IOWA CUBS 12, ST. PAUL SAINTS 7 IN IOWA

Edouard Julien started the game with a home run and Jose Miranda hit an RBI double to give St. Paul a 2-0 lead.  Iowa rebounded with four in the bottom of the first.  St. Paul got one back in the second, but Owen Caissie hit a three-run single-plus-error in the third to make it 7-3 Iowa.  St. Paul came back with four in the fourth on two-run homers by Mickey Gasper and Emmanuel Rodriguez.  From there, though, it was all Iowa.  Matt Shaw hit a two-run homer in the fifth and the Cubs scored single runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth.

Batters:  Mike Ford was 2-for-5 with two doubles and a run.  Patrick Winkel was 2-for-5.  Edouard Julien was 1-for-2 with a home run, three walks, and two runs.  Mickey Gasper hit a two-run homer, his seventh.  Emmanuel Rodriguez hit a two-run homer, his third.

Pitchers:  Starter Tyler Beede lasted just 1.2 innings, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks and striking out two.

Opponents:  Lots.  Matt Shaw was 3-for-5 with two home runs (his fifth and sixth), a walk, three runs, and three RBIs.  Jonathan Long was 3-for-5 with a home run (his fourth), two runs, and two RBIs.  Chase Strumpf was 3-for-5 with a home run (his eighth), two runs, and two RBIs.  Owen Caissie was 3-for-5 with a run and two RBIs.  Dixon Machado was 3-for-5 with a double, two runs, and an RBI.  It seems like it would be good luck to have five players in your lineup with three hits apiece.  James Triantos was 2-for-5 with a run.  Brooks Kriske struck out three and walked one in two shutout innings.

Stats:  Mickey Gasper, .357/1.292.  Carson McCusker, .350/.1.062.  Mike Ford, .862 OPS.  Jeferson Morales, .804 OPS.  Richard Lovelady, 1.59 ERA.

Record:  St. Paul is 21-19, in fifth place, 3.5 games behind Nashville.

ARKANSAS TRAVELERS 10, WICHITA WIND SURGE 4 IN WICHITA

Jared Sundstrom hit a two-run homer in the top of the third to give Arkansas a 3-0 lead.  Ricardo Olivar hit a two-run double in a three-run third to tie the score.  Arkansas scored one in the fourth and Caleb Cali hit a two-run homer in the sixth to put the Travelers up 6-3.  Kyler Fedco homered in the bottom of the sixth, but Arkansas scored four in the eighth to put the game out of reach.

Batters:  Oddly, all nine Wind Surge batters had exactly one hit.  Kyler Fedco hit a home run, his sixth.

Pitchers:  Ricky Castro pitched 3.1 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and no walks and striking out four.  John Stankiewicz struck out four and walked two in two shutout innings.

Opponents:  Caleb Cali was 4-for-5 with a two-run homer (his second) and a double.  Bill Knight was 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs.  Nick Raposo was 2-for-4 with a home run (his third) and a walk.  Victor Labrada was 2-for-5 with two runs.  Jimmy Kingsbury struck out three in three shutout innings, giving up two hits.

Stats:  Ricardo Olivar, .317/.834 OPS.  Kyler Fedco, .893 OPS.  Noah Cardenas, .836 OPS.  Aaron Sabato, .833 OPS.

Record:  Wichita is 20-17, in second place, one game behind Arkansas.

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 13, PEORIA CHIEFS 2 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Kaelen Culpepper hit a three-run homer in a four-run third to give Cedar Rapids a 4-0 lead.  Peoria scored two in the fifth, but Cedar Rapids came back with eight in the bottom of the fifth to put it out of reach.  Brandon Winokur hit a two-run homer, Jaime Ferrer hit a three-run homer, and Culpepper hit his second homer of the game in the inning.

Batters:  Kaelen Culpepper was 4-for-5 with two home runs (his third and fourth), three runs, and four RBIs.  Jaime Ferrer was 2-for-3 with a three-run homer and two runs.  Danny De Andrade was 2-for-3 with a run.  Brandon Winokur was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer.

