Charlotte Knights 9, Toledo Mud Hens 6
Daniel Palka: 0-for-5, 0 BB, 1 K (.167 BA, .515 OPS)
Matt Skole: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB, 0 K (.291 BA, 1.097 OPS) **MVP**
Zack Collins: 1-for-4, 1 BB, 2 K (.231 BA, .973 OPS)
Danny Mendick: 1-for-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K (.221 BA, .743 OPS)
Jordan Stephens: 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (7.17 ERA, 1.69 WHIP)
Juan Minaya: 1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (5.06 ERA, 1.50 WHIP)
Ian Hamilton: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (11.05 ERA, 1.77 WHIP)
FINAL: Knights 9, Toledo 6
— Charlotte Knights (@KnightsBaseball) April 25, 2019
Seven runs in the first lead the Knights to a series win over Toledo! Charlotte is now 14-6 on the season!! pic.twitter.com/sATmh6KrDa
After a very smooth first half-inning for Jordan Stephens, his outing was made even easier with a hefty amount of run support from his hot-hitting lineup. Matt Skole got the scoring started with a two-run double. The Mud Hens starter, Kyle Funkhouser, well, was in a bit of a funk after that. He dealt with the bases loaded most of his time out because of five walks. Two of those walks, to Danny Mendick and Ryan Goins, were RBI walks. With his fifth walk (to Goins), Funkhouser was lifted. But the Mud Hens bullpen did not do much better, as the very next batter (Charlie Tilson) hit a bases-clearing triple and was out attempting the inside-the-park home run. The Knights batted around to take a 7-0 after one.
The Mud Hens clawed their way to some runs, but it was never enough. Stephens had his best start of the year, and it was actually good, even using a very low bar. He threw a quality start, but did allow more runners on base than innings pitched. Though, as an interesting point to note, Stephens does start on the same day Ervin Santana does — just something to have in the back of your mind.
After Stephens, Juan Minaya ran into some real trouble. He was tagged for three earned in just one inning of work. Ian Hamilton was able to come in for his second save of the year with a shutout ninth.
Jackson Generals 9, Birmingham Barons 0
Joel Booker: 2-for-5, 0 BB, 0 K (.377 BA, .889 OPS)
Laz Rivera: 1-for-5, 0 BB, 0 K (.188 BA, .449 OPS)
Luis Gonzalez: 0-for-3, 1 BB, 0 K (.208 BA, .603 OPS)
Yermin Mercedes: 2-for-4, 0 BB, 0 K (.405 BA, 1.085 OPS) **MVP**
Gavin Sheets: 0-for-3, 1 BB, 0 K (.239 BA, .672 OPS)
Micker Adolfo: 1-for-3, 1 BB, 1 K (.212 BA, .641 OPS)
Sean Nolin: 1 1⁄3 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 0 K (8.10 ERA, 1.92 WHIP)
Zach Thompson: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K (1.69 ERA, 1.13 WHIP)
With this infield single, @ymercedes73 has now hit in consecutive games!
— Birmingham Barons (@BhamBarons) April 24, 2019
His average is up to .400 through the at bat #BuiltInBham | #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/4BI8foeMuB
A bad start along with no run support will lead to bad games, just ask the Barons. In an early afternoon ballgame, the Jackson Generals got off to a quick start against Sean Nolin. Six runs crossed home plate in the first two innings for the Generals, including two off of a home run. Nolin was not able to finish the second inning, forcing Tanner Banks to put out the fire. Banks was able to settle down the scoring, with 3 2⁄3 shutout innings, but no run support came.
On the offensive side, it was not like the Barons hitters were overwhelmed against Jackson like the British in New Orleans. Seven of the nine batters in Birmingham’s lineup recorded a hit, and every single batter reached base, for a total of 13 runners on base. And the Generals committed two errors. Still, the Barons were shut out mostly because of four GIDP, and only one extra-base hit (a Yermin Mercedes double). Barons pitching would end up allowing three more runs, one from Zach Thompson and two from Connor Walsh, to finish out the 9-0 loss.
Winston-Salem Dash 5, Wilmington Blue Rocks 2 (10)
Nick Madrigal: 1-for-2, 1 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 1 SB (.281 BA, .732 OPS)
Craig Dedelow: 2-for-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K (.227 BA, .741 OPS) **MVP**
Tate Blackman: 1-for-3, 2 BB, 2 K (.163 BA, .594 OPS)
Yeyson Yrizarri: 1-for-5, 0 BB, 3 K (.197 BA, .543 OPS)
Lincoln Henzman: 3 2⁄3 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K (2.57 ERA, 1.29 WHIP)
.@Craig_DEEDS shows off the power again!
— Winston-Salem Dash (@WSDashBaseball) April 25, 2019
His three-run shot in the 10th gives us a 5-2 edge at Wilmington.
Make that 2⃣ homers in 2⃣ days for the former @IndianaBase star. pic.twitter.com/mkRn79cR5U
From the start, Lincoln Henzman was dealing with runners in scoring position and Blue Rocks starting pitcher Marcelo Martinez, went six up and six down. Yet the Dash, surprisingly, were the first ones one the board: Nick Madrigal doubled to left field to score Daniel Gonzalez and JJ Muno. For Henzman, his luck through three shutout innings came thanks to two double plays.
However, Henzman’s struggles continued in the fourth inning as he hit a batter, walked another — then he induced his third double play. With two outs and nearly escaping on a tightrope yet again, Henzman’s next batter knocked him out of the game with an RBI double. Zach Lewis took over for Henzman and got the last batter out. However, in the next inning, Lewis allowed a run that tied the game 2-2.
After the bullpens stymied both lineups through nine innings, the Dash struck again in extras. With Madrigal and Muno on base, Craig Dedelow hit his fourth home run of the year to break the stalemate. José Nin came in the bottom of the 10th and retired the side for the extra-inning win.
Kannapolis Intimidators 2, Charleston RiverDogs 1
Lenyn Sosa: 1-for-4, 0 BB, 0 K (.217 BA, .508 OPS)
Steele Walker: 1-for-4, 0 BB, 1 K (.333 BA, .991 OPS)
Gunnar Troutwine: 0-for-2, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K (.355 BA, 1.060 OPS)
Bryce Bush: 1-for-3, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K (.145 BA, .433 OPS)
Luis Curbelo: 1-for-4, 0 BB, 1 K (.159 BA, .480 OPS)
Davis Martin: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 11 K (6.75 ERA, 1.27 WHIP) **MVP**
What was really a breath of fresh air for many Intimidators involved, was also a very low scoring game. The RiverDogs (odd team name) struck first in the second inning with a home run off of Davis Martin, but that was it for the Dogs. Martin came into the game with an 8.80 ERA, and that dropped quite a bit with six strong innings, only allowing one hit after the homer. He struck out 11 batters, which almost doubled his yearly total.
The offense did not come for the I’s until the seventh inning. Bryce Bush struck first, to extend his now-three game hit streak with an RBI triple. It was Bush’s second extra-base hit of the season. Michael Hickman then drove in Bush to push Kanny to a 2-1 lead, and that is where the game would stay. Sam Long and Austin Conway combined to throw the last three innings of the game and close out the RiverDogs.