TWO DOUBLEHEADERS AND A COUPLE POSTPONEMENTS
Windy City vs Evansville
The Windy City ThunderBolts split a doubleheader with the Evansville Otters (14-10) on Thursday night with the ThunderBolts taking the first game by a score of 3-1 and the Otters taking the second game 8-5.
In game one, the Otters took the first lead on an RBI groundout by Andy Armstrong. The Bolts retaliated in the top of the fourth. Jairus Richards tied the game with a lead-off, solo homer. Two batters later, Daryl Myers gave the Bolts the lead for good with a two-run homer.
Kenny Mathews earned the game one win with 5.2 innings of one-run ball. Brayden Bonner retired the only batter he faced. Layne Schnitz-Paxton earned the save with a scoreless seventh.
In game two, Evansville jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first three innings. A two-run homer for Zach Biermann opened the scoring in the first. The Otters scored five more times in the third, including two-run homers for Dakota Phillips and Miles Gordon.
The Bolts showed flashes of a comeback, but couldn't get all the way even. A pair of RBI doubles for Jace Mercer, an RBI single for Peyton Isaacson and a solo homer for Payton Robertson highlighted the offense in the loss.
Ryan O'Reilly earned the win for Evansville, throwing five innings and allowing three runs. Bryan Ketchie took the loss, giving up seven runs in three innings.
New Jersey vs Lake Erie
The New Jersey Jackals (9-12) swept a double header against the Lake Erie Crushers (10-14) on Thursday night by taking game one by a score of 3-2 and the second game by a score of 5-4.
In game one, picking up a rain suspended game from Wednesday night, Lake Erie fired the first shot when Nick Cicci belted a two run homer to left, his first of the season in the bottom of the second inning.
The Jackals got on the board in the top of the third when Todd Isaacs stroked a RBI single to score Trevor Abrams. Abrams struck again in the top of the seventh inning, when he smashed a two run homer to right, his fifth of the season to give the Jackals a 3-2 lead.
Lake Erie had plenty of chances to score, as they had base runners in every inning of the contest, but left 10 men on base in the loss.
Mizuki Akatsuka picked up the win, tossing four scoreless innings of three hit relief and fanned four batters. Juan Perez scored the save after tossing a scoreless ninth inning. Brock Begue took the loss after allowing two runs on four hits over 3.1 innings of work.
In game two, Santiago Chirino belted a solo homer to left, his first of the season in the top of the first inning to give the Jackals the lead. New Jersey added two more in the third inning on a RBI single from Alfredo Marte and a run scoring double from Justin Wylie.
Lake Erie battled back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on Kokko Figueiredo's double to left center that scored Jackson Valera and Bryant Flete. The Crushers tied the game in the seventh when Carter Hayes scored on Kenen Irizarry's sacrifice fly.
In the eighth, Dalton Combs and Wylie stroked RBI singles to give the Jackals a 5-3 lead. Lake Erie was only able to respond with one in the bottom of the inning on Figueiredo's RBI single.
Angelo Baez picked up the win for New Jersey, allowing a run on two hits over an inning of work. Christian Tessitore scored the save after allowing just an unearned run on a hit while striking out two in the eighth inning. Sam Curtis took the loss after allowing a pair of runs on two hits in one inning of work.
Rodney Tennie led Lake Erie offensively, with a pair of multi-hit games in the double header. He hit safely twice in the opener and went 3-for-3 in the finale. Figueiredo hit safely twice in the second game and had three hits on the night.
Gateway vs Schaumburg
The Gateway Grizzlies (12-10) defeated the Schaumburg Boomers (13-10) by a score of 5-1 Thursday night.
The game began as a pitcher's duel between Sam Gardner and Shumpei Yoshikawa , with both starters allowing a two-out run in the third inning. Andrew Penner's single in the top half got Gateway the lead at 1-0, but Thomas DeBonville's double off the glove of Isaac Benard in right field equalized the score at 1-1. The Boomers would then take the lead with a four-run outburst in the bottom of the fifth, with Alec Craig clearing the bases with a three-run triple and DeBonville adding an RBI single to make it 5-1 Schaumburg.
Then the Grizzlies came all the way back. Abdiel Diaz led off the sixth with an infield single, and Penner walked before Benard crushed an RBI double to right field to make it a 5-2 game. Trevor Achenbach then hit a sacrifice fly to right-center field to plate another run and make it 5-3, and after Peter Zimmermann singled to put the tying run on base, Clint Freeman hit a go-ahead, three-run homer to put the Grizzlies back in front 6-5.
The Boomers would get the tying run into scoring position in the sixth and seventh innings, but Gateway's bullpen held the advantage, and the Grizzlies' offense would explode in the top of the eighth to seal the win. Achenbach led off with a double, and scored thanks to two wild pitches by Schaumburg's Michael Slaten to make it 7-5. Slaten then issued three walks in a row to load the bases, and after a pitching change, Jay Prather hit a grand slam home run to right field for an 11-5 lead.
Gateway wasn't done there. With Penner on base and two outs later in the inning, Benard came up and hit a two-run home run to left-center field for a 13-5 advantage, capping the monster inning. An RBI single by Alex Hernandezadded another run in the ninth to complete the scoring as the Grizzlies left Schaumburg with a series win for the first time since 2015.
