Charlotte Knights 9, Nashville Sounds 4The Knights (10-12) wasted no time getting started on offense, scoring nine runs in the first two innings to even the series against Nashville (12-10).
The Knights took full advantage of some subpar control from Sounds starter Quinn Priester. Rikuu Nishida led off the bottom of the first with walk on a close 3-2 pitch that Nashville unsuccessfully challenged. Caden Connor and Jarred Kelenic struck out, but the Knights were very much alive. Oliver Dunn was hit by a pitch, and Jacob Gonzalez and Drew Romo drew back-to-back walks.
Romo’s walk forced in the first run of the game, and it kept the inning alive for LaMonte Wade Jr. That walk also prompted a pitching change, as Peter Strzelecki replaced Priester. Strzelecki fared no better, as Wade crushed a grand slam to break the game open early on.
Incredibly, the Knights were not done hitting grand slams. Mario Camilletti, Nishida, and Connor hit three consecutive singles to open the bottom of the second. That set the stage for Kelenic, who went deep. Just like that, the Knights had hit two grand slams in as many innings. I do not recall the last time I saw that happen at any level.
Given how many runs the Knights scored, the pitching staff had a large margin for error. Hagen Smith did not have his finest stuff, but he did not need it. Smith pitched 2 1/3 innings, he only allowed one run, and he struck out four. However, Smith needed 62 pitches to make it that far, and he issued five walks. Smith’s ERA sits at 1.76, but he will need to reduce the walk rate.
As for the bullpen, Chase Plymell, Tyler Gilbert, and Riley Gowens combined to pitch 6 2/3 innings, and they allowed three runs (one earned), which was easily enough to protect the lead.
Birmingham Barons 11, Columbus Clingstones 0The Barons (8-9) were not messing around, as they demolished Columbus (9-8) on Wednesday, and the Barons hold a 2-0 lead in this series.
Barons starter Connor McCullough, 26, got the job done, delivering four shutout innings to put the Barons in a great position. McCullough only allowed one hit, and his ERA has dropped to 1.38 in the young season.
In the bottom of the third, Jorge Corona led off with a single, and Jordan Sprinkle opened the scoring with a two-run blast. That was the first homer of the season for Sprinkle, who had a big game. Later in the inning, Wilfred Veras singled to extend Birmingham’s lead to three.
In the fourth, Sprinkle drove in another run with a two-out single that allowed Corona to score. Samuel Zavala kept the inning alive with a single, and elite prospect Braden Montgomery lined a single to make the score 5-0.
The Barons blew the game wide open in the fifth. Jeral Perez walked, Andy Weber was hit by a pitch, and Adam Fogel walked to load the bases. From there, Corona went deep for the farm system’s third grand slam of the day. That was Corona’s first homer of the season, and it put the game completely out of reach.
In the sixth, Fogel drove in Veras to extend Birmingham’s lead to 10. Down the stretch, in the seventh, Zavala hit his fifth homer of the season for the 11th and final run for Birmingham.
Winston-Salem Dash 8, Hub City Spartanburgers 4 The red-hot Dash (12-5) put a seven-run inning together that propelled them to another victory over Hub City (7-9).
Dash starter Dylan Cumming, 26, managed to miss a lot of bats, tallying eight strikeouts in five innings. Unfortunately, when Cumming was not striking batters out, the contact was loud. Cumming allowed a two-run homer in the first and another in the third, and at the end of the third, Hub City had a 4-0 lead.
However, the Dash rallied in a big way in the fourth. Caleb Bonemer led off the frame with his sixth homer of the season. From there, the Dash followed Bonemer’s lead. After Bonemer’s homer, the Dash added six runs on five hits and two walks. One of the biggest hits was a two-run single by Ely Brown that put the Dash ahead, 5-4. Boston Smith, the next batter, launched his fourth homer of the year to extend Winston-Salem’s lead to three and cap off a seven-run inning.
In the sixth, the Dash scored the final run of the game for either team. Smith hit a one-out single, and Anthony DePino drove him in with a two-out double. Meanwhile, the Dash bullpen was terrific, allowing zero runs on two hits in four innings.
Charleston RiverDogs 8, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 4The Cannon Ballers (5-12) could not build on their thrilling victory on Tuesday, as they fell to Charleston (9-8), and the series is tied.
Kannapolis starter Truman Pauley, 22, had a smooth first inning, but it was a tough road after that. In the second, Bariler Guerrero took Pauley deep for a solo homer to put Charleston on the board. In the next inning, Derek Datil launched a two-run blast to give the RiverDogs a 3-0 lead. Pauley proceeded to walk four batters that inning before being removed with two outs. By the end of the top of the third, Charleston had a 5-0 lead.
Kannapolis did have an answer in the bottom of the third, when they put four consecutive hits together to open the frame. James Taussig and Arxy Hernández doubled, Nathan Archer tripled, and Abraham Núñez singled to bring home the Cannon Ballers’ third run.
In the fourth, the Cannon Ballers got within one run. Javier Mogollón kicked the inning off with a bang by launching a triple. Stiven Flores followed with an RBI single to make the score 5-4.