BPKC Hitter of the Day: Nathan Eaton 3-5, 2R, 3b, HR, 2 RBI, SB (16)

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Scott Barlow 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 0-2 GO-FO, 47p/27k

Augusta GreenJackets 5, Lexington Legends 1

The Legends bats were mostly silent during their afternoon contest with Augusta. The only run on the day came via Brewer Hicklen’s 17th home run of the season. It wasn’t enough as Augusta scored a run off starter Daniel Lynch in his three innings before getting four runs off reliever Janser Lara in the fourth inning. Despite that run allowed, Lynch was quite dominant, working quickly and pounding the zone while getting swings and misses in his three innings that featured six strikeouts.

Daniel Lynch: 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 2-1 GO-FO, 32p/22k
Kyle Isbel: 2-4, 2 K
Brewer Hicklen: 1-3, HR

Wilmington Blue Rocks 6, Lynchburg Hillcats 5

The Rocks piled up six runs in the first four innings to take a 6-1 lead and managed to hang on late for the win, keeping their postseason hopes alive. Starting pitcher Ofreidy Gomez was on the ropes much of the night with 10 hits given up in six frames, but he allowed just one run with eight strikeouts. He earned the win thanks to the offensive effort in the second and fourth innings. The second featured a triple by Vance Vizcaino that scored two and brought him in one hitter later. Vizcaino was part of the scoring in the fourth inning also, singling and scoring to get that two-run inning going. Relievers Julio Pinto and Andrew Beckwith gave up a couple of runs each but Bryan Brickhouse closed things down to secure the save. The win pushes Wilmington within four games of Lynchburg with six games to go on the season.

Emmanuel Rivera: 2-4, R, 2b
Rudy Martin: 2-5, 2b, RBI
Ofreidy Gomez: 6 IP, 10 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 2-5 GO-FO, 100p/64k

Game 1 – NW Arkansas Naturals 12, Tulsa Drillers 4
Game 2 – Tulsa Drillers 1, NW Arkansas Naturals 0

Starter Foster Griffin gave up three home runs in just two-plus innings but it didn’t matter as the Naturals offense kept hitting on the way to a win. NW Arkansas hitters chased #7 Dodgers prospect Mitchell White after just three innings of his own, connecting on six hits, walking twice and scoring seven runs in that time. Tied 3-3 in the fourth, the Naturals strung together five hits, including four for extra bases. First baseman Samir Duenez completed the scoring with a two-run home run to put the Naturals up 9-3. Lefty Cristian Castillo followed Griffin with 3.1 innings with seven strikeouts to earn the win. A first-inning solo home run off Luis Lugo and a shutout tossed by three different Drillers pitchers may have put the final nail into the Naturals season in the second game.

Jecksson Flores: 4-7, 2R, 2 2b, 6 RBI
Samir Duenez: 2-7, HR, 3 RBI, BB
Andres Machado: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 1-1 GO-FO, 20p/13k

Game 1 – Colorado Springs Sky Sox 3, Omaha Storm Chasers 2
Game 2 – Colorado Springs Sky Sox 7, Omaha Storm Chasers 0

Ian Kennedy didn’t fool many during his first rehab start for Omaha. After three scoreless innings, the Royals starter gave up a run on a double and single before walking a hitter and leaving for reliever Sam Selman. The lefty promptly gave up two hits that allowed both runners to come in to put Omaha down 3-1. The Chasers answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth but could get no closer in the loss. There was very little offense for Omaha in the second game while Trevor Oaks rough second half continued. The right-hander gave up seven runs in just four innings, ballooning his second-half ERA to 5.02. The Chasers had just four hits in seven innings as Bubba Derby shut them down for seven innings.

Nicky Lopez: 1-7
Frank Schwindel: 2-7, 2b
Donnie Dewees: 2-5, R, BB, SB

Idaho Falls Chukars 15, Ogden Raptors 6

The Chukars offense tore up the Ogden pitching staff on Wednesday night as they combined four 19 hits and 15 runs. Six different Chukars hitters had multi-hit games including Bubba Starling who went two for three with a pair of doubles in his first rehab game. Also in the mix was Nathan Eaton with a three-hit day that left him a double short of the cycle. Starter C.J. Eldred got the win despite six runs given up in his six innings.

