The Undercards: Mark Thomas Falls Just Short Of Cycle In Victory

Mark Thomas and Richie Shaffer each had excellent nights with the bat, as the farm system went 3-2 on Friday. Here is a look around the minor league action from last night.

Charlotte Knights 7, Durham Bulls 2

The Knights jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first inning, and cruised to a 7-2 victory. Alejandro De Aza led off the game with a home run, and two passed balls and a wild pitch punctuated the four run first. De Aza scored again in the fourth, this time reaching on a base hit, and coming around on a single by Orlando Hudson. A two run home run by Josh Phegley in the fifth put Charlotte on top 7-0. The Bulls finally scored in the eighth, loading the bases with one out. A passed ball brought in the first run, and Will Rhymes scored on a sacrifice fly. Unfortunately, the Bulls were unable to generate any further offense, falling 7-2. Jim Paduch took the loss, giving up 5 runs (4 earned) on 8 hits and 2 walks over 4 innings of work. Tim Beckham had half of the Bulls hits on the night, going 3-5.

Montgomery Biscuits 6, Huntsville Stars 4

The Biscuits kept chipping away, scoring in five different innings to come away with a 6-4 victory. Mark Thomas hit a solo home run in the second, to put Montgomery on top 1-0. The lead was short lived however, as the Stars scored three runs in the top of the third, highlighted by a two run double from Brock Kjeldgaard. Montgomery came back, hitting lead off triples in the third and fourth innings, and using sacrifice flies to tie the game at 3-3. Montgomery took the lead in the bottom of the sixth, as Thomas hit a two run single to give the Biscuits a 5-3 lead. Another run in the eighth gave Montgomery a 6-3 lead heading into the ninth, when Anderson De La Rosa led off the inning with a home run. With runners on first and second and one out, Kirby Yates entered the game and nailed down the win, getting a pop fly and a strikeout. Kyle Lobstein picked up the win, allowing 3 unearned runs on 7 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 5 in 6.2 innings. Thomas was 3-4 with a double, a home run, a run scored, and 3 RBIs.

Charlotte Stone Crabs 4, Fort Myers Miracle 1

Charlotte opened up a quick 2-0 lead in the second, scoring two runs on a fielder’s choice and a sacrifice fly. David Wendt singled, then moved to third on a double by Riccio Torrez, before both runners came in. The Stone Crabs loaded the bases in the bottom of the third, but consecutive strikeouts appeared as though the threat would be for naught. However, Torrez reached on an error by Daniel Santana, allowing two runs to score to give Charlotte a 4-0 lead. The Miracle threatened in the fifth, as Steven Liddle put Fort Myers on the board with a solo home run. The Miracle then loaded the bases with two outs, but Victor Mateo was able to get Levi Michael to ground out to end the threat. Fort Myers had another chance to score in the sixth, as Lance Ray walked, and attempted to score on a double from Kyle Knudson. Steven Tinoco made a strong throw from left, and Ray was gunned down at the plate, ending the threat. The Miracle did not seriously threaten to score again, as Charlotte picked up the 4-1 victory. Mateo earned the win, giving up 1 run on 6 hits and a walk, striking out 3 in 5.2 innings. Todd Glaesmann was 4-5 with a double and a run scored.

Lake County Captains 9, Bowling Green Hot Rods 3

What had been a close game turned into a blowout, as the Captains scored six runs late to send the Hot Rods to a 9-3 defeat. Bowling Green scored first, as Kes Carter led off the game with a double, and scored on a double play. Lake County tied the game in the bottom of the fourth, as back to back two out doubles by Jake Lowery and Leonardo Castillo made the score 1-1. After trading runs in the fifth and sixth innings, the Captains took the lead in the seventh. Jose Ramirez singled, and advanced to third on an error by Benjamin Kline on a sacrifice bunt attempt. With runners on second and third, a sacrifice fly and a double gave Lake County a 5-3 lead. The Captains scored four more runs in the eighth, highlighted by a bases loaded single from Jerrud Sabourin, giving Lake County the 9-3 victory. Stayton Thomas took the loss, giving up 3 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits in 2.1 innings. Austin Hubbard gave up 4 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks in his inning of work.

Hudson Valley Renegades 2, Aberdeen IronBirds 1 (11 innings)

Scoreless though four and a half innings, the IronBirds put the first run of the game on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning. back to back singles from Sam Kimmel and Cameron Edman put runners on first and second with no outs. A fly ball moved Kimmel to third, and he scored on a sacrifice fly by Will Howard. The game remained 1-0 until the top of the ninth, when Richie Shaffer hit a solo home run with one out to tie the game. In the eleventh, Shaffer waled with two outs, moved to second on a base hit by Luke Maile, and scored on Leonardo Reginatto‘s single to give the Renegades a 2-1 extra inning win. Jesse Hahn had a solid start, giving up 1 run on 5 hits, striking out 5 in his 5 innings of work. Marcus Jensen picked up the victory in relief, allowing 1 hit in 2 innings, while striking out 4 batters. Shaffer was 1-3 with a home run, 2 runs scored, and 2 walks.