RedHawks Win Pivotal Opener Against Monarchs

Canaries 5, Goldeyes 7 – Boxscore

The Winnipeg Goldeyes (51-46) beat the Sioux Falls Canaries 7-5 at Shaw Park on Friday night.

The win guarantees the 24th winning season in franchise history, the most of any team in independent baseball.

Trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Goldeyes rallied for three runs to take their third lead of the night.  Logan Hill singled to left-centre leading off.  After Reggie Pruitt Jr. pinch ran for Hill, Kevin Lachance doubled into the left field corner to put runners on second and third.  Hidekel Gonzalez walked to load the bases before Sioux Falls forced out Pruitt at home on a Raul Navarro fielder’s choice.  Ian Sagdal drove in Lachance with a tying run on a sacrifice fly to left-centre in which Canaries’ centre fielder Wyatt Ulrich made a diving catch.  Max Murphy gave Winnipeg the lead with a two-out, RBI single to centre.  David Washington made it 7-5 with an RBI single to right-centre.

Tasker Strobel pitched a scoreless top of the ninth to earn his 21st save of the season.

Erasmo Pinales (2-3) picked up the win in relief after pitching a scoreless top of the eighth.

Nate Garkow (1-1) took the loss in relief for Sioux Falls.

The Goldeyes took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Navarro doubled to left-centre leading off, advanced to third on a Sagdal flyout to right, and scored on a Murphy groundout to shortstop.

Connor Blair tied the game at 1-1 with a two-out, solo home run to left-centre in the top of the third.

The Canaries (32-65) took a 3-1 lead in the top of the third on a two-run home run to left-centre from Jabari Henry.

The Goldeyes scored three times in the bottom of the sixth to take a 4-3 lead.  Washington led off with a home run off the batter’s eye in centre field.  It was Washington’s 30th home run of the season.  With Murphy having hit 31 home runs this season, the Goldeyes become the first club in American Association history to have two players hit 30 or more home runs.  Two batters later, Jacob Rhinesmith singled to left-centre and advanced to third when Hill reached on a two-base throwing error by Angelo Altavilla.  Lachance hit a groundball to shortstop that plated Rhinesmith with the tying run, and the Goldeyes took their second lead of the game on a two-out, RBI single to right-centre from Gonzalez.

Sioux Falls rallied to take a 5-4 lead in the top of the seventh on a Trey Michalczewski bases loaded walk and a two-out, RBI single from Altavilla.

Goldeyes’ starter Alex Manasa took a no-decision, allowing three earned runs on five hits in three innings.  Manasa walked none and struck out two.

Canaries’ starter Neil Lang also took a no-decision, allowing four runs, two earned, on eight hits in six innings.  Lang walked three and struck out four.

Dogs 9, Cougars 13 – Boxscore

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 11th inning, a grand slam off the bat of Nick Franklin lifted the Kane County Atomic Pork Chops to a dramatic 13-9 victory over the Chicago Dogs on Friday night at Northwestern Medicine Field. It was the fourth and final time this season that the Kane County Cougars took on the “Atomic Pork Chops” identity.

In the top of the 11th inning, Jake Stevenson (1-0) pitched a second straight scoreless frame with two strikeouts to give the Atomic Pork Chops (52-45) a chance to win in the bottom of the 11th. Ernie De La Trinidad started the inning on second base before Sherman Johnson was hit by a pitch and Jimmy Kerrigan singled to load the bases. Then, Franklin crushed a pitch from Shane Barringer (7-7) over the left-field wall to give Kane County a 13-9 victory over Chicago (53-44). The win pulled Kane County back within a game of the Dogs in the American Association East Division standings.

Before the drama in extras, the Atomic Pork Chops were down to their last out in the bottom of the ninth inning. Facing an 8-7 deficit, Kerrigan kept the game alive with an infield single before Franklin drew a walk to put him in scoring position. Then, Rolette poked a single into left-center field to tie the game at eight and send it to extra innings.

In the 10th,  the teams traded runs with BJ Lopez driving in the tying run on a sacrifice fly that made it 9-9 before the dramatic 11th frame.

In a back and forth slugfest, the Dogs jumped out to an early lead against Kane County starter Westin Muir. Charlie Tilson led off the ballgame with a home run down the right-field line to make it 1-0. In the top of the second, the Dogs added another run on an RBI single by Connor Kopach that made it 2-0.