Six Grizzlies had multi-hit games on the night, with Benard, Freeman, and Prather all driving in three or more runs. The 14 runs and 14 hits by the club were both the second-most that Gateway has put up offensively in a game this season.
Florence vs Joliet
The Joliet Slammers (13-12) defeated the Florence Y'alls (7-16) by a score of 6-4 Thursday night.
After scoring just five runs in the first 26 innings of the series against Joliet, Florence finally showed signs of offensive life in the top of the ninth inning with three runs on four hits, but the five-run deficit was too much to overcome and the comeback bid fell short culminating in a 6-4 loss Thursday night at Duly Health and Care Field.
With the win, Joliet (13-12) completes the series sweep in the first matchup of the year against the Y'alls (7-16). It is the second time this season the Y'alls have been swept, both times coming on the road.
Down 6-1 entering the ninth inning, five consecutive batters reached base for Florence including four consecutive hits. Ray Zuberer III stroked a two-run double, and Alberti Chavez followed two batters later with a RBI single. A fly out and a ground out ended the Florence threat and gave Joliet the win.
Joliet again recorded a strong pitching performance thanks to seven innings from Logan Schmitt. The righty allowed just one run one five hits. He worked around four walks. All three Slammers starting pitchers went seven innings, and none of them allowed more than two earned runs. The three runs allowed by Kaleb Honea in the ninth inning were the only runs given up by the Joliet bullpen this series.
Joliet scored in the first inning for the third consecutive game thanks to a Matt McGarry opposite field solo home run. The big inning for the Slammers came in the fifth with three runs off of Y'alls starter Billy Damon. Brylie Ware knocked in two with a single and Luke Mangieri followed with a RBI single of his own. Lane Baremore drove in two insurance runs in the seventh inning, which proved to be the difference maker.
Axel Johnson, AJ Bumpass, and Chavez all had two hits for Florence. Bobby Brabrand struck out two in a clean eighth inning.
Ottawa vs Trois-Rivières
The game between the Ottawa Titans (16-6) and Trois-Rivières Aigles (9-12) has been postponed due to rain. It will be made up as a doubleheader on July 12.
Empire State vs Quebec
The game between the Empire State Greys (0-23) and Quebec Capitales (19-4) has been postponed due to rain. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on July 12.
Tri-City vs Washington
The Washington Wild Things (15-9) defeated the Tri-City ValleyCats (13-10) by a score of 10-9 on Thursday night.
After gaining a 1-0 lead in the second, Tri-City hit three home runs off Tom Hart in the third to go up 5-0 over Washington. The Wild Things responded in the bottom of the third with a home run from Matt Phipps followed by three runs to make it a 5-4 game. Phipps' home run was also his first career pro hit. Hector Roa and Ian Walters each had an RBI in the four-run frame on top of Phipps' homer.
The ValleyCats scored two more runs in the fifth to extend their lead, but the Wild Things scored runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, including a home run from Ramon Osuna, to take the lead 8-7. Nick Ward knocked home the tying run and an error brought home the eighth Washington run. Tri-City took back the lead in the eighth with two runs, but Washington took it back on a game-winning two-run RBI single from Scotty Dubrule, who pinch hit for Chris Eusay in the bottom of the eighth.
Lukas Young closed the game for Washington, facing three in the ninth and getting all three out, finishing the game by striking out Juan Silverio. Young pitched 1.1 innings for the win on the mound for the second-consecutive night.
New York vs Sussex County
The Sussex County Miners (12-13) defeated the New York Boulders (11-13) by a score of 11-5 Thursday night.
A sacrifice fly by the Miners' Martin Figueroa in the bottom of the first and a solo home run in the top of the second by New York's Jake MacKenzie, his fifth long ball of the season, left the game knotted at 1-1 before Sussex County grabbed the lead in the home half of the second inning when Dave Maberry hit a two-run home run, his second of the year and second in as many nights, the blast giving the Miners a 3-1 advantage.
In the third, the Miners seized control of the game by scoring five times. Juwuan Harris and Errol Robinson had RBI doubles in the frame, while Maberry added a run-scoring single. Bryan Leef and Figueroa drew bases-loaded walks to force in the inning's last two runs as Sussex County moved out to an 8-1 advantage.
The Boulders made things interesting with a three-run seventh inning that cut their deficit to 8-4. In the frame, Giovanni Garbella had an RBI double, Steven Figueroa a sacrifice fly and David Vinsky a run-scoring single.
However, the Miners added a trio of insurance runs in the eighth, two coming on a double by Ariel Sandoval and the third on a sacrifice fly by Harris.
The Boulders' Steven Figueroa capped the night's scoring with an RBI single in the ninth.
Willie Rios took the loss for the Boulders. He lasted just 2 1/3 innings and allowed five runs on three hits to go along with four walks and a strikeout. The defeat dropped Rios to 0-2 on the year.
Dwayne Marshall started and got the win for Sussex County. The righthander went 6 1/3 innings and surrendered four runs on five hits while walking three and striking out one. The win improved Marshall to 3-2 on the season.
Billy Layne, Jr., Robert Klinchock and Ivan Pineyro finished out the game on the hill for the Miners.
