Charlotte Knights 5, Gwinnett Stripers 4
The Knights (23-23) blasted their way to an early five-run cushion, then survived a late Gwinnett rally for a close win thanks to another shutdown appearance from Ben Peoples. Jonathan Cannon turned in a solid start despite some wild command, allowing just one run over five innings while working around four walks and punching out four.
Offensively, the Knights brought the thunder early, with Jacob Gonzalez launching his 15th homer in the second before Oliver Dunn, Korey Lee, and Austin Hays all went deep in a span of two innings to bury Gwinnett under a pile of baseballs leaving the yard. Braden Montgomery kept his heater alive as well, ripping an RBI double in the third after Rikuu Nishida swiped second following a bunt single. Montgomery’s bat keeps looking more and more ready for the next challenge.
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Things got unnecessarily sweaty late when Gwinnett came back within one against Tyler Schweitzer, but Peoples once again looked like the steadiest arm in the building, escaping ninth-inning trouble with the help of a gorgeous game-ending relay from Gonzalez and Lee to cut down the tying run at the plate.
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Biloxi Shuckers 4, Birmingham Barons 3
The Barons (16-24) let a winnable game slip away, falling in walk-off fashion after Biloxi pieced together a messy ninth inning against Jairo Iriarte. Birmingham struck out 12 times and managed just five knocks, with Alec Makarewicz responsible for two of the Barons’ five hits. The DH crushed his eighth homer of the season in the fourth while Calvin Harris chipped in with a game-tying RBI single in the fifth. Their final tally came in the sixth on an RBI single by Anthony DePino.
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Lucas Gordon battled through five innings, surrendering three runs on five hits. The bullpen nearly bailed everybody out, as Phil Fox and Jackson Kelley combined for three scoreless innings to keep the game tied entering the ninth. Then came the unraveling: a hit batter, a walk, a bunt single, and finally a soft liner that dropped into left to end it. Birmingham had chances late, including runners at second and third in the seventh and the tying run in scoring position again in the ninth, but the bats couldn’t deliver the one clean swing they needed.
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Winston-Salem 13, Greensboro Grasshoppers 9
The Dash (24-16) treated Greensboro pitching like a batting-practice machine, piling up 16 hits and three homers. After starter Gabe Davis labored through 3 2/3 innings filled with traffic and wild pitches, the Dash offense simply decided to outscore the problem.
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The avalanche started in the third when Alex Ungar launched a two-run shot before Grant Magill punched a two-run single and George Wolkow demolished a three-run homer to cap a seven-run explosion. Wolkow stayed scorching hot all night, finishing a double shy of the cycle, while Boston Smith added a three-run nuke of his own in the sixth after Greensboro gifted the Dash extra baserunners with a pair of hit batters. Winston-Salem went 4-for-12 with RISP, with Caleb Bonemer, Ely Brown, Smith, Wolkow, and Ungar all collecting multi-hit games.
The bullpen wasn’t exactly stress-free, but Seth Keener brought some badly needed order to the madness through the middle frames, firing 2 1/3 hitless, scoreless innings to stabilize the game and earn the win. Even after the Grasshoppers made some noise with a pair of homers and nine runs, the Dash offense had already done enough damage to survive.
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Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 3, Myrtle Beach Pelicans 1
Riley Eikhoff was the early headline, slicing and dicing the Pelicans for six innings of one-hit, shutout work, earning himself a quality start. He only allowed a double, gave up no walks, and struck out three.
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The Ballers’ (19-21) offense broke through in the fourth when Abraham Núñez walked, swiped second and third like he owned the place, and jogged home on a Stiven Flores sac fly. Ballers up 1-0.
In the sixth inning, Kanny tacked together a few insurance runs when Núñez drew another walk, Billy Carlson slapped a single to right, and Javier Mogollón smoked an RBI double. Then Stiven Flores added on another tally with a fielder’s choice. Myrtle Beach finally got on the board in the seventh off Choyce Diffey, but the Ballers’ defense helped him out when Jaden Fauske gunned down Jose Escobar trying to stretch an RBI single. Landen Payne and Jordan Morales handled the rest, locking down the win.
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ACL Royals 6, ACL White Sox 4 (7 innings)
KC spent the first two innings turning free baserunners into runs thanks to walks, hit batters, and stolen bases, grabbing an early 2-0 lead. Efren Teran got things rolling for the Sox (4-8) with a solo homer in the fourth, then Alejandro Cruz’s bunt single and hustle forced an error that helped tie the game 2-2 in the fifth.
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The Sox had a golden opportunity to take control in the sixth after loading the bases with two outs, but everybody was left stranded, and the game was still tied. Naturally, the Royals immediately made them pay. A backbreaking three-run triple was the key to a four-run inning that flipped the game for good. To the Sox’s credit, they didn’t completely fold. Teran crushed his second homer of the night — a two-run shot in the seventh to cut the deficit to two, but the late rally fizzled there. The lineup finished with just five hits, while the pitching staff handed out eight walks and two hit batters.
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ACL Athletics 2, ACL White Sox 1 (Monday, May 18 — 7 innings)
The ACL Sox managed just five hits and spent most of the night knocking baseballs right into gloves. After the A’s scratched across a first-inning run, José Mendoza answered immediately in the second by launching his second homer of the year to left center, briefly tying things up. That would be the Sox’s lone breakthrough, though, as the offense went ice cold the rest of the way, closing the night with 13 ground-ball outs and only one baserunner after the fourth inning.
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The Athletics took the lead in the third on an unearned run after a pair of Sox errors and an RBI single. Despite Orlando Suarez and Reudis Diaz combining for 3 2/3 scoreless relief frames after that, the lineup couldn’t do anything. A few Sox positives are that Jurdrick Profar flashed some leather with several smooth plays at second, while catcher Landon Hodge cut down a runner on the bases in an otherwise frustrating night for the offense.
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