HOW SWEEP IT IS! 3 TEAMS SWEEP SERIES IN WEEK 3
Sussex County vs Windy City
The Windy City Thunderbolts (6-6) swept the Sussex County Miners (7-6) on Thursday with a final score of 6-3.
The Bolts fell behind in the top of the first inning before Spillane's first big blast. Daryl Myers singled in front of the home run, making it a 2-1 Windy City lead.
Spillane struck again in the fifth inning with his fourth home run in two days, a solo shot that made the score 3-1.
Sussex County, looking to avoid the sweep had one more run in them, tying the game in the top of the sixth. With two outs, three straight batters reached to load the bases. Mikey Reynolds came up with a two-run single that evened the score at three.
The ThunderBolts got those runs right back. In the bottom of the inning, Brynn Martinez was hit by a pitch, advanced to second and stole third. Then, a straight steal of home proved to be the game-winner.
An RBI double for Manny Garcia and a Payton Robertson solo homer provided some late insurance as the Bolts went on to win their third straight game.
Garrett Christman pitched into the sixth and received no decision. Sebastian Selway blew the save but picked up his first professional win. Conner Dans took the loss, allowing four runs for Sussex County.
Evansville vs Ottawa
The Evansville Otters (6-6) defeated the Ottawa Titans (7-5) 3-1 in their first road win of the year in comeback fashion in the ninth inning.
Tim Holdgrafer and Chris Burica were solid on the mound for the two sides, giving up just five combined hits in the first five innings.
Ottawa snagged a lead in the third, as centerfielder Will Zimmerman singled in catcher Tyrus Greene. The 1-0 advantage held on all the way to the ninth inning.
For the third straight night, the Otters' offensive woes continued, until the bats finally came alive with two outs in the ninth.
J.R. Davis got things started with two outs, walking to first.
Zach Biermann followed with a double off the right-field wall, putting runners at second and third.
Justin Felix gave the Otters their first runs of the series with a home run to left-center field, putting the Otters up 3-1.
Closer Logan Sawyer came into the game in the bottom half of the ninth, working around a leadoff single to earn his third save of the year.
Holdgrafer struck out nine in his third start of the year, allowing just one run on four hits. Brady Tedesco earned the win in relief, his first result of the year.
Nelson Gonzales received the loss out of the bullpen, allowing all three runs in the ninth for Ottawa.
New York vs Lake Erie
The New York Boulders (6-7) defeated the Lake Erie Crushers (5-7) on Thursday afternoon 17-2.
The loss for the Crushers marks their third consecutive series loss, while the victory for the Boulders marks the second time they've won games consecutively this season.
Gerson Molina, Chris Kwitzer, David Vinsky and Tucker Nathans all went deep for New York, with Nathans homering twice, hitting both bombs in a nine run sixth inning for the Boulders.
Molina smashed a three homer to left field with two outs in the top of the second inning to snap a scoreless tie, giving the Boulders an early 3-0 lead.
Lake Erie was able to scratch their first run across in the bottom of the second. Connor Owings started the inning with a double down the line in right and scored on Jackson Valera's RBI groundout.
The Boulders answered quickly in the top of the third when Vinsky belted a solo homer to left, before they pulled away with a nine run sixth inning. They sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning, which was highlighted by a two-run blast from Nathans, and he struck again later in the inning with a Grand Slam, marking his third homer of the series.
Lake Erie scored their last run in the bottom of the eighth. Valera doubled down the line in right to start the inning and scored on Jarrod Watkins's RBI single.
New York plated four more runs in the top of the ninth inning. Chris Kwitzer crushed a three-run homer to left and Molina drove in a run with a single to center.
Alex Mack picked up the win for the Boulders, allowing just a run on three hits over six innings of work. Kaleb Schmidt suffered the loss after allowing eight runs, six earned on seven hits over five innings.
Watkins and Bryant Flete led Lake Erie offensively with two hits each. Watkins went 2-for-4 on the day and finished the series with six hits. Kokko Figueiredo went 1-for-3 with a walk and has reached in all 12 games this season.
Gateway vs Quebec
The Gateway Grizzlies lost their third game in a row to Les Capitales de Québec on a walk-off base hit, this time 3-2 on a broken bat, seeing-eye single by Marc-Antoine LeBreux at Stade Canac on Thursday night.
After back-to-back two-out walks in the top of the first inning, Jay Prather staked the Grizzlies to their first lead of more than one run of the series with a two-run double to right-center field. But the 2-0 lead was short-lived, as Jeffry Parra hit a two-run home run of his own to left field to tie the score in the bottom of the first inning.
Both starting pitchers took over from there, as Codie Paiva and Steven Ridings took control on the mound. Both ended up tossing six innings, with Paiva striking out ten and Ridings fanning a season-high nine batters.
Neither team's bullen broke, either, until the bottom of the ninth inning, when Pedro Gonzalez worked a leadoff walk against Colton Easterwood (1-1) and was sacrificed to second base. After Easterwood got James Smibert to fly out to right field, with two outs, and two strikes on the batter, Easterwood broke LeBreux's bat, but the ground ball snuck past the diving first and second basemen, as the Grizzlies were swept by the Capitales.
Tri-City vs Washington
The Washington Wild Things (7-5) defeated the Tri-City ValleyCats (7-4) by a score of 8-2 Thursday night. Second baseman Scotty Dubrule hit a one-out double in the bottom of the first inning to spark the Wild Things' offense early. Dubrule advanced to third on a passed ball from Tri-City catcher Jonah Girand and scored moments later on a Wagner Lagrange RBI single through the left side of the infield.
