Brett Lee shines. Big games for Angel Morales and Dalton Hicks. The DSL season gets underway.
CHARLOTTE 4, ROCHESTER 3 IN CHARLOTTE
Batting stars: Jeff Clement was 2-for-4. Oswaldo Arcia was 1-for-2 with three walks and a home run, his sixth.
Pitching star: Luis Perdomo pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Simon Castro pitched five shutout innings, giving up two hits and seven walks. Blake Tekotte was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once. Angel Sanchez was 2-for-4 and scored once.
Key inning: The second. Leading 1-0, the Knights came up with three runs. Seth Loman led off the inning with a home run. With one out, Sanchez singled, Jim Gallagher doubled, and Tekotte walked to load the bases. Gordon Beckham singled in one run and a wild pitch plated another. The damage came off starter Vance Worley.
Vanimal watch: Worley settled down after the second to pitch five shutout innings. His line for the game was seven innings, four runs, ten hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts.
In case you're interested: The Red Wings had eight hits and drew twelve walks. The stranded twelve runners and hit into four double plays.
NEW BRITAIN 4, BOWIE 3 IN NEW BRITAIN
Batting stars: James Beresford was 3-for-4. Daniel Ortiz was 2-for-4 and scored twice. Danny Santana was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Pitching stars: Alex Meyer struck out ten in 6.1 innings, giving up one run on two hits and two walks. A. J. Achter pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk.
Opposition star: Brandon Waring was 2-for-2 with two walks and a home run, driving in two.
Key inning: The eighth. The Rock Cats led 4-1. Josh Horton singled to lead off the Baysox' eighth. Ty Kelly hit a one out double and Niuman Romero walked to load the bases. Achter then replaced Blake Martin. He got the second out, but then walked in a run. Henry Urrutia then singled in another run, but Romero was thrown out at the plate by Ortiz to end the inning.
FORT MYERS 13, PALM BEACH 4 IN PALM BEACH
Batting stars: Angel Morales was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a home run, his sixth. He scored twice and drove in four. Eddie Rosario was 3-for-5 with a walk and a triple, scoring once and driving in two. Andy Leer was 2-for-4 with two walks and a home run (his fourth), scoring twice.
Pitching star: Chad Rodgers pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks.
Opposition stars: Nick Longmire was 4-for-4 with a double and a home run. David Popkins was 3-for-4 with a home run and scored twice.
Key inning: The second. It was a scoreless tie. Vargas led off with a single and Morales hit a two-run homer. It appeared the rally might have been killed, as the next two batters went out. Then Leer homered, Aderlin Mejia walked, and singles by Jhon Goncalves and Rosario produced the fourth run of the inning. The Cardinals never got closer.
Prospect watch: Tom Stuifbergen gave up three runs on seven hits and no walks in six innings.
CEDAR RAPIDS 15, KANE COUNTY 2 IN KANE COUNTY
Batting stars: Dalton Hicks was 3-for-4 with a walk and two home runs, giving him seven. He scored twice and drove in four. Tyler Grimes was 3-for-3 with two walks and a triple, scoring four times and driving in one. Jeremias Pineda was 2-for-3 with two walks and his first home run, scoring three times and driving in three.
Pitching stars: Brett Lee pitched seven hits, giving up two runs (one earned) on seven hits and two walks. Manuel Soliman retired all six batters he faced, four by strikeout.
Opposition stars: Albert Almora was 2-for-4 and scored once. Jeimer Candelario was 2-for-4.
Key inning: The first. The Kernels scored three times before the Cougars came to bat. With one out, Niko Goodrum and Jorge Polanco hit back-to-back doubles and Hicks hit a two-run homer. Cedar Rapids added three more in the second and the rout was on.
DSL ORIOLES1 6, DSL TWINS 5 AT DSL TWINS
Batting star: Rainis Silva was 2-for-4 and scored once.
Pitching stars: Starter Onesimo Hernandez pitched three innings, giving up one run on four hits and no walks while striking out three. Johan Quesada pitched a scoreless inning, striking out two and walking two but giving up no hits.
Opposition stars: Wilmer Aquino pitched five innings, allowing one run on three hits and three walks. Victor Medina was 3-for-4 with a walk and scored once. Guillermo Salas was 2-for-4 with a walk and scored twice.
Key inning: The ninth. The score was tied at five. A pair of walks and a wild pitch put runners on second and third with one out, and a sacrifice fly scored the go-ahead run. The run was scored off Reudis Reyes in his only inning of work.
TODAY'S TILTS
9:30 DSL Twins at DSL Reds
12:35 Bowie (Jake Pettit, 3-1, 3.64) at New Britain (Logan Darnell, 4-4, 2.51)
1:00 Cedar Rapids (Hudson Boyd, 1-3, 6.15) at Kane County (Michael Heesch, 2-4, 4.12)
1:15 Rochester (TBA) at Charlotte (Jason Berken, 4-4, 3.14)
4:05 Fort Myers (Taylor Rogers, 4-1, 1.32) at Palm Beach (TBA)