Little bears are cool, and twice triumphed over Twins affiliates. Bryan Sammons picked up Jhoan Duran. An offensive explosion fo the Wind Surge. A tough day for Kody Funderburk. Louie Varland continues to pitch very well for Fort Myers.
IOWA 3, ST. PAUL 1 IN ST. PAUL
The Cubs scored two in the first and never trailed. Well, even little bears are cool. The Saints' lone run scored in the eighth on a bases-loaded walk.
Batting star: Keon Broxton was 1-for-2.
Pitching stars: Bryan Sammons pitched 5.1 innings of relief, giving up one run on one hit and four walks and striking out two. Shaun Anderson pitched a perfect inning and struck out one. Robinson Leyer struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up two walks.
Opposition stars: Michael Hermosillo was 2-for-4 with a home run (his third) and a double. Tony Wolters was 1-for-2 with two walks. Scott Effross struck out five in three perfect innings.
Starter: Jhoan Duran lasted just two-thirds of an inning, allowing two runs on two hits and three walks.
Good stats: Anderson has an ERA of zero.
Bad stats: Max Kepler was 0-for-3 and is batting zero. Broxton is batting .172. Damek Tomscha was 0-for-3 and is batting .182. Duran has an ERA of 5.06. Sammons lowered his ERA to 7.11
Record: The Saints are 17-20, in fourth place in the AAA Central-Midwest, 9.5 games behind Omaha.
WICHITA 14, SPRINGFIELD 3 IN WICHITA
The Wind Surge scored two in the first and eventually built a 9-0 lead.
Batting stars: Leobaldo Cabrera was 4-for-5 with a double and three runs. Jose Miranda was 3-for-6 with a home run (his ninth) and three RBIs. Andrew Bechtold was 2-for-2 with a home run (his fourth), three walks, three runs, and two RBIs. Aaron Whitefield was 2-for-4 with a double. Caleb Hamilton was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fifth), two runs, and three RBIs. Roy Morales was 2-for-5 with a double. Ernie De La Trinidad was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fourth.
Pitching stars: Jordan Balazovic struck out eight in 4.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk. Alex Phillips struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.
Opposition stars: Delvin Perez was 3-for-5 with a home run, his third. Luken Baker was 2-for-3 with two home runs (his sixth and seventh) and three RBIs. Alec Burleson was 2-for-4.
Good stats: Miranda is batting .315. Whitefield is batting .304. De La Trinidad is batting .301. Jhonleider Salinas did not give up a run in a third of an inning and has an ERA of zero. Hector Lujan allowed a run in two innings and has an ERA of 2.55.
Bad stats: Yetlsin Encarnacion was 0-for-5 and is batting .115. Calvin Faucher allowed three runs in 1.1 innings and has an ERA of 10.26.
Record: The Wind Surge is 20-16, in second place in the AA Central-North, a half game behind Tulsa.
SOUTH BEND 9, CEDAR RAPIDS 4 IN CEDAR RAPIDS
The Cubs scored eight runs in the third inning. Once again, cool little bears triumphed over the Twins.
Batting stars: Max Smith was 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs. Spencer Steer was 2-for-4 with a walk. Gabriel Maciel was 2-for-4. Seth Gray was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.
Pitching stars: Zach Featherstone struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk. Tyler Watson struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up one hit. Daniel Ozoria pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.
Opposition stars: Jake Slaughter was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Tyler Durna was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fourth), two runs, and two RBIs. Bradford Deppermann struck out six in four innings, giving up one run on three hits and no walks.
Starter: Kody Funderburk struck out three in 2.1 innings, but allowed eight runs on six hits and two walks.
Good stats: Ozoria has an ERA of zero. Featherstone has an ERA of 2.57.
Bad stats: None.
Record: The Kernels are 17-20, tied for fourth with Beloit in the High-A Central-West, 6.5 games behind Quad Cities.
LAKELAND 2, FORT MYERS 1 IN FORT MYERS (11 INNINGS)
It was scoreless through ten. The Flying Tigers scored there runs without a hit.
Batting stars: Misael Urbina was 3-for-5. Yunior Severino was 2-for-5.
Pitching stars: Louie Varland struck out seven in 5.2 innings, giving up three hits and two walks. Matthew Swain struck out three in 2.1 innings, giving up a hit and a walk. Osiris German retired all six men he faced, striking out four.
Opposition stars: Carlos Guzman pitched 5.1 scoreless innings, giving up four hits and three walks and striking out five. Andrew Navigato was 1-for-3 with a walk.
Good stats: Kyle Schmidt was 0-for-4 and is batting .303. Juan Pichardo allowed two runs (one earned) in one inning and has an ERA of 1.00. Varland has an ERA of 1.99.
Bad stats: Nick Anderson was 0-for-1 and is batting .118. Charles Mack was 0-for-4 and is batting .153. Willie Joe Garry, Jr. was 0-for-2 and is batting .155. Will Holland was 1-for-4 and is batting .158. Aaron Sabato was 0-for-4 and is batting .176. Urbina raised his average to .185. Swain has an ERA of 6.53.
Record: The Mighty Mussels are 20-17, in third place in the Low-A Southeast-West, seven games behind Tampa.
TODAY'S TILTS
6:00 Lakeland at Fort Myers (Sean Mooney, 0-1, 0.57)
6:35 South Bend at Cedar Rapids (Jon Olsen, 0-3, 4.91)
7:05 Iowa at St. Paul (Chandler Shepherd, 1-2, 8.10)
7:05 Springfield at Wichita (Austin Schulfer, 1-3, 5.28)