Four teams combine for ten runs, half of them coming from Cedar Rapids in a loss. Jason Wheeler dominates for Fort Myers. Eddie Rosario makes his season debut.
SYRACUSE 5, ROCHESTER 1 IN ROCHESTER
Batting star: James Beresford was 1-for-3 with a double and a run.
Pitching stars: Deolis Guerra struck out three in two perfect innings. A. J. Achter struck out three in two perfect innings.
Opposition stars: Emmaunel Burriss was 3-for-5 with a double and three runs. Steven Souza, Jr. was 3-for-5 with a run and two RBIs. Taylor Hill pitched eight innings, allowing one run on three hits and a walk with two strikeouts.
The game: An error, two singles, a double, and another single plated three runs for Syracuse in the first inning. The game was basically over at that point. Rochester did not get a hit until the fifth and did not bat more than three in an inning until the sixth. Burriss doubled and scored in the seventh to make it 4-0. The Red Wings got their only run in the bottom of the seventh, as Beresford opened the inning with a double and scored on a pair of productive outs. The Chiefs added one more run in the ninth.
Of note: Eric Farris was 1-for-4. Chris Herrmann was 0-forr-1 and was removed from the game in the fourth for no apparrennt rreasonn. Deibinson Romero was 0-for-3 with an RBI. Chris Colabello was 0-for-3. Starter Logan Darnell was removed from the game after two innings, also for no apparent reason. He gave up three runs (one earned) on seven hits and a walk with four strikeouts.
PORTLAND 2, NEW BRITAIN 1 IN PORTLAND
Batting star: Daniel Ortiz was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once.
Pitching stars: Tyler Duffey pitched six innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk with five strikeouts. Jim Fuller struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up no hits and no walks. Adrian Salcedo pitched a scoreless inning with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Stefan Welch was 1-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one. Henry Owens pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on two hits with five strikeouts.
The game: With one out in the first, Portland went single, double, single, double to score two runs and take a 2-0 lead. That was all the runs they needed. New Britain did not get a man to third base in the first eight innings. They threatened to come back in the ninth, though. With one out, Ortiz doubled and Kennys Vargas singled him home to make it 2-1. A. J. Pettersen ran for Vargas. Reynaldo Rodriguez doubled to left, but Pettersen was thrown out trying to score from first and Rodriguez was thrown out trying to go to third on the throw, meaning the game ended on an odd 7-6-2-5-3 double play.
Of note: Brad Boyer was 0-for-4. Vargas was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
FORT MYERS 3, CLEARWATER 0 IN CLEARWATER
Batting stars: Mike Gonzales was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Dalton Hicks was 1-for-2 with two walks and a run.
Pitching stars: Jason Wheeler pitched eight innings, giving up two hits and a walk with seven strikeouts. Madison Boer pitched a perfect inning.
Opposition star: Jeb Stefan pitched six innings, allowing an unearned run on two hits and two walks with two strikeouts.
The game: Fort Myers scored in the fourth "without the benefit of a base hit", as a walk, a wild pitch, a ground out, and an error made it 1-0. In the seventh, a pair of walks preceded a Gonzales double that made it 3-0. That was more than enough. The closest Clearwater came to getting anything going on offense was the third, which was also the only time the Threshers sent more than three batters to the plate. A leadoff single and a two-out bunt single put men on first and second, the only time Clearwater got a man to second base. A fly out ended the inning.
Of note: Jorge Polanco was 0-for-4 with a walk. Eddie Rosario was 0-for-3 with two walks. Travis Harrison was 0-for-3 with two walks. Max Kepler was 0-for-2 with two walks and a run.
WISCONSIN 8, CEDAR RAPIDS 5 IN CEDAR RAPIDS
Batting stars: Michael Quesada was 3-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in two. Jason Kanzler was 1-for-2 with two hit-by-pitches and two runs.
Pitching stars: Ryan Eades pitched five innings, giving up three runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Felix Jorge pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.
Opposition stars: Taylor Brennan was 3-for-4 with a double and two walks, scoring once and driving in two. Steven Halcomb was 2-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in two. Tyler Alexander struck out three in three shutout innings, allowing one hit.
The game: Cedar Rapids led most of the way. Mitch Garver doubled in a run in the first to give the Kernels a 1-0 lead. A two-run single by Engelb Vielma made it 3-0 after two. Wisconsin came back, as Brennan doubled in a run in the fourth and Jose Pena delivered a two-run single in the fifth to tie the score. Quesada doubled in two in the sixth to put Cedar Rapids up 5-3, but the seventh decided the game. A walk was followed by four singles to give the Timber Rattlers a 6-5 lead, and Halcomb's two-run double put the game away. The Kernels managed only one single in the last three innings.
Of note: Ryan Walker was 1-for-5. Chad Christensen was 0-for-4. Garver was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
TODAY'S TILTS
5:30 Fort Myers (Brett Lee, 5-1, 2.11) at Clearwater (TBA)
5:35 Binghamton (Angel Cuan, 1-1, 9.00) at New Britain (Sean Gilmartin, 4-3, 3.52)
6:05 Gwinnett (Cody Martin, 3-3, 2.89) at Rochester (Kris Johnson, 4-2, 2.11)
6:35 Wisconsin (Barrett Astin, 5-2, 3.64) at Cedar Rapids (Ethan Mildren, 0-3, 4.35)