Rochester Red Wings 11, Durham Bulls 6

After falling behind big early, it would have been hard to fault the Bulls if they were just looking to get the game over and try again tomorrow. However, they fought back, and although they fell short, it was still a good effort.

The Red Wings already had a run on the board when they loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the second for Eric Fryer. Fryer took full advantage, hitting a grand slam to left as Rochester took a 5-0 lead. They extended that lead in the sixth, loading the bases once again, this time with no one out. Antoan Richardson drove in two runs with a base hit, putting Rochester up 7-0. Ray Olmedo followed with an RBI single, to give the Red Wings an 8-0 lead. After an out, Chris Colaberra drove in a run with a double, and the Red Wings scored again on a sacrifice fly. They tacked on another run in the bottom of the seventh, as they held an 11-0 lead going into the eighth.

Then the Bulls came to life.With two outs, Brandon Guyer hit a two run triple to put the Bulls on the board, and came around to score on Tim Beckham‘s double. After a walk, Juan Apodaca hit a two run double, and came around to score on Jason Bourgeois‘ base hit. Unfortunately, Durham was unable to get closer, and fell 11-6.

Jim Pauduch took the loss, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks in five innings. Austin Hubbard was shelled, allowing five runs on four hits and three walks, recording just two outs in relief. Vince Belnome went 3-5 with a double.

Montgomery Biscuits v. Huntsville Stars (Brewers) – Postponed

The series opener between the Montgomery Biscuits and the Huntsville Stars was postponed due to rain, and will be made up as part of a double header on Saturday.

Fort Myers Miracle (Twins) 8, Charlotte Stone Crabs 0

The Miracle entered last night’s game leading the Stone Crabs by 13 games in the South Division in the Florida State League, and had the best record overall. They did nothing to discount that standing in the opener against the Stone Crabs.

Fort Myers took the lead quickly, loading the bases with two outs. Angel Morales cleared the bases with a triple, putting the Miracle ahead 3-0. Stephen Wickens tripled in a run in the second, as Fort Myers expanded their lead. The Miracle blew the game open in the fifth, scoring three more times highlighted by a two run home run from Kennys Vargas.

The Stone Crabs were unable to put anything together against Fort Myers pitching, managing just three hits and two walks against starter D.J. Baxendale. Ryan Carpenter took the loss, giving up seven runs, four earned, in five innings of work. He allowed eight hits and a walk, while striking out one. Ryan Brett was the only Charlotte player to reach base twice, going 1-3 with a walk.

Bowling Green Hot Rods 4, West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers) 0

Bowling Green had the benefit of a true team effort from te pitching staff, as they managed to shut out the West Michigan Whitecaps 4-0 last night. Sean Bierman came off the disabled list to make the start, and pitched the first 3.1 innings, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out two batters. Brandon Henderson pitched the next four innings to pick up the victory, allowing five hits while striking out two.

The Hot Rods snapped a scoreless tie in the fifth, as Patrick Leonard led off the inning with his first home run of the year. They added two more in the sixth, with Joey Rickard leading off with a triple and scoring on a fielder’s choice. Leonard drove in another run with a two out single. Bowling Green tacked on another run in the top of the ninth, providing the final margin in the 4-0 victory. Leonard was 2-4 with a home run, two RBIs and a run scored. Justin O’Conner also picked up two hits in the victory.

Rochester Red Wings (Twins) 6, Durham Bulls 5

For a hitter, few things are likely better than being able to get the game winning hit, especially if it comes against a former team. The Red Wings jumped out against the Bulls in the first, as Chris Colabello continued his torrid series against the Bulls with a two run home run. Jeff Clement followed with a solo shot, giving the Red Wings a quick 3-0 lead. Rochester got another run in the fourth when the Durham starter Chris Archer walked the bases loaded with no one out, and a run came in on a double play grounder. The Bulls finally got on the board in the sixth, as Brandon Guyer hit a two run home run to cut the lead in half. The Bulls tied the game in the next inning. With runners on first and second and one out, Vince Belnome and Rich Thompson had back to back RBI singles. In the top of the eighth, Leslie Anderson led off with a walk, and moved to second on a passed ball with one out. Pinch runner Jason Bourgeois came in for Anderson, and scored on a Tim Beckham single to put the Bulls on top 5-4. Unfortunately, they were unable to hold on to the lead. With no one out, the Red Wings loaded the bases against Jeff Beliveau, bringing up former Bull Ray Olmedo. Olmedo singled to right, plating two as the Red Wings earned a 6-5 walkoff victory. Beliveau took the loss, lasting 1+ innings, giving up two runs on two hits and two walks, while striking out three. Archer had a rough start, giving up four runs on six hits and four walks in five innings. Guyer was 2-5 with a home run and two RBIs.