In the bottom of the third, the Atomic Pork Chops responded in a big way. Kane County sent 10 men to the plate and scored five runs on six hits in the inning. Johnson started the scoring with an RBI double that made it 2-1. Cornelius Randolph then smacked another double to score Johnson and Ernie De La Trinidad to make it 3-2. Later in the inning, Rolette hit an RBI single and Alexis Pantoja doubled down the right-field line that made it 5-2 Kane County.

Chicago went on to tie the game with a pair of home runs. In the top of the fourth, Grant Kay belted a solo shot to pull the Dogs within two. One inning later, KC Hobson smacked a two-run shot off Atomic Pork Chops’ reliever Jack Anderson to tie the game at five. The Dogs took the lead in the top of sixth on a solo shot by Connor Kopach that made it 6-5.

After four home runs by the Dogs, Kane County responded with a long ball in the bottom of the seventh. Following a walk by Franklin, Rolette crushed a two-run homer to put Kane County ahead 7-6. Chicago went on to take an 8-7 lead in the eighth inning on a two-run single by Ryan Lidge before the Atomic Pork Chops ultimately came back and won it in extras.

Milkmen 9, RailCats 6 – Boxscore

The Milwaukee Milkmen benefitted from four long balls as they took the series opener against the RailCats 9-6. 

After stranding a runner at third base in their first turn at bat, the Milkmen opened the scoring in the top of the second. A two-run Hector Sanchez home run propelled Milwaukee to ahead early. 

Right away, though, the RailCats answered back in dramatic fashion.  Jesus Marriaga motored around the bases for an inside-the-park home run that immediately cut the Milkmen advantage in half at 2-1. 

However, the Milkmen struck back by way of the long ball for a three-run third inning.  Miguel Gomez launched a three-run home run, the team’s second of the game, and Milwaukee went up 5-1. 

The RailCats, once again, were quick to respond, and they pulled a run back in their half of the frame.  Jackson Smith led off by legging out a double, and two batters later, Daniel Lingua singled him home to bring Gary SouthShore back within three at 5-2. 

To reply in the top of the fourth, the Milkmen employed some savvy baserunning to restore their lead at four.  Jeremiah Burks led off by doubling to left field and Carl Chester advanced him to third on a groundout before a Logan Trowbridge walk.  The two then combined for a delayed steal, and they successfully plated Milwaukee’s sixth tally. 

Not too long afterward, the RailCats rallied for two runs in the bottom of the fifth to make their way back into the contest.  Following a Lester Madden leadoff single, Smith tripled him home, and a Michael Woodworth sacrifice fly decreased the deficit to two. 

Unfazed, Milwaukee continued to keep the RailCats at a distance, tacking on another run in the top of the sixth.  A two out Gomez single converted a pair of walks, and Milwaukee found themselves leading by three. 

While the Milkmen bullpen stepped up to hold the RailCats down, Gary SouthShore’s bullpen came up clutch to stay in the game.  Julio Vivas maneuvered around a two-out walk to throw a scoreless seventh, and Reyson Santos survived a runner in scoring position to blank Milwaukee in the eighth, keeping the score at 7-4. 

But, the Milwaukee power bats re-emerged in the ninth.  Sanchez and Christ Conley delivered back-to-back solo home runs, supplying the Milkmen with five runs of support needing just three outs to secure the win. 

Down to their final three outs, the RailCats refused to go down without a fight.  Marriaga drew a four-pitch walk, and Tom Walraven blasted a two-run home run to try and spark a comeback. 

Nevertheless, luck was not on Gary SouthShore’s side.  Milwaukee quickly picked up the final two outs to emerge victorious. 

RedHawks 6, Monarchs 2 – Boxscore

The Kansas City Monarchs (62-35) and Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (64-33) came into the pivotal Friday night match up on different waves of momentum. The Monarchs had won eight in a row and had pulled to within one game of the front-running RedHawks who had dropped two of three on their end of season road trip. Yet, it was the RedHawks, behind lefty ace Kevin McGovern (10-3) and three long balls that took the series opener 6-2.

Kansas City had chances in the game, drawing 10 walks and stranding 15 runners, six off McGovern. The all-time American Association strikeout leader was able to fight off the Monarchs in the first, second and third with two on and two outs. McGovern finished the game going 5.2 innings getting the win. His final line was 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 9 SO.

