HR Roll Call Mike Hill (10), Chase Vallot (15), Emmanuel Rivera (3), Nathan Esposito (3)

BP KC Hitter of the Day – Nathan Esposito 3-5 3R, HR, 7 RBI

BP KC Pitcher of the Day – A.J. Puckett 5 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 4 K 6-3 GO-FO 56p/40k

Playoffs

Series 1-0 Burlington
Burlington Royals 20 Princeton Rays 5

An absolute demolition of the Rays by the Royals offense on Saturday in the first game of their playoff series. A 5-3 game got ugly in the sixth inning as Burlington exploded for 15 runs over the final four innings to turn the game into a laugher. All nine of the starters recorded hits while Emmanuel Rivera and Nathan Esposito combined to drive in 12 of the 20 runs as both players hit home runs. Starter Geoffrey Bramblett was the beneficiary of the scoring explosion, earning the win despite three runs allowed in five innings.

Boxscore Link

Emmanuel Rivera 4-6 3R, HR, 5 RBI
Nicky Lopez 3-4 3R, 2 RBI, BB
Kort Peterson 2-4 2R, 2b, 2 RBI

Oklahoma City Dodgers 3 Omaha Storm Chasers 0

The Chasers offense was held silent for in their latest loss to Oklahoma City. Six singles and a Brandon Downes double lead to limited opportunities for the Chasers, going just 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position during the shutout. Starter Christian Binford gave up back to back home runs to start the game before settling in and limiting the Dodgers to just two more hits and a pair of walks. Reliever Nick Tepesch gave up a run in the ninth for the final 3-0 margin.

Boxscore Link

Christian Binford 6 IP 4 H 2 R 2 ER 2 BB 7 K 2-7 GO-FO 103p/66k
Orlando Calixte 2-4
Brandon Downes 1-2 2b, BB

Arkansas Travelers 3 NW Arkansas Naturals 1

A week after scoring just five games in a three game series with the Travelers the Naturals offensive woes continued in a game one loss of their playoff deciding series. With Glenn Sparkman on the mound Arkansas scored three runs with a pair of singles sandwiched around two doubles to take a 3-0 lead. Those runs would be plenty as NW Arkansas would struggle to do anything with runners in scoring position, missing opportunities in the fifth with two on and no out and able to push just one across after a one out double and a pair of singles in the seventh. The lone run on the night for the Naturals was courtesy of an RBI single by Alfredo Escalera in that seventh inning. NW Arkansas must win the final two games of the series to win the division and head to the Texas League playoffs.

Boxscore Link

Glenn Sparkman 5 IP 6 H 3 R 3 ER 0 BB 8 K 3-3 GO-FO 83p/61k
Alfredo Escalera 1-4 RBI
Corey Toups 1-4 R, 2b

Wilmington Blue Rocks 4 Frederick Keys 3

The Rocks bottom of the order combined with the bullpen for a win over Frederick on Saturday. The 6-8 hitters in the order scored all four Rocks runs while combining for seven hits, including a pair from John Brontsema who was playing his first game with Wilmington after finishing the season with the Arizona Royals. Five pitchers limited the Keys to three runs with Todd Eaton and Luis Rico finishing off the final two and two-third innings for a win and a save.

Boxscore Link

Luis Rico 1 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 2 K
John Brontsema 2-4 R
Austin Bailey 3-4 R

Lexington Legends 3 Hickory Crawdads 1

The Legends A.J. Puckett was outstanding in his five innings, limiting Hickory to just two hits on 56 pitches in Lexington’s win in game two of the season series finale. The Legends plated a run in the third inning before Chase Vallot drove his 15th home run of the year out in the sixth to push the lead to 3-0. Three relievers would finish off the final four innings with just a run allowed, including Brian Bayliss with four K’s and a just one hit allowed in his two innings.

Boxscore Link

D.J. Burt 1-4 R, RBI
Ben Johnson 1-3 R, 2b, BB
Brian Bayliss 2 IP 1 H 0 R 0 BB 4 K

Game 1
Idaho Falls Chukars 3 Ogden Raptors 0

The Chukars received a second quality start in a row to earn a win over Ogden in game one of their doubleheader. This time it was Igol Feliz working around five hits in six innings while tossing a walkless game and striking out four Raptors to push his record to 3-3 in the seven innings shortened game. A double by Joe Dudek scored Yeison Melo to give Idaho Falls a 1-0 lead before run scoring singles from Nick Dini and Meibrys Viloria provided insurance runs in the seventh for the win.