Bubba Starling: 2-3, 2R, 2-2b, 2 RBI
Reed Rohlman: 2-6, 2R, RBI
Kyle Kasser: 4-6, R, 2b, 3 RBI

Bluefield Blue Jays 9, Burlington Royals 3

Burlington’s Marlin Willis struggled again in his three innings, giving up six runs on four hits and four walks in another Royals loss. Those runs were plenty to hand Burlington a defeat as the offense struggled to get much going on their end with just five hits and a pair of walks.

Matt Morales: 1-4, HR, 2 RBI
Isaiah Henry: 1-4, SB
Kyle Hinton: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 1-1 GO-FO, 25p/18k

Wednesday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Kelvin Gutierrez 2-5 HR, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Daniel Lynch 5 IP 3 H 1 R 0 ER 2 BB 7 K 2-3 GO-FO 80p/54k

Lexington Legends 5 Lakewood BlueClaws 1

First-round pick Daniel Lynch kept the good vibes going on Sunday as the lefty twirled five innings with just an unearned run against him. Working five innings on 80 pitches, Lynch put away seven hitters via strikeout while spreading around the three hits and a pair of walks. The unearned run in the bottom of the fifth put Lexington down 1-0 but they quickly countered with a pair of singles in the sixth and an MJ Melendez sacrifice fly to tie it up. A second sac fly off the bat of Cal Jones broke the tie in the seventh before a three-run ninth broke the game open and salvaged a split in the series for Lexington.

Jeison Guzman: 1-3 2R, 2b, BB, SB (11)
Janser Lara: 2 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 2 K 2-3 GO-FO 45p/28k
Ricky Aracena: 2-4 R, RBI

Frederick Keys 6 Wilmington Blue Rocks 0

The Rocks were shut down on offense during Sunday’s game while starter Andres Sotillet struggled in defeat. The right-handed pitcher failed to strike out a hitter over five innings while giving up nine hits and five runs. The offense managed just four hits while going 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position in the loss. Reliever Justin Mitchell encountered a brutal injury to his plant leg while making a pitch needing to be carted off and put his leg in an air cast on removal.

Blake Perkins: 1-3 BB, K, SB (24)
Meibrys Viloria: 1-4 2b
Carter Hope: 2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 2 K 4-0 GO-FO 17p/12k

NW Arkansas Naturals 5 Springfield Cardinals 4

The Naturals fell behind 4-1 after a three-run fifth inning off starter Luis Lugo. From there, reliever Yunior Marte shut the door and the offense started a comeback with a Kelvin Gutierrez solo home run in the sixth. An inning later Erick Mejia and Samir Duenez drove in runs with a pair of singles to tie it up. After Marte’s two and one-third scoreless innings he handed the game off to Walker Sheller who continued on the effort with two more scoreless. Into the bottom of the ninth with the game tied 4-4, a balk moved Erick Mejia into scoring position which allowed Gutierrez to drive home the walk-off run with an opposite-field single that secured the sweep for NW Arkansas.

Samir Duenez: 1-4 RBI, BB
Yunior Marte: 2.1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 3 K 2-2 GO-FO 26p/16k
Anderson Miller: 2-4 R, 2b

Salt Lake City Bees 6 Omaha Storm Chasers 0 

The Chasers offense went missing with just three hits in their shutout loss to Salt Lake. It was the fourth straight home loss for Omaha as starter Jake Kalish gave up three runs in five innings on six hits and a pair of walks. The lefty managed four strikeouts in five innings but a two run double by Matt Thaiss broke the tie before Taylor Ward’s brought Thaiss in. Relievers Josh Staumont and Richard Lovelady were tagged for three more runs late while the offense couldn’t get anything going. For Lovelady, the two ninth-inning runs on four hits were the first run he has allowed since July 1st. Chasers first baseman Frank Schwindel increased his hit streak to 13 games with a double and a single, he’s hit .397/.417/.845 during that stretch.

Frank Schwindel: 2-3 2b
Donnie Dewees: 1-3
Nicky Lopez: 0-4

Gm1 Burlington Royals 4 Princeton Rays 3
Gm2 Princeton Rays 2 Burlington Royals 1

Lefty Marlin Willis kept the Rays off the board for three innings following starter Austin Cox’s four innings which allowed the Royals offense to come back for a win. Trailing 3-2 after three innings, Jose Marquez connected on his second double of the game in the fourth inning to drive in catcher Michael Emodi to tie things up. An inning later it was Emodi’s double that placed him in position to score for the third time in the game to take a 4-3 lead and earn the win. The offense couldn’t get much going in the second game which ruined a solid outing by starter Elvis Luciano who worked six innings with just two runs allowed on a solo home run and a Wander Franco rbi triple in the sixth. The only run that scored for the Royals came via a sac fly by Jackson Lueck to drive in Marquez during a three-hit offensive effort.