Montgomery Biscuits 1, Birmingham Barons (White Sox) 0

The Biscuits benefited from another strong performance from their rotation, as Victor Mateo had his best start of the season last night. He dominated the Barons, pitching seven shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk. Not a single Baron made it past second the entire night, and Birmingham never really threatened to score. Fortunately, the Biscuits managed to get one run on the board despite a solid outing by starter Stephen McCray. Cameron Seitzer led off the second with a single, and scored on a one out double from Kyeong Kang to provide the winning margin. The Biscuits twice had runners on first and second with one out, but were unable to extend the lead. However, that did not matter with the way Mateo was pitching, as they went on to the 1-0 victory. Seitzer ended the night 2-4 with the only run scored.

Charlotte Stone Crabs 12, Daytona Cubs 7

The Stone Crabs scored twice before an out was recorded last night, using three consecutive singles and an RBI double from Richie Shaffer to take a 2-0 lead right off the bat. The Cubs got a run back in the second, as Charlotte held a 2-1 lead going into the fourth inning. Then, both teams blew up offensively. The Stone Crabs scored four runs in the top of the inning, as Alejandro Segovia led off the frame with a home run, and Taylor Motter hit a two run double before coming around to score on a wild pitch. The Cubs answered with three in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by a home run from Dustin Geiger and an RBI double by Chadd Krist. Charlotte put another four runs on the board in the top of the fifth, highlighted by a three run home run from Hector Guevara. Not to be outdone, Daytona once again responded by scoring three runs in the bottom of the inning. The Cubs loaded the bases with two out, and Krist hit his second double in as many innings to clear the bases. With the score 10-7 after five innings, things settled down, with the Stone Crabs tacking on insurance runs in the sixth and eighth innings for the 12-7 victory. Roberto Gomez picked up the win, lasting five innings despite giving up all seven runs on eight hits and three walks. Every Stone Crab got a hit, with Guevara leading the way, going 2-4 with two runs scored, a home run, and three RBIs.

Bowling Green Hot Rods 7, Fort Wayne TipCaps (Padres) 6

Through seven innings, it appeared as though the TinCaps were on their way to an easy victory. They jumped out in the first, with Gabriel Quintana hitting a two out RBI single, and scoring on a Jeremy Baltz single to give Fort Wayne a 2-0 lead. After the TinCaps added a run in the second, the appeared to break the game open in the third. With runners on first and second, Luis Tejeda doubled to drive in a run. After the second out of the inning was recorded, Rodney Daal tripled, plating two and giving the TinCaps a 6-0 lead. However, the Hot Rods managed to fight back. Held without a run until the seventh, their offense woke up against reliever Matthew Chabot. With runners on first and third and one out, Marty Gantt hit a two run double, and scored on a base hit by Leonardo Reginatto. Reginatto would eventually score from second on a throwing error by Daal, who was attempting to throw out Granden Goetzman at first following a strikeout that would have ended the inning. With the score 6-4, the hot Rods continued their comeback, putting the first two batters on in the top of the eighth. Thomas Coyle tied the game with a triple, and scored the game winning run on a sacrifice bunt by Patrick Leonard. Jordan Harrison picked up the win in relief, pitching three shutout innings, allowing three hits while striking out five. Gantt was 2-3 with a double, two RBIs, a run scored, and a walk.

