Charlotte 9, Gwinnett 8 (11 innings)
Jason Coats hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th to send the home fans happy in a wild game that included 30 combined hits. The game winning hit was the cherry on top for a monster game from Coats, who went 3-4 with a home run, a double, and a walk. Coats is now hitting .325/.394/.500 on the season and one would have to wonder if Coats is pushing on the door of a major league promotion at some point this summer. J.B. Shuck also had a fantastic game, going 4-6 with a triple, Tim Anderson added two hits, and Matt Davidson went 2-4 with a double and a walk.
Scott Carroll started the game and held Gwinnett to two runs over five innings, however, the Charlotte bullpen was victimized as three relievers would combine to allow six more runs to score.
The Knights have an off day on Monday to catch their breath and then they are off to Syracuse with the starter to be announced.
Birmingham 8, Montgomery 3
Starter David Holmberg cruised through seven innings and an efficient Barons offense combined to take the day. The Barons scored eight runs on eight hits and six of those came from the 5-6-7 hitters of Trey Michalczewski, Joey DeMichele, and Nick Basto. The trio were diverse in their hits, Michalczewski knocked out two singles, DeMichele blasted a home run and a triple, and Basto added two doubles. Basto was setting the world on fire in Winston-Salem but has struggled since being promoted to Birmingham, so hopefully Sunday’s game is a sign of things to come for him.
Reliever Nolan Sanburn finished the game strong, tossing two shutout innings and only allowing one hit and a walk.
The Barons will send Blair Walters to the mound to finish off the series with Montgomery on Monday.
Salem 4, Winston-Salem 2
Matt Cooper was sensational Sunday as he breezed through a loaded Salem Red Sox lineup, only allowing one run on two hits over six innings and striking out eight batters. The eight strikeouts gave Cooper a total of 63 punchouts on the season, which is tied for the most in all of Minor League Baseball. Unfortunately for Cooper, he did not get the win he deserved, as Jacob Morris gave up three runs (one earned) to cough up the lead. Morris had entered the game with a perfect 0.00 ERA but struggled with a bit of wildness, walking two and committing a fielding error.
Jordan Stephens hopes to finish the series off with a bang as he heads to the mound for the finale.
Asheville 8, Kannapolis 5
Corey Zangari and Danny Mendick hit back-to-back home runs and Seby Zavala went 3-5 with two doubles but it wasn’t enough as the Intimidators dropped the series finale to the Asheville Tourists. Start Christopher Comito struggled mightily, giving up five runs over five innings and the bullpen didn’t provide much relief as they conceded another three runs. The “Killer Z’s” of Kannapolis, Seby Zavala and Corey Zangari, are heating up as Zavala is hitting .405 over his last ten games and Zangari has homered twice in his last four contests.
The Intimidators will send red hot Zachary Thompson to the bump as he looks to snap the three game losing against Lexington.
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