Virgil Vasquez dominates for New Britain. Adam Brett Walker II hits his nineteenth homer for Fort Myers. Cedar Rapids wins despite making five errors.
SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE 5, ROCHESTER 4 IN SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)
Batting stars: James Beresford was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Eric Farris was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Pitching stars: None.
Opposition stars: Jose Pirela was 2-for-4 with a home run (his eighth) and two runs. Robert Refsnyder was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his sixth. Dan Fiorito was 2-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.
The game: Refsnyder hit a two-run homer in the first to give S/W-B a 2-0 lead. Rochester tied it in the second on a Farris RBI single and a double play. It was tied until the fifth, when Pirela led off with a home run. The inning continued with two singles and two walks, giving the RailRiders a 4-2 lead. The Red Wings got RBI singles by Doug Bernier and Beresford in the seventh to tie it. They had men on first and second with one out, but could do no more damage. In the bottom of the seventh, a walk and a single put men on first and third with one out. The next batter hit a ground ball to first base, but the throw home was too late and the game was over.
Of note: Bernier was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Deibinson Romero was 0-for-4. Nate Hanson was 0-for-4. Josmil Pinto was 1-for-2 with a walk and a run. Pedro Florimon was 1-for-2 with a walk and a run. Starter Scott Diamond pitched 4.2 innings, giving up four runs on nine hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE 1, ROCHESTER 0 IN SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE (GAME 2--7 INNINGS)
Batting star: Wilkin Ramirez was 2-for-3.
Pitching stars: Deolis Guerra started and pitched three shutout innings, giving up three hits and no walks with two strikeouts. A. J. Achter pitched three innings, giving up one run on two hits.
Opposition stars: Adonis Garcia was 3-for-4 with a triple and a home run, his seventh. Jeremy Bleich started and struck out three in three innings, allowing two hits and a walk. Joel De La Cruz pitched four innings, allowing three hits.
The game: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had a man on third in the first and third. Rochester had two men on in the first and fifth. But there was no scoring until the seventh and when it came, it came quickly. Garcia led off the seventh with a walkoff home run to end the game and give S/W-B a sweep of the doubleheader.
Of note: Doug Bernier was 0-for-2 with a walk. Deibinson Romero was 1-for-3. Pedro Florimon was 1-for-3.
NEW BRITAIN 4, NEW HAMPSHIRE 0 IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
Batting stars: Mike Kvasnicka was 2-for-4 with two doubles, scoring once and driving in two. Kennys Vargas was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fifteenth. Aaron Hicks was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
Pitching star: Virgil Vasquez pitched a complete game, giving up five hits and no walks with eight strikeouts.
Opposition star: Blake McFarland pitched three shutout innings, allowing only a walk with one strikeout.
The game: Kvasnicka doubled and scored on a Hicks single to give New Britain a 1-0 lead in the first. Vargas homered in the fourth to make it 2-0. Kvasnicka added a two-run double in the fifth to make it 4-0. New Hampshire did not get a baserunner until the fifth and did not get a man past second base.
Of note: Eddie Rosario was 2-for-4. Reynaldo Rodriguez was 0-for-4.
FORT MYERS 5, PALM BEACH 4 IN PALM BEACH<?h4>
Batting stars: Travis Harrison was 3-for-4 with a home run, his second. Adam Brett Walker II was 1-for-4 with a home run, his nineteenth. Niko Goodrum was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.
Pitching stars: Ethan Mildren pitched 5.1 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Madison Boer pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk with one strikeout. Tyler Jones pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Mason Katz was 2-for-2 with a double and two walks, scoring once and driving in one. Ildemaro Vargas was 2-for-5 with two doubles and a run.
The game: There was no scoring in the first, but in the second Walker II hit a two-run homer and Harrison followed with a solo homer to give Fort Myers a 3-0 lead. Goodrum doubled and scored on a Jorge Polanco single in the third to make it 4-0. Bruce Caldwell hit a two-run homer in the sixth to cut the lead to 4-2. The Miracle got an insurance run in the eighth and needed it, because Palm Beach scored two in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI double by Katz and a run-scoring single by Luke Voit. The Cardinals did not get a man on base after that, though.
Of note: Byron Buxton was 0-for-4 and is 0-for-8 since returning from the disabled list. Polanco was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Dalton Hicks was 0-for-2 with two walks and two runs.
CEDAR RAPIDS 7, WISCONSIN 5 IN CEDAR RAPIDS
Batting stars: Logan Wade was 1-for-3 with a home run (his second), driving in four. Bo Altobelli was 2-for-2 with a double and a walk, scoring twice. Alex Swim was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.
Pitching stars: Chih-Wei Hu pitched six innings, giving up four unearned runs on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts. Alex Muren struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.
Opposition stars: Taylor Williams struck out eight in seven innings, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk. Dustin DeMuth was 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Johnny Davis was 2-for-5 with a run.
