Intimidators 8, Power 7 (Game 2)
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Game 2 went back and forth, but Kannapolis came out on top to sweep the twin-bill.
Kannapolis began the scoring with back-to-back homers (2-run and solo) in the bottom of the 1st inning off starter Zack Von Rosenberg. Von Rosenberg gave up a double and a walk in the 2nd but did not allow a run. Then in the 3rd, Kannapolis added 2 more runs on a single, a walk, a passed ball, a sacrifice fly, and two more singles. Manager Gary Robinson was ejected in the middle of the inning.
The Power got going with a run in the 3rd on a walk to LF Andy Vasquez and an RBI double by SS Drew Maggi. They made it 5-3 in the top of the 4th. DH Matt Curry singled, 3B Eric Avila was hit by a pitch, and 1B Justin Howard walked to load the bases. RF Dan Grovatt’s single drove in both Curry and Avila, to bring the Power within 2 runs of Kannapolis.
Von Rosenberg got two outs to begin the bottom of the 4th, then gave up a double and a walk. He was relieved by Kevin Decker, who finished the 4th with a grounder. Then Decker worked his way out of a bases-loaded jam (two singles and a walk) in the 5th, without allowing a run to score.
An error and a wild pitch by the Intimidators gave the Power the opportunity to tie the score in the top of the 6th. Curry and Avila began the inning with back-to-back singles, and a throwing error in left field let Curry come around to score. After a single by C Elias Diaz, a wild pitch by the new Kannapolis reliever let Avila score to tie the game at 5-5.
Zach Foster took over from Decker in the bottom of the 6th. He gave up a pair of doubles and a single, driving in one run, and Kannapolis had taken back the lead, 6-5. The Power answered with 2 runs in the top of the 7th. Walks to Maggi and Curry gave the Power two baserunners. Howard’s single along with a throwing error allowed both runners to score, and the Power again led, 7-6. The Kannapolis manager was ejected after that play.
But the Intimidators again returned fire in the bottom of the inning. Two singles and a wild pitch by Foster put tw runners into scoring position. A double lined into right field drove in both runners, to give the Intimidators an 8-7 win.
Bradenton Marauders 5, Palm Beach Cardinals 1
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Three Marauders’ pitchers combined to hold the Cardinals to just 3 hits in the game. Jeff Inman took the first 4 innings. He retired the first 7 batters he faced, then gave up a single, then retired 5 more batters. The Marauders’ batters were busy getting on base in the first three innings, though could not get anyone around to give Inman any runs to work with. 2B Jarek Cunningham doubled in the 1st, then moved to third on a wild pitch. CF Evan Chambers walked, but a double play ended the threat. DH Calvin Anderson and 3B Elevys Gonzalez had back-to-back singles in the 2nd, but another double play ended that too. The Marauders came closer in the 3rd, when SS Kelson Brown singled and stole second base. Cunningham reached base on a wild pitch on strike three, and Brown advanced to third base. A fielder’s choice off the bat of Chambers had Brown heading for home, but he was tagged out at the plate.
Finally in the 4th, the Marauders gave Inman some runs. Three consecutive singles, by C Ramon Cabrera, Anderson, and Gonzalez, loaded the bases. An RBI ground out by LF Adalberto Santos drove in Cabrera, and a wild pitch allowed Anderson to cross the plate, and the Marauders had a 2-0 lead. A pair of singles by Chambers and 1B Aaron Baker plus a sacrifice fly by Cabrera added a run in the 5th. A pair of doubles by Gonzalez and Santos and a sacrifice fly by RF Robbie Grossman in the 6th gave Bradenton two more runs.
Duke Welker pitched a scoreless 5th inning. He allowed a walk, but erased the runner with a double play. Matt McSwain pitched the final 4 innings, and earned his third win of the season. He gave up a solo home run in the 6th, for the Cardinals’ only run. McSwain gave up only one more hit over the next 3 innings, and that runner was thrown out as he tried to stretch his single into a double.
Richmond Flying Squirrels 3, Altoona Curve 2
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The Curve thought they were doing great with a run in the top of the 11th, but the Squirrels came back with 2 runs in the bottom of the inning to take the win.
C Eric Fryer scored the only run for the first 8 innings of the game when he blasted a solo homer to lead off the 2nd inning. 2B Brock Holt singled in the 3rd and Fryer singled in the 4th, and those were the only other Curve hits in the first 8 innings.
Aaron Pribanic made the start for the Curve, dueling the Richmond starter. Pribanic gave up a single to the first batter in the bottom of the 1st, then retired the next 14 batters he faced, until he allowed a double in the 5th. Then he put down the next 7 Squirrels who came to the plate. Pribanic gave up a single to the first batter in the bottom of the 8th, and was relieved by Michael Dubee. Dubee gave up a ground out and a single, which brought in the run (charged to Pribanic), though the runner who tried to score on the next single was tagged out at the plate on the throw in from LF Quincy Latimore to Fryer.
With the score tied at 1-1, neither team could score in the 9th inning. CF Starling Marte singled, but was left on base. Mike Colla relieved Dubee, and gave up a single and a walk, but got out of the inning with a double play. RF Brad Chalk walked in the 10th, and he was also left on base. Colla retired the Squirrels in order in the bottom of the 10th.
Then in the top of the 11th, with two outs, SS Jordy Mercer walked and Fryer reached base on a fielding error. Pinch-hitter Jose Hernandez lifted a single into center field, and Mercer raced around from second to score the go-ahead run. Noah Krol, who already has 4 saves this season, came on to pitch the bottom of the 11th, but tonight did not have his usual luck. He walked the first batter and gave up a single to the next. The third Richmond batter dropped down a sacrifice bunt, but Krol made a throwing error going to first, and the lead runner rounded third and scored, tying the game again. A wild pitch let the next runner score from third, for the walk-off win.