Jose Marquez: 3-6 R, 2-2b, 2 RBI, K
Marlin Willis: 3 IP 3H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 3K 2-2 GO-FO 69p/47k
Elvis Luciano: 6 IP 4H 2 R 2 ER 1 BB 3 K 11-3 GO-FO 66p/46k

Grand Junction Rockies 5 Idaho Falls Chukars 1 

The bullpen and a lack of offense made a mess of C.J. Eldred’s quality start. The former Hawkeye right-hander worked seven innings around six hits, allowing just one run in the fifth inning on a leadoff triple and a rbi single. That tied the game after Nathan Eaton’s first-inning home run but that would be the last run Idaho Falls would score. The Rockies piled on late to hand Idaho Falls the loss with a run off Jackson Klein in the eighth and three more off Jordan Floyd in the ninth.

Nathan Eaton: 3-4 HR
C.J. Eldred: 7 IP 6 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 4 K 8-4 GO-FO 87p/62k
Andres Martin: 1-4 SB

Sunday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Brewer Hicklen 2-4 2R, HR, 2 RBI, BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Kris Bubic 4 IP 2 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 5 K 5-2 GO-FO 57p/35k

Transactions – RHP Jackson Kowar assigned to Lexington, RHP Andres Sotillet promoted to Wilmington

Augusta GreenJackets 7 Lexington Legends 4

Royals draftee Jackson Kowar made his debut for Lexington on Thursday night after a three weeks hiatus. Perhaps that layoff lent to some rustiness on Kowar’s part as the right-hander gave up three singles and walked two hitters before recording his first out, allowing three runs on 27 pitches. Lefty Garrett Davila struck out nine hitters in relief of Kowar but ran into trouble in the fifth inning, giving up all five of his hits allowed including a pair of home runs during a four-run frame. Those seven runs would be enough to take the victory over Lexington despite a two-run home run by Brewer Hicklen.

MJ Melendez: 2-3 R, 2b, RBI, 2BB
Nick Pratto: 2-4 BB
Jackson Kowar: 0.1 IP 3 H 3 R 3 ER 2 BB 1 K 27p/15k

Wilmington Blue Rocks 3 Frederick Keys 2

Centerfielder Blake Perkins led the way again for the Rocks on Thursday as he played a role in all three runs which is all the combined pitching effort would need. A leadoff double for Perkins in the first inning allowed Wilmington to take a quick 1-0 lead after Gabe Cancel brought him home with a sacrifice fly. An inning later the bases were loaded for Perkins when he grounded a ball through the right side to bring home Rudy Martin and Oliver Nunez to push the advantage to 3-0. Starting pitcher Jace Vines worked just three innings, allowing one run before giving way to Cristian Castillo who also allowed a run in three innings. With no margin left to give, lefty Josh Mitchell and Julio Pinto worked the final three innings scoreless to secure the Wilmington win.

Blake Perkins: 2-4 R, 2b, 2 RBI
Gabe Cancel: 1-3 RBI
Travis Jones: 2-4 CS

Tulsa Drillers 14 NW Arkansas Naturals 3

Another rough start for Emilio Ogando as the lefty gave up nine hits, walked five while allowing nine runs in just three innings. The Drillers hit three home runs off Ogando in those three innings, running his total to 20 on the season. The relief corps didn’t do a whole lot better with the next three on the hill all allowing at least one run each while Dodgers prospect Mitchell White limited the Naturals to just a single tally in the lopsided loss. One of the Dodgers top prospects, Keibert Ruiz had a big night at the plate going 3-4 with a pair of home runs and a double.

Khalil Lee: 1-5 2b, K
Kelvin Gutierrez: 3-4 2R
Jecksson Flores: 2-4 2b, RBI, BB, 2K

Memphis Redbirds 6 Omaha Storm Chasers 3

Starter Zach Lovvorn struggled in his five innings, giving up nine hits including a pair of home runs during his six-run outing. The Chasers offense countered with a three-run home run in the sixth by Cam Gallagher to cut the lead in half. They could get no closer though after two Memphis relievers struckout eight hitters over the final three and two-thirds innings.

