Toledo Mud Hens 4, Worcester Red Sox 2 (box)
Lael Lockhart Jr. threw a pretty solid game and the Hens rode some Andrew Navigato heroics late to a come from behind victory on Thursday.
The Hens struck first in this one. Eddys Leonard launched a solo shot, his third of the season, to left field in the second inning. They didn’t swing the bats well the rest of the game, but neither did Worcester as Lockhart tossed five innings of shutout ball.
Ricky Vanasco took over with a scoreless sixth, but allowed a run in the seventh, and so did Devin Sweet after taking over to close out the inning. 2-1 Worcester.
Finally, in the top of the eighth walks to Drew Maggi and Justyn-Henry Malloy set the stage for a three-run shot from Navigato that gave them a 4-2 lead. Austin Schulfer spun a perfect ninth inning for his first save.
Navigato: 1-4, R, 3 RBI, HR, 2 K
Lockhart: 5.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K
Richmond Flying Squirrels 8, Erie SeaWolves 7 (box)
This was a pretty wild one, as the lead changed hands over and over again, but a late surge from Erie couldn’t quite get all the way to a victory.
Garrett Burhenn got the start and he allowed a run in the first inning on a solo shot. Brady Allen lifted a two-run shot for Erie in the second, but Burhenn leaked two more runs in the third to make it 3-1 Richmond.
In the fifth, Danny Serretti was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Carlos Mendoza doubled him home and then turn third on a wild pitch. Ben Malgeri struck out but Mendoza scored on a Chris Meyers ground out to first. Liam Hicks drew a two-out walk and Luis Santana got hit by a pitch to load the bases. Eliezer Alfonzo came up big with a single up the middle to score Hicks, though Santana was throw out at the plate. 5-3 Erie.
Unfortunately Calvin Coker gave the lead away as Richmond scored two off of him in the sixth to make it a 5-5 game. The Hens had men on base in the sixth and seventh, but couldn’t get them home.
Tyler Owens took over in the eighth and got into trouble in a long inning that ended with him loading the bases on two singles and a walk and then surrendering a bases clearing double as the Squirrels pulled ahead for good.
In the eighth, Austin Murr doubled and scored on a Mendoza single, and in the ninth, Santana walked, took second on an Alfonzo single, and scored on an Austin Murr single, but that was as close as they’d get.
Mendoza: 2-5, R, 2 RBI, 2B, 2 K
Alfonzo: 3-4, R, RBI, BB, K, CS
Murr: 2-5, R, RBI, 2B, SB
Burhenn: 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 2 K
West Michigan Whitecaps 9, Dayton Dragons 5 (box)
The Whitecaps offense erupted for 15 hits in this one, despite no contributions for Max Clark, who went 0 for 5, nor from Thayron Liranzo, who had the day off. Joseph Montalvo didn’t have his best outing but got plenty of run support as the Whitecaps pulled away from every Dragons attempt at a comeback.
The Whitecaps seized control for good in the second inning. Izaac Pacheco led off with a single and John Peck lifted a two-run shot to right center field. Seth Stephenson singled, and Josh Crouch reached on an error to set up Dom Johnson, who launched a three-run shot to left field. 5-0 Whitecaps.
Montalvo pitched through a bit of traffic early without issue, but ran into trouble as a walk, a single, and a home run made it 5-3 Whitecaps. Montalvo settled back in for two more scoreless innings, and in the fifth the offense struck again.
With two outs in the top of the fifth, Roberto Campos singled and Izaac Pacheco doubled him to third. Peck came up big again, pulling a line drive to left for a two-run double. 7-3 Whitecaps.
Conner Holden allowed a pair of runs in the sixth, but Max Alba shut down a developing big inning for the Dragons and then carved them up in the seventh. In the meantime, the Whitecaps offense kept rolling. Max Anderson singled to lead off the seventh and scored on a Campos double. Anderson singled in Crouch in the eighth, and it was 9-5 Whitecaps.
Matt Merrill handled the eighth and ninth, giving up just a single while punching out four to wrap this one up.
Peck: 3-5, R, 4 RBI, 2B, HR
Pacheco: 3-5, 2 R, 2B, 2 K
Campos: 2-5, R, RBI, 2B, K
Montalvo (W, 1-1): 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 K
Lakeland Flying Tigers 4, Dunedin Blue Jays 0 (box)
The young Flying Tigers staff was really good in this one, while the offense was opportunistic despite not seeing much to hit in this one and drawing nine walks. This was supposed to be a doubleheader, but two hours of rain delay ruined those plans again and this became a single nine inning contest.
Right-hander Josh Randall, the Tigers third rounder out of San Diego made his A-ball debut in this one. He got a short start, threw strikes, and otherwise looked okay despite not getting much swing and miss. He gave up three hits in two innings of work, but stranded them all.
Right-hander Duque Hebbert was really on point, taking over from Randall for four no-hit innings with just a walk allowed against three strikeouts.
Archer Brookman led off the third with a single and Cristian Santana followed with a walk. Franyerber Montilla grounded into a force of Santana at second, but David Smith walked to load the bases, and Jack Penney walked to force in a run. A balk then scored Montilla from third to make it 2-0, though Josue Briceño struck out and Jose De La Cruz flew out to strand a pair.
In the fourth, Nomar Fana pulled a solo shot over the right field wall to make it 3-0 Lakeland. That was his first since coming up for his A-ball debut on August 6.
David Smith added one more run in the seventh when he walked, was wild pitched to second, and then stole third, scoring on the play as the Blue Jays catcher threw the ball away down the third base line.
Pedro Garcia handled the last three innings for Lakeland without issue to earn the save.
Fana: 2-4, R, RBI, 2B, HR
Brookman: 1-3, R, RBI
Hebbert (W, 4-2): 4.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, BB, 3 K