The game: Cedar Rapids made three errors in the first inning, leading to four Wisconsin runs. In the third, Tanner Vavra had an RBI triple and later came around to score to cut the lead to 4-2. It stayed 4-2 until the eighth, when Wade hit a three-run homer to put the Kernels in front. It did not kill the rally, as later in the inning Swim had a two-run double to make the score 7-4. An error and two singles produced a run for the Timber Rattlers in the ninth and put the tying run on base, but a strikeout ended the game.
Of note: Ryan Walker was 1-for-4. Chad Christensen was 0-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch a and a run. Mitch Garver was 1-for-4 with a run. Cedar Rapids won despite making five errors. I don't know the winning percentage of teams that make five errors in a game, but I suspect it's not very good.
ELIZABETHTON 4, KINGSPORT 2 IN ELIZABETHTON
Batting stars: Jeremias Pineda was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring once. Tyler Mautner was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Brian Navarreto was 1-for-4 with a home run.
Pitching stars: Matt Batts struck out six in five innings, giving up two runs on four hits and no walks. Kuo Hua Lo struck out five in two shutout innings, giving up one hit. Dereck Rodriguez struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.
Opposition star: Pedro Perez was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his second.
The game: Perez hit a two-out two-run homer in the first for Kingsport. Pineda doubled and scored in the bottom of the first to cut the lead to 2-1. Elizabethton tied it in the second on a Navarreto homer and took a 3-2 lead in the third on doubles by Max Murphy and Mautner. The Twins added an insurance run in the sixth when Brett Doe doubled and scored. The Mets did not have more than one man on base at a time after the first inning.
Of note: Nick Gordon was 0-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Murphy was 1-for-4 with a double and a run. Tyler Kuresa was 0-for-4. Dereck Rodriguez is trying to make the conversion from outfielder to pitcher. So far, so good: six games, eleven innings, five hits, four walks, seven strikeouts, no runs.
GCL TWINS 4, GCL ORIOLES 2 AT ORIOLES
Batting stars: Nelson Molina was 2-for-3 with two walks and a run. Rafael P. Valera was 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk, driving in two. Dubal Baez was 1-for-3 with a double and a run.
Pitching stars: Onas Farfan struck out six in four shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk. Seth Wagner pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a walk with one strikeout. Trevor Hildenberger pitched 1.2 perfect innings with one strikeout.
Opposition star: Henry Urrutia was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
The game: Valera had a two-run triple in the first to give the Twins a 2-0 lead. An RBI single by Frank Encarnacion made it 3-0 in the top of the fifth, but in the bottom of the fifth the Orioles got on the board, getting RBI singles from Alejandro Juvier and Derek Peterson to cut the margin to 3-2. The Orioles did not get a hit after that, though, and Tyree Davis tripled in a run in the ninth to seal the victory.
Of note: Zach Larson was 0-for-2. Encarnacion was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Rainis Silva was 1-for-4 with a run. Jack Barrie was 1-for-3 with a walk.
DSL REDS 5, DSL TWINS 3 AT REDS
Batting star: Lewin Diaz was 2-for-3 with a home run (his third), a double, and a hit-by-pitch.
Pitching star: Jadison Jimenez pitched six innings, giving up an unearned run on three hits and a walk with five strikeouts.
Opposition stars: Franklin Montilla struck out six in five innings, allowing one run on four hits and two walks. Dario Saunders was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs.
The game: In the first, Jorge Andrade doubled and scored on an Antonio Tovar single to give the Twins a 1-0 lead. The lead held up until the sixth, when two singles and an error tied it at one. The Twins took the lead back in the seventh when Emmanuel Morel reached third on a single-plus-error and scored on an infield grounder. Diaz homered in the eighth to make it 3-1, but it wasn't enough. In the bottom of the eighth, a single, two walks, and three wild pitches tied the score. Cesar Mejia tripled in the go-ahead run and later scored on a Derik Capitillo single to give the Reds a 5-3 advantage. The Twins went down in order in the ninth.
Of note: Andrade was 1-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in one. Junior Amarante was 0-for-3. Tovar was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
TODAY'S TILTS
9:30 DSL Reds at DSL Twins
11:00 GCL Red Sox at GCL Twins
5:30 Clinton at Cedar Rapids (Completion of suspended game)
Game 2 Cedar Rapids (Kohl Stewart, 1-5, 2.67) at Clinton (TBA)
6:00 Kingsport (Yoryi Nuez, 2-1, 4.97) at Elizabethton (Felix Jorge, 2-0, 0.00)
6:05 Dunedin (Kendall Graveman, 7-3, 2.49) at Fort Myers (Brett Lee, 6-2, 2.09)
6:05 Reading (Severino Gonzalez, 5-9, 4.71) at New Britain (Pat Dean, 6-4, 4.34)
6:05 Rochester (Mark Hamburger, 1-0, 1.13) at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Jairo Heredia, 0-0, 10.61)