Pitchers:  Jeremy Lee pitched five innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk and striking out three.  Kade Bragg struck out six in four shutout innings, giving up one hit.

Opponents:  Joshua Baez was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Miguel Villaroel was 2-for-4 with a run.

Stats:  Nate Baez, .333/.901 OPS.  Gabriel Gonzalez, .326/.926 OPS.  Kaelen Culpepper, .304/.888 OPS.  Kyle DeBarge .906 OPS.

Record:  Cedar Rapids is 22-14, in second place, one game behind Quad Cities.

FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 9, JUPITER HAMMERHEADS 40 IN JUPITER

Jupiter scored three in the third, helped by three walks (two with the bases loaded), a balk, and a hit batsman.  Yasser Mercedes homered in the fourth to get Fort Myers on the board, but Jupiter got the run back in the fifth.  Fort Myers then scored one in the sixth and three in the seventh, with a two-run single by Daniel Pena putting the Mussels ahead 5-4.  Damuery Pena hit a two-run single in the eighth and Maddux Houghton hit a two-run homer in the ninth.

Batters:  Jefferson Valladares was 2-for-3 with two doubles and two runs.  Yasser Mercedes was 2-for-5 with a home run (his third) and two runs.  Dameury Pena was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Daniel Pena was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Maddux Houghton hit a two-run homer, his second.

Pitchers:  Dylan Questad struck out five in 2.2 innings, but allowed three runs on three hits and four walks.  Tyler Stasiowski struck out three in three innings, giving up an unearned run on one hit and one walk.  Zander Sechrist pitched 2.1 shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.  Hunter Hoopes struck out three and walked one in a scoreless inning.

Opponents:  Andres Valor was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and an RBI.  Abrahan Ramirez was 2-for-5 with a run.  Eury Perez pitched four innings, giving up one run on three hits and striking out three.

Stats:  Rayne Doncon, .333/.833 OPS.  Maddux Houghton, .840 OPS.  Zander Sechrist, 1.98 ERA.  Hunter Hoopes, 2.81 ERA.

Record:  Fort Myers is 17-20, in fifth place, five games behind Dunedin.

FCL RED SOX 5, FCL TWINS 2 AT TWINS

The Red Sox scored one in the first, two in the second, and one in the fourth to build a 4-0 lead.  The Twins scored single runs in the fifth and sixth to cut the lead in half, but the Red Sox scored one more in the seventh and the Twins had no answer.

Batters:  No Twins had more than one hit.

Pitchers:  Matt Gabbert struck out four in three innings, but allowed three runs on six hits and a walk.  Christian Becerra pitched two innings, giving up an unearned run on two hits.

Opponents:  Gerardo Rodriguez was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.  Avinson Pinto was 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs, and an RBI.  Enddy Azocar was 2-for-4 with a double, a run, and an RBI.  Yhoiker Fajardo pitched four shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out two.

Stats:  Ricardo Pena, .953 OPS.  Bryan Acuna, .837 OPS.  Christian Becerra, zero ERA.  Mitch Mueller, 2.00 ERA.

Record:  The Twins are 5-4, tied for second with the Braves, two games behind the Rays.

TODAY'S TILTS

9:00  FCL Twins at FCL Red Sox
3:00  Fort Myers (Eli Jones, 1-3, 4.33) at Jupiter (TBD)
4:05  Arkansas (Adam Seminaris, 2-1, 1.63) at Wichita (Darren Bowen, 2-0, 2.63)
6:05  St. Paul (David Festa, 2-1, 3.60) at Iowa (TBD)
6:35  Peoria (Cade Winquest*, 0-2, 3.00) at Cedar Rapids (Ty Langenberg, 0-1, 6.38)

"Winquest" is an excellent name for a pitcher, even though he doesn't have any wins yet this year.