HIGH SCORING GAMES MAKE UP FOR MATCHUPS POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN
Windy City vs New York
The Windy City ThunderBolts (7-6) defeated the New York Boulders (6-8) on Friday night with a final score of 3-0.
In the bottom of the first, the ThunderBolts wasted no time in busting out the bats. With one out, Daryl Myers singled up the middle and one batter later, Bren Spillane plated him with an RBI double off the wall in left field.
The Bolts added another run in the fifth inning when Payton Robertson singled and Brynn Martinez drove him in with his team-high third triple of the season to make the score 2-0.
One more run would be scored in the sixth inning. An RBI double to right-center field off the bat of Dan Robinson scored Bren Spillane and the ThunderBolt lead grew to 3-0.
The Boulders out-hit the Bolts 8-6 but struggled with runners on base, grounding into one double play while striking out nine times.
Ketchie departed after retiring six of the final seven batters he faced and the combination of Neil Abbatiello and Brayden Bonner held the Boulders scoreless over the final three innings, securing the victory.
Ketchie picked up his first win of the season while Willie Rios took his first loss for New York, allowing three runs on six hits and three walks.
Tri-City vs Schaumburg
The Schaumburg Boomers (9-4) defeated the Tri-City ValleyCats 19-2 on Friday night. This was the first time the two teams met.
The Boomers plated six runs in the bottom of the first on just two hits. The first five batters reached base before an out was recorded. Schaumburg stole three bases and took advantage of a pair of errors. Brett Milazzo notched an RBI double as the eighth batter of the inning, the first hit, and Thomas DeBonville followed with an RBI single. Clint Hardy doubled home a run in the second before the Boomers sent 12 men to the plate in the third, scoring six more runs to lead 13-0. There were just two hits in the third including a two-run single from Hardy.
The runs did not stop coming. Schaumburg added five in the fifth. Milazzo and Alec Craig singled home runs while Chase Dawson tripled home a pair. Dawson has tripled in three consecutive games and became the team's all-time leader in three-baggers.
The offense wasn't the only thing on display as starting pitcher Shumpei Yoshikawa took a no-hitter into the seventh despite having lengthy waits in the dugout. The first hit of the game came with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, a two-run homer from Juan Santana to break up the bid. Yoshikawa earned his second win, striking out nine in seven innings. Aaron Glickstein tossed the eighth and Juan Pichardo the ninth. The pitching staff combined to allow just two hits while striking out 10.
Eight members of the lineup posted hits and eight also scored runs while seven knocked home runs. Dawson drove home four. The 19 runs are the second most in single game franchise history. The Boomers also drew 10 walks in the game, the third contest with 10 this season while taking advantage of three hit batters and three wild pitches.
New Jersey vs Washington
The Washington Wild Things (8-5) defeated the New Jersey Jackals (5-7) 13-7 on Friday night
Wild Things rookie Hayden Pearce recorded his second win of the season dealing six strikeouts, with no runs against him in five innings pitched.
Nick Ward started the bottom half of the third with a bang by hitting a double down the first-base line. Wagner Lagrange cashed in driving him in with a single. With the bases loaded after an Andrew Czech walk, Hector Roa kept the hot inning going with a two-run single to extend the Wild Things lead to 3-0. Roa only got one RBI on the play as the second run came in on an error. Washington packed the bases up one more time, and one run walked in via a Landen Barns hit-by-pitch. Nick Ward found himself back up and drove in two more runs with a gap-shot single. L.G. Castillo and Scotty Dubrule followed suit with back-to-back base hits and carried the third inning onslaught to 8-0 Wild Things.
Cole Brannen continued the scoring by pulling off a squeeze to bring in Ian Walters, who tripled with two gone in the fourth inning. The bottom of the fifth held more success for Washington, with Nick Ward being brought in by a fielder's choice, securing double digits for the Things. A passed ball brought in the second baserunner of the inning bringing it to an 11-0 lead.
