Brent Rooker and Charlie Barnes lead the Saints.  Spencer Steer continues to supply the beef.  Kody Funderburk pitched well, but not well enough.  Louie Varland continues to dominate.

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Brent Rooker hit a two-run homer in the first and the Saints never trailed.

Batting stars:  Willians Astudillo was 2-for-4.  Rooker was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fourteenth.  Drew Maggi was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fifth.

Pitching stars:  Charlie Barnes pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk and striking out three.  Ian Hamilton struck out four in two perfect innings.

Opposition star:  Anderson Miller was 2-for-3.

Good stats:  Jose Miranda was 1-for-3 and is batting .455.  Hamilton has an ERA of 1.19.

Bad stats:  Keon Broxton was 1-for-3 and is batting .169.

Record:  The Saints are 25-27, in fourth place in the AAA East/Midwest, eight games behind Omaha.

AMARILLO 4, WICHITA 1 IN AMARILLO

Renae Martinez hit a two-run homer in the fourth and the Sod Poodles added two more in the fifth to take a 4-0 lead.

Batting star:  Spencer Steer was 2-for-3 with a home run (his third) and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Alex Phillips pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out two.  Zach Neff pitched a scoreless inning, walking two and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Jancarlos Cintron was 2-for-3.  Martinez was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his third.  Bryce Jarvis struck out eleven in seven innings, giving up one run on five hits and no walks.

Starter:  Austin Schulfer pitched 4.2 innings, allowing four runs on six hits and one walk and striking out two.

Good stats:  Steer is batting .350.  Wilbis Santiago was 0-for-4 and is batting .300.  Neff has an ERA of 1.89.  Phillips has an ERA of 2.76.

Bad stats:  None.

Record:  The Wind Surge is 30-23, in first place in the AA Central/North, a half game ahead of Tulsa.

QUAD CITIES 6, CEDAR RAPIDS 1 IN QUAD CITIES

Michael Helman homered in the first inning, but the River Bandits scored two in the fifth, two in the sixth, and two in the eighth.

Batting stars:  Helman was 2-for-4 with a home run, his seventh.  Edouard Julien was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Kody Funderburk pitched five innings, giving up two runs on two hits and three walks and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Jimmy Govern was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Michael Massey was 2-for-4 with two runs.  Asa Lacy struck out nine in six innings, giving up one run on four hits and a walk.  There has not been a big-leaguer named "Asa" since 1881 (Asa Stratton).

Good stats:  None.

Bad stats:  Yeltsin Encarnacion was 0-for-3 and is batting .192.  Helman is batting .197.  Owen Griffith allowed two runs in an inning and has an ERA of 7.40.

Record:  The Kernels are 27-26, in second place in the High-A Central/West, nine games behind Quad Cities.

BRADENTON 1, FORT MYERS 0 IN FORT MYERS

Yoyner Fajardo's RBI double in the second brought home the game's only run.

Batting star:  Charles Mack was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Louie Varland struck out nine in six innings, giving up one run on six hits and no walks.  Denny Bentley struck out two in two perfect innings.  Carlos Suniaga struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Adrian Florencio pitched six shutout innings, giving up four hits and a walk and striking out five.  Cameron Junker struck out four in two perfect innings.

Good stats:  Varland has an ERA of 1.91.

Bad stats:  Willie Joe Garry, Jr. was 0-for-3 and is batting .170.  Will Holland was 1-for-4 and is batting .174.  Justin Washington was 0-for-2 and is batting .184.  Aaron Sabato was 0-for-4 and is batting .184.  Mack is batting .192.  Misael Urbina was 1-for-4 and is batting .195.  Suniaga has an ERA of 9.00.

Record:  The Mighty Mussels are 30-23, third in the Low-A Southeast/West, 6.5 games behind Tampa.

TODAY'S TILTS

6:00  Cedar Rapids (Jon Olsen, 0-3, 4.22) at Quad Cities
6:00  Bradenton at Fort Myers (Bobby Milacki, 0-0, 2.92)
6:05  Omaha at St. Paul (Chandler Shepherd, 3-3, 6.69)
7:05  Wichita (Jason Garcia, 0-1, 6.39) at Amarillo