In a day packed with offense one way or another, Charlotte and Birmingham prevailed while Winston-Salem fell by the wayside. The Knights pounded five home runs and the Barons worked in a gaggle of their own behind Rangel Ravelo, Kevan Smith and Christian Marrero. Kannapolis was rained out and will play a double header tomorrow.
Charlotte 18, Columbus 9
Carlos Sanchez 3-5, 3R, 3B, 3 RBI, BB, K
Josh Phegley 4-6, 3R, 2B, HR, 3RBI
Jordan Danks 2-5, R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB,K
Matt Davidson 1-5, R, BB, K
Andy Wilkins 3-5, 2R, RBI, BB, K
Tyler Saldino 2-6, 2R, 2K
Dan Black 4-4, 3 HR, 7 RBI
Jared Mitchell 1-5, HR, K
Chattanooga 4, Birmingham 9
Trayce Thompson 0-5
Rangel Ravelo 3-4, 2R
Kevan Smith 4-4, 3R, 2B, 2RBI
Christian Marrero 4-5, 2R, 2 2B, 4RBI
Scott Snodgress 5.2 IP, 5H, 3ER, 4BB, 3K
Potomac 14, Winston-Salem 4
Tim Anderson 3-5, HR
Joey DeMichele 0-4, BB, K
Courtney Hawkins 1-5, R, 2B, K
Jason Coats 0-3, BB
Keon Barnum 0-2, R, 2BB
Tyler Danish 1.1IP, 7H, 9R, 3ER, BB, K
Star of the Day: Dan Black, 1B
For a guy that has seen success in each of his last four seasons, starting off the season struggling in Charlotte had to be especially tough for Black. Coming into the game with a .223/.311/.315/.626 slash, the switch-hitting first baseman had the type of game that could turn his season around. Black got a hit in each of his four at bats, with three of those at bats resulting in a dinger and seven runs batted in.
Justin Jirschele’s Strange Run
If you’re a big enough fan of the White Sox affiliates, you might have noticed Justin Jirschele, a 2012 undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, putting up an incredible line for the Dash. In two different stints with the Dash, Jirschele has a line of .520/.600/.520 over 30 PAs. While his core numbers are impressive just by his success rate, Jirschele’s numbers get even weirder. The 24-year-old has yet to strikeout and while hitting .520, Jirschele has yet to make it past first base on his own. Obviously the sample size is small but Jirschele’s streak marks another oddity baseball always seems to bring.
Tim Anderson’s Rapid Turnaround
On May 23rd, Tim Anderson went 0-3 to bring his average down to .250. If there was one thing to take away from his 0-for performance, it would have to be the fact that Anderson took two walks, matching his season total to that point. One could only hope Anderson was starting to see the ball better. Since that game, Anderson has played in six games and has had a multi hit game in five of those contests. During that span, Anderson has hit 12-27 (.444, w/ a 2B, 3B and HR) to boost his average all the way up to .279. While it is well known that Anderson is a very raw prospect, it is encouraging to see his batting average bounce back after somewhat of a sophomore slump.