The Jackals showed a pulse in the top of the seventh. Dalton Combs singled to drive in Zak Whalin. Justin Wylie hit a three-run homerto drive in himself, Alfredo Marte, Dalton Combs. Edward Salcedo would then single to drive in Jason Agresti to make it 11-5. Nick Ward led the 7th off with a solo bomb, making it 12-5 Washington, and New Jersey retaliated with two runs in the eighth inning off a hard-hit ball to third base from Wylie that got away from first basemen Andrew Czech, closing the gap to 12-7.
In the bottom of the eighth, Washington scored Brannen in from third off a fielder's choice, inching the lead to six runs. The Wild Things were able to ride that last push to the end of the game, securing their eighth win of the year on the back of 13 runs on 13 hits.
Grizzlies vs Ottawa
The Ottawa Titans (8-5) defeated the Gateway Grizzlies (8-5) by a score of 3-1.
Through the first four innings, neither Matt Mulhearn (1-1) nor Ottawa starter Zac Westcott (3-0) allowed a hit, and Westcott had a perfect game going into the fourth, retiring the first ten batters he faced. Trevor Achenbach changed all of that by hitting a solo home run down the left field line, putting the Grizzlies ahead 1-0.
But again, the lead was short-lived, as with two outs in the bottom of the inning, David Maberry tied the game with an RBI single, and two pitches later, Will Zimmerman lined an RBI triple to right-center field to put the Titans up 2-1.
The home team would grab another run on an RBI groundout by Maberry in the sixth inning, and that was all Ottawa needed to win the game. The Grizzlies got the tying runs on base in the eighth with one out to chase Westcott, but Kevin Escorcia struck out Achenbach and Isaac Benard to preserve the lead, and then ended the game in the ninth when Abdiel Diaz grounded into a game-ending double play while representing the tying run.
Empire State vs Lake Erie
The Lake Erie Crushers (6-7) defeated the Empire State Greys (0-13) by score of 8-6. Lake Erie fired the first shot in the bottom of the first inning. Kenen Irizarry started the inning with a double down the line in left and came around to score on Jared Mang's two out RBI single to right.
The Greys battled all night long and took their first lead with a trio of runs in the top of the second. The first four batters of the inning reached safely, and Tyler Hill knocked in the first run with a RBI single. Liam McArthur drove the second run home on an infield single with the bases loaded, before Brock Begue plunked Jose Mercado with the bases loaded to plate the next run.
Lake Erie was able to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth. Mang and Jarrod Watkins stroked back-to-back one out singles, and Kokko Figueiredo followed with a RBI double down the line in right. Danny Perez brought in the tying run moments later on a sacrifice fly.
Empire State put together a two-out rally in the top of the sixth inning to score three more runs and took at 6-3 lead. The Greys hit five straight two out hits, and John Benevolent drove in the first run on a single to the left side of the infield. Hill followed with his second RBI base hit of the night and Zach Sullivan doubled home the final run of the inning.
The Crushers sent eight batters to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning and scored five times to take the lead for good. Figueiredo drove in the first run on a RBI groundout before Perez walked and Ermindo Escobar was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Connor Owings. Owings responded by going the opposite way to blast his first homer of the season over the wall in left, a Grand Slam that put the Crushers in the driver's seat for good, 8-6.
Merrick Crouse (1-1) picked up the victory in relief for the Crushers, tossing a scoreless sixth inning. Sam Curtis (2) scored the save after fanning two batters in a scoreless ninth inning of work. Thomas Derer (0-2) took the loss after allowing eight runs, six earned on seven hits over six innings of work.
Owings, Figueiredo and Mang led the Crushers with two hits each. Figueiredo has now reached safely in 13 straight games this season, and he's reached multiple times in 11 of those games.
Postponed Games Around the League
Evansville vs Trois-Rivières game was postponed due to inclement weather and wet field conditions. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, May 28 at 3/4 p.m. CDT/EDT. The final game will be played on May 29 at 12:05/1:05 p.m. CDT/EDT.
The Florence vs Québec game was postponed due to inclement weather. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, May 28 at 5:30 p.m. EDT. Then a second game will be played at 7:05 p.m. EDT.
The Joliet vs Sussex County game was postponed due to inclement weather. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday, May 29th at 11:05 a.m./12:05 p.m. CST/EST followed by the second game at 2:05/3:05 p.m. CDT/EDT.
All doubleheader games are 7 innings in length.
