Charlotte Knights 2, Toledo Mud Hens 1 (F/7) (box)
Drew VerHagen was rather wild on Sunday, but he gave the Hens a solid start as he continues stretching out in the role. VerHagen walked four Knights in five innings of work, but limited the damage to two runs against. Unfortunately his offense didn’t do much to help him out. They had plenty of baserunners, but couldn’t get the big hit. The Hens did muster a real threat in the fifth with no outs, but Willi Castro grounded into a double play. Jacob Robson scored from third on the play, but the rally died there and the Hens wouldn’t put another man on base in the final two frames.
Of note in this one was Daz Cameron losing a ball in the sun in the fourth inning. Cameron was shaded to left field and came in initially on a deep fly ball that ultimately landed on the warning track in straightaway center and hopped the fence for a ground-rule double. Cameron had lost sight of it entirely. Hens manager Doug Mientkiewicz then lifted Cameron for Reyes, and sat Cameron in game two. Messages being sent and such.
Robson: 1-3, 2B, R, SO
W. Castro: 1-2, BB
VerHagen (L, 0-2): 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 SO
Toledo Mud Hens 3, Charlotte Knights 1 (F/7) (box)
Tim Adleman was masterful in the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader. Adleman went the distance, allowing just one earned run on two hits and a walk with six strikeouts in the seven inning affair. Adleman kicked things off with a pair of strikeouts and a routine fly ball from Paulo Orlando in the top of the first, and his offense took it from there. Singles from Danny Woodrow and Victor Reyes set the table for Willi Castro, who drove in Woodrow with a single. After Mikie Mahtook and Jake Rogers struck out with Reyes still in scoring position at second base, Dustin Peterson came through with the two-out RBI single to score the eventual game winning run. Recently promoted infielder Daniel Pinero provided an add on run with a solo home run in the fifth, and Adleman had it from there.
Pinero: 1-1: HR, R, RBI, BB
Peterson: 2-3, RBI
W. Castro: 1-3, RBI
Adleman (W, 2-1): 7.0 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 6 SO
Coming up next: Action moves to Columbus, where the Hens will tackle the Clippers in a three-game set.
Akron RubberDucks 7, Erie SeaWolves 2 (F/7) (box)
Matt Manning had a rare off day on Sunday in game one of the doubleheader. Manning was a little wild, issuing four walks, but it was the long ball that bit him. He surrendered a pair of home runs in a rocky fourth inning and was eventually lifted with one out in the sixth. That one inning blew an early lead provided by Kade Scivicque and Chad Sedio, who each cracked solo shots in the second inning. The SeaWolves offense had some scoring opportunities throughout the game but couldn’t cash in. They were also caught stealing three times in the contest, which obviously didn’t help their cause. It was all rendered moot when Nolan Blackwood allowed four runs in the seventh inning, though two were unearned and partly the result of an Isaac Paredes throwing error from the shortstop position.
Scivicque: 1-1, HR, R, RBI, 2 BB
Sedio: 1-3, HR, R, RBI, SO
Manning (L, 4-3): 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 SO
Erie SeaWolves 8, Akron RubberDucks 5 (F/11) (box)
This was a tight contest for most of the afternoon, but eventually turned into a pretty epic late innings clash as the two teams traded solo runs in the eighth, ninth, and 10th innings to push this to the 11th, where the SeaWolves finally broke through to end it. On something of an emergency bullpen day for the SeaWolves, Trent Szkutnik allowed two runs in a short start of 3 1⁄3 innings. Joe Navilhon got them through six with no further damage.
The score was 2-1 when Kody Eaves launched a solo shot, his fifth home run of the year, to tie things up and take the scheduled seven inning affair into extra innings, where a runner starts on second to begin each frame. After the Ducks scored in the eighth, Isaac Paredes tied things again with an RBI double in the bottom of the frame off of old friend Anthony Gose. Kody Eaves matched the Ducks in the ninth with an RBI triple. The two clubs traded runs again in the tenth, setting the stage for more heroics from Kody Eaves. Serving as the SeaWolves’ designated hitter, Eaves came through with the power again, mashing a three-run walk-off shot to right field.
Eaves: 3-5, 2 HR, 3 R, 5 RBI, SO
Peterson: 2-4, 3B, 2 R
Houston (W, 2-0): 2.0 IP, 3 H, R (0 ER), 3 SO
Coming up next: The SeaWolves welcome in the Altoona Curve on Monday evening.
Lakeland Flying Tigers 9, Fort Myers Miracle 2 (box)
Elvin Rodriguez gave his club a solid outing on Sunday, but watched as the game seemed to be slipping away due to a lack of offense. Rodriguez punched out seven hitters, and allowed two runs on five hits and a walk. Jason Foley took over with one out in the sixth, and blanked the Miracle through the seventh.
Right about then, the Flying Tigers offense woke from its collective slumber and proceeded to decimate the Miracle bullpen for a nine-run frame to run away with this one. Nick Ames started the party with a three-run shot with Brady Policelli and Kody Clemens aboard. The Miracle pulled Cole Sands in favor of Joe Record at that point, but it didn’t get any better; the Flygers quickly loaded the bases, then pushed across three more runs on a Luke Sherley single and a ground-rule double off the bat of Brock Deatherage. Brady Policelli made his way to the plate again as the Flying Tigers batted around, and this time he smoked a triple to left to drive in two more runs. A sacrifice fly from Clemens scored Policelli, and Mark Ecker wrapped up the final two frames with no issues.
Ames: 1-4, HR, R, 3 RBI, 2 SO
Policelli: 1-4, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI
Clemens: 2-3, R, RBI
Rodriguez: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 7 SO
Coming up next: Tom de Blok gets the start as the Flygers move to Palm Beach to battle the Cardinals on Monday night at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Lake County Captains 7, West Michigan Whitecaps 3 (F/7) (box)
Ulrich Bojarski stayed hot on Sunday. He got the ‘Caps on the board first with a two-run shot, his seventh of the season, in the first inning. After starter Gio Arriera allowed a two-run homer in the bottom of the frame, Jose King came out in the second and gave the Whitecaps the lead again with a solo home run, his first of the season. Unfortunately that was all the offense had to offer in this one, and Arriera was ultimately clobbered for five runs in just four innings of work. Jose Vasquez allowed two more runs in relief, and West Michigan didn’t have an answer.
Bojarski: 1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI
King: 2-3, HR, R, RBI, SO
Rivera: 1-2, 2B, BB
Arriera (L, 2-3): 4.0 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO
West Michigan Whitecaps 4, Lake County Captains 2 (F/7) (box)
The Whitecaps got on the board first in game two as well, and this time they came through with late runs when they needed them. They loaded the bases in the first and pushed across two runs to stake Chance Kirby to a lead. Kirby proceeded to punch out seven over five frames, allowing two runs, one earned, on two hits. The game was tied until the sixth when Ulrich Bojarski came through again with home run number eight on the year, a solo shot that proved the game winner, though the ‘Caps did push across a run in the top of the seventh to make things easier for Yaya Chentouf, who picked up the save without issue.
W. Perez: 2-4, R
Bojarski: 1-3, HR, R, RBI
Kirby (W, 1-2): 5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R (ER), 7 SO
Coming up next: The Whitecaps will be off for a travel day on Monday, and then welcome in the Dayton Dragons on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. ET.