Hector Roa stepped to the plate with two men in scoring position and hit a chopper to short. ValleyCats shortstop Pavin Parks picked it off an odd hop but made an errant throw to first that skipped past Brad Zunica at first to allow the inning to prolong the and extend Washington's early lead to 3-0. The Wild Things threatened again their next time up. Cole Brannen hit a one-out single of his own and was quickly put in motion on the bases. Brannen stole his ninth and 10th bags of the early season but was left stranded at third to end the opportunity to further add on. Starter Daren Osby pitched five scoreless innings to begin the ballgame before ValleyCats could crack the scoreboard. Girand, the ninth batter in the Tri-City order, homered to left on the first pitch he saw entering the sixth.
Osby pitched six innings of one-run ball for manager Tom Vaeth's team, allowing five hits and recording five strikeouts. He earned the victory, his second of the season. Jose Cruz allowed three runs for Tri-City, none of them earned, while allowing four hits, two walks, and striking out four opposing batters. Right-hander Bryan Quillens relieved Osby to begin the seventh. A leadoff walk to Denis Phipps came around to bite him as former Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Willy Garica delivered a two-out RBI single to cut the Washington lead to 3-2. Nick Beardsley replaced Quillens with two on and two out to retire Girand, end the Tri-City threat and maintain the Washington lead. The Washington offense scored three runs in its first time to the plate and exceeded that total in its last opportunity to swing the bats.
Andrew Czech singled and Ian Walters walked to start the bottom of the eighth. Roa hit a ball into the right center field gap to score Czech from second. Walters also scored on an error by Tri-City center fielder Jesus Lujano following the double to push the lead to 5-2. Roa moved to third on a Ramon Osuna groundout and made it 6-2 when Osuna scored on a sacrifice squeeze by Cole Brannen. The Wild Things added on two more with two outs as Landen Barns singled and Nick Ward snuck a ball just over the right-field fence one batter later for a two-run homer and an 8-2 advantage. Christian James pitched a scoreless eighth and Dan Kubiuk a scoreless ninth, who struck out the final three batters he faced, to win the rubber game.
Florence vs Trois-Rivières
The Florence Y'alls (4-7) defeated the Trois-Rivières Aigles (5-7) by a score of 11-2 on Thursday night. The Y'alls scored the first run for the first time this season, and they followed the momentum to road win number one. The Y'alls put together 11 runs on 13 hits. Seven of the nine batters recorded at least one hit. Casey Combs and Bryan Leef each had three-hit nights. Craig Massey launched his second home run of the season, a shot to straightaway center field in the top of the fifth.
The Aigles would get on the board in the bottom of the fifth with a single from Morin to drive in Ejoh. The Aigles would score again in the bottom of the seventh off a triple from Campagna to put up another run but was not enough to beat Florence. Florence leads the league in runs and hits per game. Griffin Baker, who the team activated off the 14-day injured list, made his debut and allowed one run in five innings pitched, earning the win. Karl Craigie, Matt Colon, Matt Reitz, and Joe Dougherty combined to pitch the final four innings, surrendering just an unearned run.
Joliet vs New Jersey
The New Jersey Jackals (5-6) defeated the Joliet Slammers (6-7) on Thursday night by a score of 4-3 in a walk-off win. After dropping their last five games, the Jackals were hunting for their first home win of the season. With Hayden Shenefield on the mound, the team was looking to avoid the sweep. Manager Brooks Carey kept his modified lineup which featured Josh Rehwaldt in the leadoff spot and Trevor Abrams right behind him. George Bell Jr. also drew a start tonight, contributing mightily from the bottom of the order. Centerfielder Todd Isaacs would score the first run of the contest, coming across to score on a Josh Rehwaldt RBI groundout in the 2nd inning. The Jackals would add another tally in the 4th when Josh Rehwaldt connected on a big fly, his 3rd of the season. The 2-0 lead would hold until the bottom of the 6th, when Phillip Steering steered a tying home run over the wall to make it 2-2. Abrams continued to swing a hot bat in tonight's contest as he recorded yet another impactful RBI.
The California native pounced an RBI single through the infield to score Bell to take the lead and make it 2-3. The Slammers would tie it again in the top of the seventh when Matt McGarry singled to drive in Matt Burch. With the game tied at three in the bottom of the ninth, the Jackals saved the best for last for the Thirsty Thursday crowd. Jason Agresti worked a walk with one out and moved into scoring position on a single by Todd Isaacs. That brought in Edward Salcedo, who didn't make the Jackals wait long for the celebration. The veteran infielder pounced a single into left. Jackals third base coach Jared Lemieux nearly leapt out of his shoes sending Agresti around to score breaking their losing streak.
Empire State vs Schaumburg
The Schaumburg Boomers (8-4) defeated the Empire State Greys (0-12) by a score of 10-3 on Thursday night. Ryan Middendorf carried a shutout into the ninth inning and matched the team's single game record for strikeouts with 12. The second-year member of the Boomers struck out the side in the fourth and retired 11 straight from the second into the sixth. The Boomers opened a 1-0 lead in the first when Chase Dawson tripled home Braxton Davidson.
Schaumburg padded the lead with six runs in the sixth. Blake Grant-Parks doubled home three in the frame. The Greys would show life in the ninth scoring three from a wild pitch, a single from Lantigua, and a double from Benevolen but ultimately, was not enough before ending the game. Middendorf allowed just one earned run on two hits with a walk to win his second of the year. Kristian Scott posted the final two outs with a pair of strikeouts. The offense finished with nine hits. All nine members of the lineup reached base with eight tallying hits. The team drew eight walks, finishing with 25 in the series. Grant-Parks was the lone individual to notch multiple hits and also drove home three runs.
