Toledo Mud Hens 14, Iowa Cubs 9 (box)
The Hens had the Iowa Cubs on the ropes this weekend, and while the Cubbies managed to take a game on Saturday, the Hens’ offense erupted again on Sunday to win the game, and the series five games to one.
Toledo went with a bullpen game in this one, so they needed to score plenty of runs. The Cubs scored in the first, but only got one run against Drew Carlton in his two innings of work to open this one. The offense took the game over in the third and fourth innings.
Jamie Westbrook reached base to open the bottom of the third on a catcher interference call, and Josh Lester cashed him in with his seventh home run of the season. Brady Policelli followed with a walk, and Zack Short singled him over to third. An Akil Baddoo sacrifice fly brought the run home, and it was 3-1 Hens after three.
Riley Greene sparked things off in the fourth, leading off with a soft serve single to center field. Trayce Thompson cranked his seventh home run of the year, scoring Greene. Later, with two outs in the inning, Lester singled, and this time it was Policelli going yard. 7-2 Hens.
Iowa fought back with a few runs in the middle innings, but the Hens scored in the sixth when Thompson led off with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly. They got two more in the seventh when Ryan Kreidler drilled a two-run shot, his fifth of the year and first since returning from the injured list. His hand appears to be doing alright. 10-4 Hens.
Finally, in the eighth the Hens finally put this one to bed for good. The big hit was a bases clearing double from Short that made it 14-5. Derek Law melted down in what was decidedly not a save situation in the ninth, allowing four runs, but it was just a face-saving gesture from the Cubs at that point.
Short: 3-5, R, 3 RBI, 2 2B, SB, CS
Lester: 3-4, 3 R, 3 RBI, HR
Policelli: 1-2, 3 R, 2 RBI, HR, 2 BB
Greene: 2-5, R, 2B
Baddoo: 1-4, RBI, 2 SO
Coming Up Next: The Hens travel to Worcester to tangle with the Red Sox starting on Tuesday night.
Richmond Flying Squirrels 5, Erie SeaWolves 4 (F/10)(box)
The SeaWolves won on Friday and so avoided the sweep, but they wasted good starts from Wilmer Flores and Reese Olson this weekend. Olson was not at all efficient, but spun four innings of one run ball while striking out nine Squirrels on Sunday, to one walk. It wasn’t enough.
Erie got on the board in the second when Eric De La Rosa doubled home Parker Meadows for the game’s first run. After Richmond tied it up in the bottom half, the SeaWolves scored again in the fourth when Meadows singled home Quincy Nieporte with the help of an error in the outfield.
However, Nick Kuzia surrendered three runs in relief, putting the SeaWolves in a bit of a hole. They got a run when Meadows lifted a sacrifice fly to score Nieporte in the top of the sixth, and then finally tied things up when Dane Myers cracked an opposite field homer, his eighth on the year, in the top of the ninth. Unfortunately, with the runner on second rule you pretty much have to score, and the SeaWolves failed to do so, while Richmond singled in the walkoff winner in the bottom of the tenth.
Myers: 2-5, R, RBI HR, 2 SO
Lipcius: 2-4, BB
Nieporte: 2-4, 2 R, BB
De La Rosa: 1-3, RBI, 2B, BB
Olson: 4.0 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 9 SO
Coming Up Next: Erie is on the road next week, but it’s a short drive to the southeast as they tackle the Altoona Curve starting Tuesday night.
Lansing Lugnuts 3, West Michigan Whitecaps 2 (box)
The Whitecaps had series lead heading into Sunday’s contest in Comstock Park, but the Lugnuts were able to take home a split with a 3-2 victory on Sunday afternoon.
Carlos Guzman gave the ‘Caps a good outing spinning five innings of one hit ball, but they couldn’t take advantage. Three straight singles after Ulrich Bojarski was hit by a pitch with two outs in the fourth, generated all their run scoring in this one. Cooper Johnson had a pop fly drop into right to score Bojarski, while Carlos Irigoyen singled home Austin Murr. Murr has really struggled recently, so a three-hit game was a sight for sore eyes. Ben Malgeri also had three hits, but otherwise the offense didn’t get anything going.
Bryce Tassin allowed two eighth inning runs as the Lugnuts tied it, and then they got the game winner against Elvis Alvarado in the top of the ninth.
Murr: 3-4, R
Malgeri: 3-3, 2B, BB
Guzman: 5.0 IP, 0 R, H, 2 BB, 4 SO
Coming Up Next: The Whitecaps will be out in Peoria on Tuesday night for a six-game set with the Chiefs. RHP Dylan Smith (5-4, 3.57 ERA) gets the start for West Michigan in game one.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 4, Dunedin Blue Jays 2 (box)
The Flying Tigers made it a 4-2 series victory by winning by the same score on Sunday. Carlos Pena gave them a pretty good start, and after squandering some opportunities early on, Lakeland’s offense finally made a push in the sixth and seventh innings to carry them to victory.
Pena allowed a fourth inning solo shot and no more. He didn’t rack up nine strikeouts this time, settling for just four, but was pretty effective as usual through 4 2⁄3 innings of work.
With one out in the sixth, Eliezer Alfonzo sparked a rally with a single. First baseman Justice Bigbie followed a batter later with a single of his own. Esney Chacon singled in Alfonzo, and Kingston Liniak singled in Bigbie to give Lakeland a 2-1 lead.
Reliever Carlos Marcano leaked a run in the bottom half as the Blue Jays tied it up, but Lakeland came right back with two more in the seventh. Austin Schultz led off with a double, and scored on an Izaac Pacheco single. Alfonzo reached on an error, and after Manuel Sequera lined out, Bigbie drilled a single into center to score Pacheco and make it 4-2 for good.
Pacheco: 1-5, R, RBI, 2 SO
Alfonzo: 2-4, R, BB, SO
Bigbie: 2-5, R, RBI
Pena: 4.2 IP, ER, 6 H, BB, 4 SO
Coming Up Next: The Daytona Tortugas come to town for six starting Tuesday night at Publix Field.