GCL Blue Jays� 9,� GCL Pirates� 1 (box)
In another afternoon game, the Pirates were held to just 5 hits and one run, while the Blue Jays pounded out 5 home runs.� DH Joey Schoenfeld had the only extra-base hit for the Pirates, a double in the 3rd, but he was thrown out trying to steal third base.� The Pirates’ best chance came in the 7th, when 3B Eric Avila singled, LF Exicardo Cayonez walked, and C Elias Diaz singled, all in a row and all with two outs.� But a strikeout ended the inning, leaving all three standing on base.� 2B Jorge Bishop and Cayonez had the other two Pirates’ hits.� Rehabbing SS Brian Friday went 0-for-3 with a walk.
Joely Rodriguez made the start for the Pirates.� He got three quick ground outs in the 1st inning, but gave up a solo home run, a single, and a 2-run homer in the 2nd inning.� Another solo homer added another run in the 3rd, and a lead-off solo homer made it 5-0 after the 4th inning.� Barrett Phillips pitched 3 scoreless innings, allowing just a single in the 5th, and retiring the side in order in the 6th and 7th innings.� Yomar Pacheco took over to begin the 8th, and the Blue Jays took advantage of him.� Two doubles and a 2-run homer brought in 3 runs, then a hit batter, a wild pitch, and an RBI single made it 4 runs in the inning and 9 total.
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State College Spikes� 13,�� Vermont Lake Monsters 2 (box)
Spikes’ starter Zac Fuesser gave up a run in the top of the 1st, when he walked in a run with the bases loaded.� He gave up only 2 hits over the next 4 innings, while striking out 4 batters.� The Spikes were not trailing for long, though — they scored 9 runs over the first three innings, and had only two innings in which they didn’t score.
2B Gift Ngoepe walked to begin the bottom of the 1st.� A single by SS Walker Gourley moved Ngoepe to third, and RF Adalberto Santos plated Ngoepe with a sacrifice fly.� Singles by 1B Matt Curry and 3B Kelson Brown, and a double by LF Pat Irvine (down from the Power) brought in three more runs, with 2 RBI for Irvine.� They added 2 more runs in the 2nd, with a double by CF Kyle Saukko, a single by Gourley, a double by Santos, a single by Curry, and a double by Brown.� The barrage continued in the 3rd inning.� C Matt Skirving, Saukko, and Ngoepe all singled, with Skirving scoring on Saukko’s hit.� A walk to Gourley loaded the bases, and another walk to Santos forced in Saukko.� Curry’s grounder force out brought in Ngoepe, and the Spikes were leading 9-1.
The Spikes had runners on first and third in the 4th inning, but didn’t score in that inning.� They did score again in the 5th, when Santos singled and scored on Curry’s double.� Curry homered in the 7th, making him only a triple short of the cycle.� The Spikes finished up with 2 runs in the 8th.� Saukko was hit by a pitch, and a throwing error allowed Saukko come all the way around to score and put Ngoepe on third base.� Santos’ single brought in Ngoepe.
Mitch Fienemann earned the win with 2 scoreless innings, allowing one walk.� Jhonatan Ramos and Sandobal Septimo each pitched a scoreless inning.� Jason Townsend took the top of the 9th for the Spikes.� He gave up a run on a walk, a balk, a ground out and an RBI single.
Matt Curry and Kelson Brown each finished with 4 hits, and Adalberto Santos had 3, with 3 RBI.� Curry had 4 RBI.� The Spikes tied a team record with a total of 20 hits.
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Bradenton Marauders� 5,� Palm Beach Cardinals� 3 (box)
Melkin Laureano earned his third win and Noah Krol earned his 21st save of the season as the Cardinals out-hit the Marauders, but the Marauders hung on for the win.� Laureano pitched 5 innings and allowed a run in each of the 3rd and 4th innings.� He had given up a double and a walk in the 1st, but got out of that jam with a double play.� He worked around another double in the 2nd.� In the 3rd, a walk, a stolen base, and an RBI double gave the Cardinals their first run.� A solo home run in the 4th gave them their second run.
The Marauders scored 2 runs in the 4th.� 1B Calvin Anderson led off with a walk, moved to second on C Jordan Newton’s single, and scored on DH James Skelton’s grounder force out.� A throwing error put Skelton on second base, and he went on to steal third, then scored on a wild pitch.�� SS Adenson Chourio broke the tie with a run in the 5th.� He led off with a single, advanced to second on CF Robbie Grossman’s walk, and scored on LF Quincy Latimore’s RBI single.� Latimore reached on a fielding error in the 7th, to begin another rally.� Anderson doubled, and 3B Adam Davis brought in both Latimore and Anderson with a line drive into center field, giving the Marauders two insurance runs.
Tyler Cox took over for Laureano to begin the 6th.� He pitched 2 scoreless innings, allowing only a single, then erasing that runner with a double play.� Mike Colla pitched the 8th, and he gave up a solo home run for the Cardinals’ final run.� Noah Krol pitched the 9th.� He gave up two singles, but erased one base runner with a double play, and left the other on base when he struck out the final batter, earning his 21st save.
Word came down today that C Tony Sanchez, who is out with a fractured jaw, will not likely be ready to return to the Marauders before the end of their season.� He will likely be ready for Fall Instructional League, though.� I wonder if he would be considered for the Arizona Fall League?
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Lexington Legends� 12,� West Virginia Power� 8 (box)
The Power scored in six consecutive innings, and thought they were sitting pretty, until the Legends exploded in the top of the 9th.� Lexington scored first, with one run in the 1st on two singles and a ground out, and 2 runs in the 2nd, on a double, two singles, and an RBI ground out.� Those were the only runs that starter Phillip Irwin surrendered in his 5 innings of work, allowing 7 hits, no walks, with 2 strikeouts.
CF Evan Chambers got two of the runs back in the bottom of the 3rd, with his 2-run home run following a single by C Jairo Marquez, just moved up from State College.� 3B Jesus Brito tied the score in the 4th with his 10th home run of the season.� 2B Jarek Cunningham and LF Rogelios Noris each added another solo home run (in the 5th and 6th respectively).� The Power scored another run in the 7th, when SS Elevys Gonzalez doubled and then scored when 1B Aaron Baker reached on a throwing error.
Reliever Eliecer Navarro pitched 2 scoreless innings, striking out 4 batters.� Zach Foster pitched the top of the 8th, and he gave up a double and a 2-run homer to begin the inning.� The Power got those 2 runs right back in the bottom of the frame.� Noris singled, DH Kyle Morgan was hit by a pitch, and they both scored when Gonzalez tripled into center field.
The Marauders were leading 8-5 in the top of the 9th, when the wheels fell off.� With Marc Baca on the mound, the first batter of the inning tripled, then scored on a throwing error by SS Gonzalez (1st run of the inning).� Two walks and a double scored a run (2).� After an intentional walk to load the bases, a pop up produced the first out of the inning.� Another walk drove in a run (3) to tie the score, and a single drove in two (4, 5) to give Lexington the lead.� Then came a ground out, and another single drove in two more runs (6, 7).� All 7 of those runs were charged to Baca, who was given the blown save and the loss.� Gabriel Alvarado finally rescued Baca, and got a fly out to end the inning.� The stunned Power got a single from Cunningham to begin the bottom of the 9th, but the next three batters went down in order.
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