Nicky Lopez: 3-4 3b
Ryan O’Hearn: 2-4 R
Cam Gallagher: 2-4 HR, 3 RBI

Danville Braves 8 Burlington Royals 1

Lefty Marcelo Martinez had his roughest start of the season, allowing nine hits and three runs in six-plus innings. After a leadoff triple in the first inning led to a run against Martinez he twirled five scoreless innings while striking out five hitters. With the game tied 1-1 the Burlington starter allowed a leadoff double before giving up a two-run home run to fall behind 3-1. Reliever Ismael Maldonado gave up four runs in relief and the Royals offense collected just five hits in the loss.

Marcelo Martinez: 6 IP 9 H 3 R 3 ER 0 BB 5 K 5-3 GO-FO 81p/64k
Eric Cole: 0-4
Juan Carlos Negret: 1-4 R, 2b

Idaho Falls Chukars 6 Helena Brewers 4 

Lefty Kris Bubic was impressive in his second start for the Chukars, allowing just one run over four innings while striking out five. The lefty gave up a leadoff single that the Brewers worked around to score in the first inning on Bubic’s wild pitch. The league’s top hitting offense took charge early, scoring five runs from the 2nd through the 4th innings with extra-base hits by Kyle Kasser and Jose Caraballo factoring in while Nick Eaton connected on a solo home run. Right-hander Tyler Gray couldn’t quite match Bubic’s effort, giving up a three run (1 ER) seventh that allowed the Brewers to draw within a run but Kyle Kasser connected on an RBI double and Gray got five outs prior to Daniel Duarte getting the final strikeout to secure the win. The win secured at least a split of the series for the Chukars while keeping them one game out of first place.

Thursday Boxscores

Friday Probables
Omaha – Jake Kalish 5-5 4.13 ERA 1.33 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Scott Blewett 4-5 5.48 ERA 1.59 WHIP
Wilmington – Ofreidy Gomez 2-8 3.87 ERA 1.55 WHIP
Lexington – TBD
Burlington – Yerelmy Garcia 1-1 5.25 ERA 1.42 WHIP
Idaho Falls – Connor Mayes 3-1 5.21 ERA 1.74 WHIP

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Reed Rohlman 3-5 2R, 3b, HR, 7 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Julio Pinto 1 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 2 K 15p/11k

Wilmington Blue Rocks 8 Frederick Keys 3

Outfielder Nick Heath opened the game with a solo home run off Baltimore’s Chris Tillman to start the game and, from there, the runs kept coming. The Rocks scored six runs off the major league starter, getting four runs in the second inning with the aid of a pair of walks, a hit by pitch, ane error and a Vance Vizcaino single. Starter Nolan Watson was the beneficiary of the runs, working around 10 hits in seven innings while getting by with just three runs allowed to earn his second High-A win.

D.J. Burt: 2-4 RBI
Vance Vizcaino: 2-4 2R, RBI
Rudy Martin: 1-3 R, RBI

Danville Braves 10 Burlington Royals 5

Starter Randy Acevedo struggled in his start, giving up 11 hits and a pair of walks while allowing six runs in five innings. The offense got within 7-5 thanks to a big night at the plate by Freddy Fermin who had two doubles and a home run while scoring two runs and driving in three more. Unfortunately, reliever Emmanuel Estevez gave up three runs to put the game out of reach of the offense.

Rhett Aplin: 2-4 RBI
Juan Carlos Negret: 1-4 R, 2b, CS
Freddy Fermin: 3-4 2-2b, HR

Idaho Falls Chukars 15 Helena Brewers 8

One of those Pioneer League high scoring affairs broke out on Tuesday night in Idaho Falls with the two teams combining for 23 runs. The Chukars outslugged the Brewers connecting on 17 hits, walking six times and scoring 15 runs. The 2-5 hitters combined for 13 of the hits and 11 of the runs scored including seven runs driven in by Reed Rohlman who finished a double shy of the cycle. Starter J.C. Cloney improved to 5-0 despite giving up five runs while allowing a pair of home runs. The win kept the Chukars one game back of Ogden in the division race.

Kyle Isbel: 3-4 4R, SB (12)
Nathan Eaton: 4-4 3R, 3b, 3 RBI, BB, SB
Angel Medina: 3-5 2R, 2b, RBI

Tuesday Boxscores

Wednesday Probables
NW Arkansas – Arnaldo Hernandez 0-0 3.84 ERA 1.53 WHIP
Wilmington – Dan Tillo 3-2 3.93 ERA 1.31 WHIP
Lexington – TBD
Burlington – Bryar Johnson 1-1 10.38 ERA 2.08 WHIP
Idaho Falls – TBD