Boxscore Link

Meibrys Viloria 1-4 RBI
Joe Dudek 2-3 2b, RBI
Igol Feliz 6 IP 5 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 4 K 5-7 GO-FO 77p/49k

Game 2
Ogden Raptors 7 Idaho Falls Chukars 1

The second game didn’t go quite as well as a pair of errors by Manny Olloque and a rough outing by Andres Machado lead to convincing loss. The Raptors plated seven runs from the 2nd through the 4th innings while picking up seven hits off Machado. The only Chukars run and opportunity to score came in the seventh inning during the 7-1 loss.

Boxscore Link

Meibrys Viloria 2-3 R, 2b
Nick Heath 1-1 RBI
Rudy Martin 2-2

HR Roll Call: Whit Merrifield (9), Ryan O’Hearn (18), Mike Hill 2 (8), Dennicher Carrasco (6), Jose Caraballo 2 (5)

BP KC Hitter of the Day – Mike Hill 3-3, 3R, 2 HR, 4 RBI

BP KC Pitcher of the Day – Darwin Feliz 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 7-2 GO-FO 

Omaha Storm Chasers 12 Fresno Grizzlies 5

Coming into Tuesday night’s game, the Chasers hadn’t scored more than four runs since August 6th, but that would change as the team broke out in a huge way in the fourth inning. Up 1-0 early, Omaha would get things started in that fourth with a Whit Merrifield single. They just kept going, with the first five hitters in the inning reaching base. That lead to five runs as the pressure came with two more one out hits before Merrifield finished what he had started with a grand slam to complete the nine run outburst in the frame. After two more runs in the sixth, Omaha had plated a dozen on the board which would be more than enough for the easy win.

Boxscore Link

Whit Merrifield 2-5, 2R, HR, 4 RBI
Dusty Coleman 2-5, R, 2b, 3 RBI
Alec Mills 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 5-1 GO-FO, 59p/39k

Corpus Christi Hooks 7 NW Arkansas Naturals 2

The Naturals starter struggled to hit the strikezone while the bullpen struggled to keep the ball in the yard during Tuesday’s loss for NW Arkansas. It was Josh Staumont once again struggling with the zone, walking six in just two and one-third innings as he could connect with the strikezone on just 28 of 64 pitches while allowing three runs. Following Staumont, reliever Evan Beal gave up a pair of home runs in his 2.2 innings and Miguel Almonte gave up one in his inning of work. The Naturals offense couldn’t keep pace, scoring just two runs on Ryan O’Hearn’s 18th home run of the year.

Boxscore Link

Ryan O’Hearn 1-3, HR, 2 RBI
Alfredo Escalera 2-4, 2-2b
Josh Staumont 2.1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 6 BB, 3 K, 2-1 GO-FO, 64p/28k

Wilmington Blue Rocks 7 Potomac Nationals 5

The Rocks fell behind early, but a pair of Mike Hill home runs helped bring them from behind for a win. Starter Foster Griffin gave up a run of five singles in second inning to give Potomac a 3-0 lead. In the third, a walk by Hill to leadoff the inning, combined with a pair of singles lead to two runs to pull within 3-2. In the fourth inning, Hill’s first home run for Wilmington pushed the Rocks ahead 4-3. Following Potomac’s run-scoring single in the top half of the sixth, it was Hill again taking a ball deep to right field with a two-run homer to put Wilmington out in front 6-4. An RBI double by Austin Bailey, also in the sixth inning, tacked on an insurance run while the bullpen hung on to earn Griffin’s fourth win for Wilmington this season.

Boxscore Link

Robert Pehl 2-3, 2R, 2b, BB
Elier Hernandez 2-3, 2R, 2b, BB
Foster Griffin 6 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 12-4 GO-FO, 90p/64k

West Virginia Power 13 Lexington Legends 2

The Legends pitching staff was knocked around in the first game of their series with West Virginia on Tuesday. Starter Gersn Garabito struggled once again, giving up five runs (4 ER) over 4.2 innings to drop to 2-9 on the season. Things didn’t get better for the Lexington bullpen as lefty Mark McCoy and Brian Bayliss were tuned up for eight more runs while the Legends offense was shutout by the Power pen.

Boxscore Link

Chase Vallot 2-4, 2b, RBI
Xavier Fernandez 2-4, R, 2b
Gerson Garabito 4.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 3-5 GO-FO, 78p/49k

Billings Mustangs 7 Idaho Falls Chukars 2

The Chukars offensive woes continued as did the struggles of a 2016 draftee. Just two runs scored, thanks to a 1 for 9 effort with runners in scoring position lead to Jace Vines seeing his record drop to 1-5 on the year. It wasn’t all Vines fault as the Texas A&M alum allowed just one earned run (2 R) over his five innings that featured three hits and three walks, but the Mustangs got after Enmanuel Cammacho for five runs to put the game well out of reach. The defense committed four errors including Ricky Aracena making his 28th error in just 43 games played.

