlos Negret: 1-3, RBI, SB (2)
Matt Morales: 1-3, R, 3b, RBI
Montae Bradshaw: 1-2, R, SB (2)

Idaho Falls Chukars 20, Orem Owlz 5

The Chukars offense combined with first round pick Kris Bubic to build a lead that was insurmountable in this one. From a six-run second inning until the 20th run crossed in the ninth inning, the Chukars just kept on scoring while connecting on 23 hits. Infielder Kyle Kasser led the offensive barrage with six singles, three runs scored and four driven in. For Bubic, that was plenty of runs on the board as the lefty struck out 10 hitters along the way while giving up just a home run after an infield error in the second inning. The lefty overpowered the Orem lineup during his five innings, getting 17 swinging strikes on the night before turning things over to the bullpen. 2018 draftee Tyler Gray finished the final four innings with three runs scored (2 ER) with five hits and a walk allowed.

Kris Bubic: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K, 3-3 GO-FO, 70p/48k
Reed Rohlman: 2-4, 3 R, 2-2b, RBI, BB
Tyler James: 2-7, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI

Wednesday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Cristian Perez 2-5, HR, 4 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Tyler Gray 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, 5-1 GO-FO 

Lexington Legends 10, West Virginia Power 1

The Legends offense got their big home run hitter back in Seuly Matias, but on this night it was his teammates powering up. In the first at-bat of his first game in Lexington, draftee Kyle Isbel left the yard with a home run to right-center. The Legends homered in the next two innings with Manny Olloque hitting a solo in the second and Cristian Perez leaving the yard with a three-run number in the third. Starter Daniel Lynch gave up just one run in his four innings while striking out five along the way, but missed out on a decision due to his limited pitch count. A two-run home run by Marten Gasparini pushed the advantage to 7-1 before the Legends tacked on three more in the eighth to complete the blowout win.

Seuly Matias: 0-4, 3K
Kyle Isbel: 1-2, 2R, HR, 3 BB
Daniel Lynch: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 2-2 GO-FO, 60p/41k

Game 1 – Wilmington Blue Rocks 3, Lynchburg Hillcats 1
Game 2 – Lynchburg Hillcats 10, Wilmington Blue Rocks 0

The Rocks put together three consecutive singles to score a pair of runs in the second inning with Brewer Hicklen providing the second run with the first of his two hits. Starter Andres Sotillet allowed just one run despite giving up six hits and three walks with the use of three double play balls. The Rocks win gave them first place to themselves for a moment. The second game didn’t go quite as well with Carter Hope giving up eight runs in just two innings. That was followed by Anthony Bender surrendering two runs to put Wilmington down 10-0. The offense was unable to counter to fall back into a first place tie with the Indians club.

Emmanuel Rivera: 1-5, R, BB
Brewer Hicklen: 2-6, RBI
Travis Jones: 2-3, 2b

NW Arkansas Naturals 4, Tulsa Drillers 3

The Naturals received a quality start from Foster Griffin, tossing six innings of two-run baseball while finding a way to navigate eight hits and two walks. An RBI single by Corey Toups scored a run for NW Arkansas in the second before a three-run third inning with a solo home run by Alex Liddi and RBI singles by Toups and Anderson Miller. The bullpen would give up a run in the eighth but Andres Machado got through the ninth to earn the save.

Andres Machado: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2-2 GO-FO, 13p/12k
Khalil Lee: 0-4
Anderson Miller: 2-4, 2b, RBI

Nashville Sounds 4, Omaha Storm Chasers 2

Chasers All-Star starter Trevor Oaks has been able to navigate baserunners quite well during his Triple-A season but couldn’t do it on this night, tossing five scoreless before running into trouble in the sixth frame. After retiring the first hitter of the sixth, Oaks yielded a walk and four consecutive hits to give up two runs. After getting his second out of the inning, the Triple-A ERA leader gave up another hit to allow two more runs before finishing his night with another out. The Sounds pitching staff kept Omaha off the scoreboard after a fourth-inning Donnie Dewees single putting away the final 16 hitters in order over the final five innings.

Ryan O’Hearn: 2-4, R, 2b, RBI, SB
Nicky Lopez: 0-3
Frank Schwindel: 1-4, R, 2b

Burlington Royals 8, Bristol Pirates 4

The Royals piled up nine of their 12 hits and all eight runs between the second and third innings to jump out to a big advantage. In those two innings, Juan Carlos Negret and Jose Marquez played big factors, scoring a pair of runs each with walks and a pair of doubles. Starter Marcelo Martinez earned his first victory of the season, tossing five innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts on the evening before turning it over to the bullpen to finish off the win.

Jackson Lueck: 3-5, 2R, 2 RBI
Juan Carlos Negret: 3-4, 2R, 2b, BB
Marcelo Martinez: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 2-3 GO-FO, 83p/57k

Idaho Falls Chukars 12, Helena Brewers 7

One of the Royals first round picks was roughed up in a short outing on Thursday night, but the offense was able to overcome that large deficit with some help from the Brewers defense. Lefty Kris Bubic got the first two outs in the first inning before surrendering six consecutive hits which forced him to come out during a four run first. Reliever Stephen Greenlees gave up a pair of runs in the next inning to put the Chukars in a 6-0 hole. A home run by Chase Vallot in the fourth cut it to 6-2 before Idaho Falls came all the way back in the fifth with a four run inning that included a double by Reed Rohlman that scored three runs. After Tyler Gray tossed five scoreless innings, the Chukars fell behind in the eighth on a wild pitch that scored a Brewers run with two outs. Down a run, the Chukars blew the top off the ninth starting with five consecutive singles to lead to four runs. A wild pitch third strike on a possible third out scored another run and kept the inning alive. Finally an Andres Martin singled capped the scoring at six runs which was more than enough to secure the win.

Nathan Eaton: 3-4, 3R, RBI
Reed Rohlman: 2-5, R, 2b, 4 RBI
Kris Bubic: 0.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1-0 GO-FO

Thursday Boxscores

Friday Probables
Omaha – Jon Dziedzic 3-8, 3.86 ERA, 1.29 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Pedro Fernandez 3-2, 3.64 ERA, 1.45 WHIP
Wilmington – Ofreidy Gomez 3-8, 3.75 ERA, 1.54 WHIP
Lexington – Yefri Del Rosario 0-5, 5.18 ERA, 1.48 WHIP
Burlington – Janser Lara 1-4, 3.97 ERA, 1.39 WHIP
Idaho Falls – Connor Mayes 3-2, 6.75 ERA, 1.92 WHIP

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