The Undercards: Leslie Anderson’s Single Gives Bulls Walkoff Win in Twleve Innings

At this point, it seems highly unlikely that Leslie Anderson will ever make an appearance for the Rays at the major league level. He has, however, produced quite respectable numbers for Durham this season, with a .318 batting average and eleven home runs. Last night, the Bulls were grateful to be the beneficiaries of his production, as his twelfth inning base hit provided the victory in walkoff fashion against the Charlotte Knights.

Durham Bulls 6, Charlotte Knights (White Sox) 5

After spotting the Knights a run on Mike Montgomery‘s wild pitch, the Bulls came back in the bottom of the first, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Vince Belnome singled to drive in a run, and Leslie Anderson hit a sacrifice fly to put the Bulls in front. An RBI groundout in the second gave the Bulls a 3-1 lead, but the Knights staged a comeback. Steve Tolleson hit a solo home run in the sixth to pull Charlotte within one, and they tied the game an inning later on an RBI groundout. The Knights took the lead in the seventh, when Cody Puckett hit his first homer of the season for Charlotte. After another RBI groundout gave the Knights a 5-3 lead, the Bulls staged a comeback of their own. Ryan Roberts led off the bottom of the inning with a home run, and put another run on the board courtesy of a wild pitch. With the game tied at 5-5 heading into the bottom of the ninth, Durham completed the comeback. Belnome tripled to lead off the inning, and after an out, Anderson drove him in with a walkoff base hit. Cory Wade picked up the victory in relief, allowing only one walk while striking out one in his 1.2 innings of work. Fontenot was 4-4 with two runs scored in the victory.

Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Reds) 7, Montgomery Biscuits 2

This game initially began as a pitcher’s duel between the Biscuits Enny Romero and the Blue Wahoos Tim Crabbe. However, things quickly changed after Romero reached his 60 pitch limit, and was removed from the game. Jim Patterson took over, and after a quick out, things deteriorated from there. After a single and a walk, Ryan LaMarre continued his rampage against Montgomery pitching, hitting a three run home run. Pensacola tacked on another run on a sacrifice fly, and the Blue Wahoos had a 4-0 lead. After an RBI single in the top of the seventh gave Pensacola a 5-0 lead, the Biscuits showed some signs of life against reliever Jamie Walczak. Cameron Seitzer singled and Todd Glaesmann doubled to put runners on second and third to start the inning. A groundout by Kyeong Kang put Montgomery on the board, and Glaesmann scored on a sacrifice fly. However, the Blue Wahoos got those runs back in the top of the ninth, as Corey Wimberly hit a home run and Tucker Barnhart had an RBI single to give Pensacola a 7-2 lead, and the final margin of victory. Patterson took the loss, giving up four runs on five hits and a walk over three innings. Glaesmann was 2-4 with a double and a run scored.

St. Lucie Mets 7, Charlotte Stone Crabs 6

The Mets and the Stone Crabs were tied at 3-3 after the third inning when St. Lucie began to pull away. Kyle Johnson hit a two run home run in the fourth, and got two more in the eighth on a sacrifice fly and an RBI triple off the bat of Robbie Shields. However, the Stone Crabs refused to give in. With runners on second and third and one out, Jeff Malm doubled to cut the lead to 7-5. Curt Casali followed with a double to drive in Malm, and the Stone Crabs appeared as though they may complete the comeback. Unfortunately, T.J. Chism slammed the door on the Stone Crabs, as the Mets eked out a 7-6 victory. Ryan Carpenter took the loss, allowing five runs on eight hits and two walks over five innings. Casili was 3-3 with a double, two RBIs, a run scored and two walks.

Bowling Green Hot Rods 4, Quad City River Bandits (Astros) 3 (Twelve Innings)

After the River Bandits got a run in the first, the Hot Rods tied the game on a home run by Luke Maile in the top of the third before taking the lead in the fifth. Brandon Martin had an RBI single to put Bowling Green on top, then Maile came through again, this time with a twou out double to give the Hot Rods a 3-1 lead. Quad City staged a comeback in the eighth, using consecutive RBI doubles from Jesse Wierzbicki and Rio Ruiz to tie the game. That score held up until the top of the twelfth, when Martin doubled to lead off the inning, then scored on a base hit by Andrew Toles. Stone Speer made it interesting in the bottom of the inning, as Quad City had a runner on third with one out, but Terrell Joyce was erased on a play at the plate and the Hot Rods held on to the 4-3 victory. Ryan Garton picked up the win despite a shaky outing n relief, giving up one run on three hits and six walks in 3.2 innings. Maile finished a triple short of the cycle, going 3-6 with a double, a home run, two RBIs and a run scored.

Jamestown Jammers (Pirates) 5, Hudson Valley Renegades 2

The Jammers were in control of this game virtually throughout, taking the lead in the top of the second when Harold Ramirez scored on a fielding error by Ariel Soriano. With two outs, the Jammers loaded the bases, and a hit batter forced in a run to give Jamestown the 2-0 lead. The Jammers used another error, this time by catcher Omar Narvaez on a stolen base attempt, to put another run across in the fourth. Meanwhile, the Renegades were being shut down by Jamestown’s pitching, having only five baserunners through eight innings. The Jammers tacked on two more insurance runs in the ninth, and appeared poised to take an easy victory. Then the Renegades offense came to life, loading the bases with one out. Narvaez singled to drive in a run, then Ryan McChesney walked with two outs to force in a run, bringing up Pat Blair as the winning run. Blair, however, struck out, as the Jammers held on for the win. Andrew Pruitt took a tough loss, giving up three unearned runs on six hits over 5.2 innings. Narvaez was 2-4 with an RBI in the loss.

Greeneville Astros 4, Princeton Rays 1

The Astros jumped out on Rays starter Jacob Faria in the first. Brian Holberton had an RBI double, and came around to score on a two out single by Ariel Ovando as Greeneville took a 2-0 lead. Faria settled in from that point; however, Princeton was unable to generate any offense against Astros starter Frederick Tiburcio. The Rays finally broke through in the fifth, as Douglas Duran walked, moved to third on an errant pickoff attempt, and scored on a groundout. That would be the highlight of the night for the offense, as Greeneville pitching held the Rays to two hits all night. The Astros got two more insurance runs on a wild pitch and an error in the ninth, and coasted to a 4-1 victory. Faria was solid despite the loss, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks in five innings of work. Hunter Lockwood and Jesus Araiza accounted for most of the offense, as both players had a hit and a walk in the loss.

GCL Rays 5, GCL Red Sox 0 (Seven Innings)

Scoreless through the first two innings, the Rays took command in the third. With runners on first and third and one out, Riley Unroe reached on a force attempt, as a throwing error put runners on second and third with a run on the board. With two outs, Alexander Simon plated both runners with a two run single, and came around to score on a double by Nick Ciuffo. The Rays loaded the bases with one out in the third, and pushed a run across on the second error in as many innings by Red Sox second baseman Wendell Rijo. Meanwhile, the Red Sox were unable to muster any offense against starter Jose Alonzo, as the Rays cruised to the 5-0 victory. Alonzo pitched five shutout innings, giving up four hits and a walk. Simon was 1-3 with two RBIs and a run scored in the win.