Durham Bulls 10, Rochester Red Wings (Twins) 7

If you enjoy pitching duels, you may not want to read this recap, as this game was an offensive slugfest. After trading runs in the first inning, the Bulls went on top in the second. Three consecutive singles loaded the bases with one out, and Jason Bourgeois hit a sacrifice fly to give the Bulls a 2-1 lead. Another sacrifice fly in the third, this time off the bat of Shelley Duncan, put Durham ahead 3-1. However, the Red Wings tied the game in the bottom of the fourth, as Chris Colabello hit a two run shot to even the score at 3-3. Durham came right back in the fifth, putting runners on first and second with no one out. Duncan doubled, plating a run and moving the runner to third, before Vince Belnome hit a two run single, putting the Bulls back on top 6-3. Rochester refused to be put away, using a solo home run from Eric Fryer and another two run home run off the bat of Colabello to tie the game at 6-6. Durham took the lead again in the top of the seventh. With runners on second and third with one out, as Bourgeois hit a two run single to put the Bulls on top 8-6. They extended the lead in the top of the ninth, as Tim Beckham hit his first home run of the season to give Durham a 10-6 lead. A solo home run cut the lead to three, but the Bulls were able to hold on and take a 10-7 victory. Steve Geltz picked up the win, pitching 2.2 perfect innings with three strikeouts. Durham starter Jake Odorizzi had a rough start, giving up six runs on six hits and two walks in 5.1 innings, with six strikeouts. Every Durham starter had a hit, with Beckham leading the offense, going 4-5 with a home run, a double, two runs scored, and two RBIs.

Montgomery Biscuits 6, Birmingham Barons (White Sox) 3

It is much easier to win a game when the starting pitcher is shutting down the opposition, which is exactly what Enny Romero did to the Barons last night. The Biscuits started off on the right foot, as Kevin Kiermaier doubled, and scored on a base hit by Mikie Mahtook to give the Biscuits a 1-0 lead. Mahtook struck again in the third, driving in Shawn O’Malley with an RBI double, and coming around to score on a sacrifice fly to give the Biscuits a 3-0 lead. Meanwhile, Romero was dealing, and did not allow a hit until two out in the fifth when Cody Puckett broke up the no hitter. The Barons finally got on the board in the bottom of the eighth, as Trayce Thompson drove in Marcus Semien with an RBI single. The Biscuits put another three runs on the board in the top of the ninth, as Kiermaier tripled to plate Kyeong Kang. O’Malley drove in Kiermaier with a single, then stole second and third before scoring on a throwing error, giving the Biscuits a 6-1 lead. The Barons got two back in the bottom of the ninth, but Montgomery held on to the 6-3 victory. Romero picked up the win, allowing only two hits in 6.2 innings of work. He did walk four, and recorded two strikeouts in his start. Mahtook and Kiermaier each had three hits in the victory.

Charlotte Stone Crabs 7, Daytona Cubs 1

The Stone Crabs got on the board in the top of the second, as they had runners on first and third with one out. Taylor Motter doubled, driving in the first run of the game, putting runners on second and third. After a walk loaded the bases, Jake Hager singled off the glove of shortstop Javier Baez, driving in two to give the Stone Crabs a 3-0 lead. They extended the lead in the fourth, as Motter walked, then took second on a balk before stealing third. Willie Argo plated Motter with an RBI single, and moved to second on an error. Argo came around to score on Drew Vettleson‘s triple. Vettleson scored on a double off the bat of Alejandro Segovia, as Charlotte jumped out to a 6-0 lead. The Cubs got a run back in the bottom of the inning on a fielder’s choice, but were unable to come any closer as the Stone Crabs took a 7-1 victory. Jake Floethe picked up the win, pitching five scoreless innings of relief, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out six. Segovia and Vettleson each had three hits and an RBI in the win.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres) 3, Bowling Green Hot Rods 0

Both starters, Blake Snell for the Hot Rods and Max Fried for the TinCaps, were locked in a pitcher’s duel, with the team that cracked first likely to lose the game. For a moment, it appeared as though the Hot Rods would get on the board first. With one out in the top of the fifth, Bowling Green had runners on first and second. Leonardo Reginatto singled to center, but Ryan Dunn was thrown out at the plate attempting to score. With runners now on second and third with two outs, Fried managed to get a groundout to end the threat. The TinCaps would up striking first in the sixth. With one out, Gabriel Quintana bunted for a base hit, and was followed by a two run home run from Jeremy Baltz to give Fort Wayne the lead. A two out RBI double from Rodney Daal gave the TinCaps a 3-0 lead. The Hot Rods had their chances, loading the bases with one out in the seventh and putting runners on first and second with one out in the ninth, but were unable to come up with the key hit to get on the board. Snell took the loss, allowing the three runs on six hits and three walks in 5.2 innings, while striking out four. Reginatto was 2-4, and Justin O’Conner went 1-3 with a double and a walk in the loss.