Jermaine Palacios homers again. Louie Varland mows 'em down. Christian Encarnacion-Strand continues to hit.
ST. PAUL AT COLUMBUS
Rained out. Will be made up Saturday.
WICHITA 10, ARKANSAS 7 IN ARKANSAS
The Wind Surge scored four in the fourth to take a 4-1 lead and never trailed again.
Batting stars: D. J. Burt was 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Jermaine Palacios was 3-for-5 with a home run (his nineteenth) and two runs. Roy Morales was 3-for-5. Trey Cabbage was 2-for-4 with a double and three runs. Aaron Whitefield was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Leobaldo Cabrera was 2-for-5 with a double, two runs, and three RBIs.
Pitching star: Zach Neff pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up just one walk.
Opposition stars: Julio Rodriguez was 3-for-4 with a double and three runs. Jake Anchia was 3-for-5. Kaden Polcovich was 1-for-5 with a grand slam, his second homer.
Starter: Jordan Balazovic pitched 4.2 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on nine hits and two walks and striking out three.
Good stats: Morales is batting .305.
Bad stats: None.
Record: The Wind Surge is 61-42, in first place in the AA Central/North, five games ahead of Tulsa.
CEDAR RAPIDS 12, QUAD CITIES 2 IN CEDAR RAPIDS
The Kernels scored five in the fourth and seven in the sixth.
Batting stars: Michael Helman was 3-for-5 with a double, two runs, and two RBIs. Seth Gray was 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Alex Isola was 2-for-5 with a home run (his twelfth) and two runs. Edouard Julien was 1-for-5 with a home run, his ninth.
Pitching stars: Louie Varland struck out eight in five innings, giving up one run on three hits and three walks. Tyler Palm struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two walks.
Opposition star: Tucker Bradley was 2-for-5.
Good stats: Yunior Severino was 0-for-4 and is batting .355. Varland has an ERA of 1.85.
Bad stats: Palm has an ERA of 5.36.
Record: The Kernels are 57-46, in second place in the High-A Central/West, eleven games behind Quad Cities.
DAYTONA 9, FORT MYERS 1 IN DAYTONA
The Tortugas scored five runs in the first inning.
Batting stars: Christian Encarnacion-Strand was 3-for-4 with a walk. Jake Rucker was 2-for-4 with a double.
Pitching star: Carlos Suniaga struck out four in 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and one walk.
Opposition stars: Justice Thompson was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Rece Hinds was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer (his eighth) and two runs. Joe Boyle struck out eight in four innings, giving up two hits and five walks.
Starter: A. J. Labas pitched two-thirds of an inning, allowing five runs on six hits and a walk and striking out one.
Good stats: Encarnacion-Strand is batting .357. Rucker is batting .318.
Bad stats: Misael Urbina was 0-for-2 and is batting .187. Ramon Pineda gave up a run in one inning and has an ERA of 9.00. Labas has an ERA of 22.09.
Record: The Mighty Mussels are 50-49, in third place in the Low-A Southeast/West, sixteen games behind Tampa.
TODAY'S TILTS
5:15 St. Paul (Bryan Sammons, 0-2, 5.86) at Columbus
6:05 Fort Myers (Matthew Swain, 6-2, 4.99) at Daytona
6:35 Quad Cities at Cedar Rapids (Sawyer Gipson-Long, 2-1, 2.12)
7:10 Wichita (TBD) at Arkansas