It was a jam packed Thursday of baseball for the White Sox affiliates as they all were in action and the Winston-Salem Dash played a doubleheader to complete their game suspended Wednesday in the 5th inning.
Columbus 5, Charlotte 2
Minor league veteran Junior Guerra aced his Knights debut, throwing five innings and only allowed one hit and one run, while striking out six. Guerra now owns a 33/6 strikeout to walk rate and has a 2.19 ERA in 24.2 innings. Offensively the Knights struggled and were only able to get four base hits. Catcher George Kottaras was a bright spot, reaching base in every at bat via a single and three walks in his first game since April 16th. Dan Black went 1-3 with a walk, which extended his streak of reaching base in 25 straight games. Reliever Shawn Haviland and Jarrett Casey allowed two runs a piece to give the Columbus Clippers the victory.
Montgomery 8, Birmingham 7
The Barons dropped a wild game that included an incredible rally that unfortunately ended with a walk-off win for the Montgomery Biscuits. The Barons bats were silent until they came alive in the 8th and 9th inning, scoring all seven of their runs. Courtney Hawkins, who was on an 0-11 slide coming into the game, went 3-5 and Danny Hayes went 2-4 with a walk and three RBI’s to lead the charge. Barons starter Mark Blackmar (acquired last season from the Orioles in the De Aza trade) struggled through five innings, allowing six runs (three earned) over eight hits and two walks. Reliever Onelki Garcia and Kyle Hansen settled things down by combining for three scoreless innings. However, closer Raul Fernandez could not convert, and allowed two runs that won the game for the Biscuits.
Frederick 7, Winston-Salem 6 (10 innings)
Dash starter Jake Cose made his first appearance since 2013 and was able to mostly pitch around some control issues, only allowing one run over three innings despite walking four. Cose was robbed of his 2014 season by a back injury he suffered in the 2013 off-season. The Dash offense was very active, every member of their lineup reached base, and they rallied to send the game to extras by scoring three runs in the 9th inning. Center fielder Adam Engel went 1-3 with a home run, a walk and two stolen bases and second baseman Jake Peter went 1-3 with two walks and two stolen bases. Unfortunately none of the Dash pitchers could make a scoreless appearance, and closer Michael Ynoa allowed his first earned run of the year to give Frederick a walk-off win in the 10th.
Winston-Salem 14, Frederick 2 (7 innings)
The Dash took out their frustration from losing game 1 by crushing the Frederick Keys in game 2. Starter Matt Heidenreich went six strong innings, allowing two runs while striking out eight and not walking a batter. Heidenreich’s strong start actually raised his ERA to 1.21, as he has been very strong this year, only allowing four earned runs and four walks over 29.2 innings. Offensively it was a fantastic day for the Dash bats, the game was actually tied at 2 entering the 6th inning, but the Dash set a franchise record with a nine run inning to break things open. Keenyn Walker and Chris Jacobs both had three hits and Keon Barnum blasted his second home run of the season. Not only did every member of the Dash starting lineup reach base, every member of the lineup recorded an RBI in the rout. Adam Engel went 2-4 with a walk and recorded his 16th stolen base, which is only one steal behind teammate Keenyn Walker for the lead in the Carolina League.
West Virginia 4, Kannapolis 3
For the third time on Thursday, a White Sox affiliate was walked-off on, as the West Virginia Power rallied past the Intimidators in the bottom of the 9th inning. Starter Yelmison Peralta had a good start, going five innings and only allowing two runs on five hits and two walks. First baseman Tyler Williams went 3-4 with a double and outfielder Louie Lechich hit a home run in the 8th inning to (temporarily) give the Intimidators the lead. Though catcher Brett Austin went 0-4 at the plate, he did serious work while behind it, gunning down three would-be Power base stealers.