Fargo-Moorhead took the lead in the top of the first on a solo home run for Manuel Boscan off Monarchs starter Brock Gilliam (6-4). With the RedHawks leading 1-0 in the top of the third, Leo Pena had a two-RBI single to make it 3-0 in favor of the “Fargos”.

The Monarchs would answer in the fourth inning on a solo home run for Pete Kozma his second of the season and the team’s 161st. Kansas City is just one home run away from tying their franchise mark of 162 set in 2010 in the old Northern League.

The RedHawks would tack on another run in the top of the fifth. Peter Maris would single and move to second on a passed ball on strikeout. Drew Ward then worked a walk, but a wild pitch moved Maris to third. Leo Pena picked up his third RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to center to make it a 4-1 game. Brock Giliam would be done after five, giving up four earned runs on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

Fargo-Moorhead picked up another run in the top of the sixth when Nick Novak hit a solo home run to right off Monarchs reliever Brian Glowicki to up the lead to 5-1.

The Monarchs picked up their final run of the night in the home half of the sixth. McGovern would walk Casey Gillaspie with one out and surrender a single to Gio Brusa to put runners at the corners. Tanner Riley came into the game and gave up an RBI single off the bat of Pete Kozma back up the box to make it 5-2 RedHawks. Riley would walk Mallex Smith to load the bases but would retire Kevin Santa on a ground ball to second to leave the sacks full for KC.

In the top of the seventh, the RedHawks struck again with a long ball off the bat of Peter Maris. His solo shot to right make it 6-2 in favor of Fargo-Moorhead.

The Monarchs would work two walks to start the seventh off Riley but would not get any traction off reliever Joe Jones to end the threat. In the eighth inning the Monarchs got two on via back-to-back walks with two outs but once again came up short. In the bottom of the ninth the Monarchs would get a double by Casey Gillaspie and a walk by Gio Brusa with two outs, but Alex DuBord would get the final out to preserve a 6-2 win.

The win dropped the Monarchs 2 games behind the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks for the West Division lead in the American Association with three games to play and lower the RedHawks magic number to two. The RedHawks will clinch the division crown with one more win while the Monarchs will need to win the last three games to claim their third regular season division title in a row.

Saltdogs 1, Explorers 3 – Boxscore

Greg Minier tossed six innings and allowed one unearned run, but the ‘Dogs lost to the Sioux City Explorers, 3-1, in the series opener at Mercy Field on Friday night.

Minier allowed just two hits with five walks and nine strikeouts, but the loss snapped Lincoln’s five-game winning streak and now the Saltdogs (46-51) must win the final three games of the season to advance to the playoffs.

Sioux City (49-48) took a 1-0 lead on an unearned run in the 4th inning. With Gabe Snyder at first, Ademar Rifaela bounced a single up the middle. Snyder went first to third, and after the throw came to third base, an errant throw from Ryan Long towards second while Rifaela attempted to advance got away into right field and allowed Snyder to score.

The ‘Dogs tied the game with an RBI groundout from Luke Roskam – his seventh straight game with a run driven in.

The X’s took the lead for good in the 7th inning. Dylan Kelly scored on an error from Josh Altmann with the bases loaded, and Sioux City added a run on an RBI single from Kelly with two outs in the 8th inning.

With the loss, the ‘Dogs are now three games back of Sioux City with three games to play. The ‘Dogs must win all three to finish tied with the Explorers, in which they advance by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker.

DockHounds 2, Railroaders 5 – Boxscore

The Cleburne Railroaders (47-50) keep stacking wins against a sliding Lake Country DockHounds team (34-63) in a 5-2 victory.

The Railroaders scored their first three runs of the game in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Edwin Arroyo hit an RBI single, Hunter Wolfe grounded out, but hit in a run in the process, while Chase Simpson hit Arroyo home on a single. 

The Railroaders’ Mitch Ghelfi hit in another run for the team in the bottom of the 4th with an RBI single. 

The DockHounds scored one run in the top of the 5th on a fielder’s choice followed by an RBI double for the Railroaders in the bottom of the 7th from Hunter Wolfe. 

At this point the Railroaders maintained a 5-1 lead until the DockHounds scored the final run of the game in the top of the 9th inning on a sacrifice fly from Jordan Schaffer.

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