Boxscore Link

Meibrys Viloria 1-4, 2b
David Edwards 3-4, R, 2b
Richard Lovelady 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

AZL Royals 10 AZL Rangers 6

Eleven hits and five walks lead to a 10-run night and another Arizona win. With Royals rehabber Kris Medlen starting for the club and working a pair of scoreless innings, the Royals built an early 4-0 lead with two runs in the first and third innings. The Rangers knotted the game at 4-4 as they knocked around Rex Hill, but the Royals opened things up with a four run fifth to separate during the game. A big part of that inning was Robby Rinn’s two-run double which lead to him coming around on Sebastian Rivero’s run scoring single. A two run seventh inning essentially put the game out of reach and lead the first place Royals to another victory.

Boxscore Link

Khalil Lee 2-3, 3R, 2BB
Seuly Matias 2-3, 2R, RBI, BB
Kris Medlen 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

DSL Royals 9 DLS Phillies 1

The Dominican club powered up for a win over the Phillies on Tuesday. Five extra base hits that included three home runs as the pitching staff limited the Phillies to just one run on six hits.

Boxscore Link

Esteury Ruiz 2-4, 2b
Jose Caraballo 3-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI
Dennicher Carrasco 1-4, HR

HR Roll Call: Ryan O’Hearn (10)

BP KC Hitter of the Day – Mike Hill 3-5, 2-2b, 2 RBI

BP KC Pitcher of the Day – Corey Ray 6.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 8-2 GO-FO, 88p/56k

New Orleans Zephyrs 3 Omaha Storm Chasers 1

The Chasers offense has gone on a trip. Unfortunately, it’s not on the same trip that Omaha is on currently. The offense mustered just four hits Saturday, scoring a first inning run prior to getting blanked for the final eight. For the Chasers it was the fourth time in the last five games they have scored two runs or fewer while seeing their losing streak extend to five games. Starter John Lannan missed a quality start by 1/3 of a inning with three runs allowed and falling to 5-5 with the loss. Jorge Bonifacio knocked in Omaha’s only run with a single in the first.

Boxscore Link

Irving Falu 1-4, 2b, R
Jorge Bonifacio 1-4, RBI
Joe Beimel 1 IP, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Arkansas Travelers 5 NW Arkansas Naturals 4

The Naturals built a three run lead in the first on the back of a two-run home run by Ryan O’Hearn, only to watch the pitching staff give it up over the course of the game. Pedro Fernandez made his first start in nearly a month, working 3.2 innings while allowing a pair of runs before giving way to the pen. Reliever Matt Alvarez surrendered a pair of runs on three hits in his first Double-A outing, giving up the lead in the fourth inning. The game stayed there until the ninth when a single by Jack Lopez drove in Bubba Starling to tie it up. The Travelers quickly ended it in the bottom half on a one-out bases-loaded single.

Boxscore Link

Ryan O’Hearn 1-4, HR, 2 RBI
Carlos Garcia 1-4, R, BB
Pedro Fernandez 3.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 5-5 GO-FO, 67p/36k

Wilmington Blue Rocks 2 Salem Red Sox 1

The Rocks were no-hit for 4.2 innings before a Brandon Downes broken bat single gave the team a heartbeat. With the pitching staff limiting the potent Red Sox lineup to just one run, it gave the offense enough time to mount a rally. That came in the seventh, when a two out rally took place with a pair of singles sandwiched around a walk, the second single off the bat of Nick Dini drove in Downes to knot the game up. One hitter later, Rocks newcomer Brian Bien drove in Josh Banuelos to give Wilmington the lead. Lefty Colin Rodgers who had entered the previous inning, worked the final two innings scoreless to give Wilmington the win and a 2-1 series lead.

Boxscore Link

Brandon Downes 2-4, R, SB (7)
Nick Dini 1-3, RBI
Colin Rodgers 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K

Lexington Legends 8 Hagertown Nationals 5

The Legends offense woke up after a long slumber to snap their seven game losing streak. Every hitter in the lineup had at least one hit on the night. Struggling shortstop Marten Gasparini led the charge by reaching base four times, scoring a run and driving in another. Third baseman Mike Hill has been one of the bright spots in the lineup, hitting .375 since May 1, and he continued his hot hitting with a pair of doubles and two RBI. Starter Nolan Watson was the beneficiary of the  scoring for Lexington, earning his second win despite four runs (3 ER) allowed over five innings of work.

Boxscore Link

Marten Gasparini 2-3, R, 2BB, 2SB (7), RBI
Nolan Watson 5 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, HBP, 6-4 GO-FO, 69p/50k
Samir Duenez 2-5, R, 2b, 3 RBI

DSL Astros 2 DSL Royals 1

A pair of runs late gave the Royals their second consecutive loss.

Boxscore Link 

Christopher Marte 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 5-5 GO-FO
Freddy Fermin 2-3, 2b
Andres Martin 1-4, RBI