(17-15) Gwinnett Stripers 6, (12-17) Buffalo Bisons 9 F/10

Box Score

Austin Riley, 3B: 2-3, 2B, 2 BB, RBI, .300/.373/.633

Alex Jackson, C: 1-5, HR, 3 RBI, .243/.300/.486

Travis Demeritte, DH: 0-4, BB, .298/.396/.532

Wes Parsons, RP: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA

Gwinnett had a late rally in the game to take a lead over Buffalo, but in extra innings fell to the Bisons 9-6. Buffalo quickly got themselves into the lead with two runs in the top of the first inning, then with two outs in the bottom of the second inning an Austin Riley double got things cooking for Gwinnett. A walk to Adam Duvall brought Alex Jackson to the plate with two runners on, who lifted a routine fly ball to the center fielder. The Bisons outfielder drifted over the catch the ball, but had it bounce off of his glove to bring in two runs and allow Gwinnett to tie the game. The Stripers offense didn’t see as much luck over the next five innings against the Buffalo starter, and after six innings trailed 5-2. Gwinnett got a rally going in the seventh inning against the first Buffalo reliever, with an Austin Riley single opening up the scoring to make it 5-3. Alex Jackson had the biggest hit of the game for Gwinnett, crushing a three run home run that gave Gwinnett their first lead. That lead did not last for long, and the Stripers could not put up any more offense to counter the Bisons’s three tenth inning runs.

Andres Santiago found himself making the start for Gwinnett, and was in trouble often putting the Stripers behind. A two run double in the first inning was the first damage done against Santiago, and after Gwinnett tied the game back up in the bottom of the inning Santiago was once again out to work. Two more singles put him in danger again, and a double allowed to Ben Revere put the Bisons back on top of the scoreboard 4-2. Santiago settled down after this and only allowed one more hit, forcing two double plays over the next three innings to help keep Buffalo off the board and the deficit at two runs. Wes Parsons was brought in to pitch the sixth, and he struggled some as well. Catchers interference with one out and a runner on first base set Parsons in a bad spot, and a base hit up the middle scored another run to push Buffalo’s lead to 5-2. Parsons pitched a clean seventh inning and struck out two batters. After taking the lead Gwinnett turned the ball over to Shane Carle, but he quickly gave up consecutive doubles to allow Buffalo to tie the game up. Carle put out the fire and retired the final five batters he faced to help send the game to extra innings. Jose Rafael De Paula was brought in to pitch the tenth inning, and things just did not go well in any facet. After a one out triple gave Buffalo the lead, De Paula made an error and a wild pitch that led to two more runs scoring and gave Buffalo a 9-6 lead that the Stripers offense had no chance to recover.

Next Game: 5/8 vs (12-17) Buffalo Bisons @ 7:05 PM ET

Probable Starters

GWN: Kyle Wright (2-2, 8.66 ERA)

BUF: TBD

(16-14) Mississippi Braves 5, (21-11) Pensacola Blue Wahoos 3

Box Score

Drew Waters, LF: 3-5, HR, SB, 2 RBI, .339/.375/.528

Cristian Pache, CF: 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, .321/.370/.550

Joey Wentz, SP: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 3.90 ERA

Huascar Ynoa, RP: 3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 5.91 ERA

The home run ball played a huge role in Mississippi’s win, with the game winning blast coming from Drew Waters to send the Braves home with a win. Pensacola jumped out to a two run lead after the second inning, but in the bottom of the second Mississippi made their first counter. Alejandro Salazar led off the inning with a walk, then after swiping second base came in to score on a base hit from Daniel Lockhart. Drew Waters led off in the bottom of the third inning with a base hit into right field, bringing Cristian Pache to the plate. Pache mashed a ball into left field, and was able to sneak it over the left field fence for a two run home run that gave Mississippi the lead. The MBraves bats were a little sluggish over the next five innings and Pensacola was able to tie the game, setting the stage for that ninth inning. Carlos Martinez led off with a walk, and after a fly out from Ray-Patrick Didder, Waters strode to the plate looking to do damage. After the first pitch missed up Waters got a fastball up and in and absolutely crushed a monster walk off home run just fair down the right field line.

Joey Wentz had a mediocre start for the Braves, struggling to produce necessary swings and misses but preventing solid contact enough to put up a decent line. Wentz allowed a double to the first batter of the game, and then two batters later allowed his first run as Miguel Sano lifted a sacrifice fly to put the Blue Wahoos in front. Wentz hit the first batter of the second inning, then a fielding error by Didder put the runner at third base where a ground ball brought in an unearned run. Wentz eased through the next two innings despite a couple of walks and a double to Sano, then in the fifth ran into more troubles with a leadoff walk coming back to hurt. Sano crushed his second double off of Wentz on the day, and two batters later a sacrifice fly brought in the third run of the game to tie it at 3-3. Wentz worked a scoreless sixth inning before making way for Huascar Ynoa. Ynoa allowed the first batter to get a hit off of him, but worked out of trouble in the seventh inning to keep the game tied. In the ninth, a couple of two out singles put Ynoa in a bad spot, but a key strikeout recorded the second out of the inning and a ground ball ended the inning to keep it tied for the Mississippi offense.

Next Game: 5/8 vs (21-11) Pensacola Blue Wahoos @ 11:35 AM

Probable Starters

MIS: Kyle Muller (0-0, 1.46 ERA)

PNS: Brusdar Gaterol (3-0, 2.23 ERA)

(12-20) Florida Fire Frogs 4, (13-17) Lakeland Flying Tigers 0

Box Score

Garrison Schwartz, RF: 3-4, HR, 2 RBI .375/.375/.625

Riley Delgado, 3B: 1-4, BB, .319/.375/.379

William Contreras, C: 1-4, HBP, .301/.368/.398

Nolan Kingham, SP: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 2.52 ERA

Florida’s pitching staff took over in this game, with starter Nolan Kingham firing six shut out innings in the Fire Frogs’s 4-0 win. A one out walk to Riley Unroe set things up for Florida in the top of the third inning, and a single by William Contreras had them in a prime spot to score and take a lead. Greyson Jenista came through with the big hit, knocking a base hit into right field to score Unroe. Florida tacked on another in the fourth inning thanks to Unroe, who hit one up the middle to score Garrison Schwartz for the second run of the game. The biggest hit of the game came from Schwartz, who hit a two run home run with none out in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 4-0. With the pitching staff rolling, that was more than they needed to cruise to an easy win.

Nolan Kingham came into this start after throwing a complete game shutout in his last outing, and he did not slow down turning in another fantastic outing. Kingham didn’t have much working in the way of strike outs, but he kept the Lakeland offense off balance all game and was able to force weak ground balls time and time again. Kingham recorded 12 of his 18 outs on ground balls, allowing him to comfortably work around five hits and a walk. Kingham finished his start under 100 pitches, and turned the ball over to Daysbel Hernandez in the seventh inning. Hernandez fired two scoreless innings, with only one hit on the register against him and two strikeouts. Brandon White got a little bit dangerous with a couple of singles in the bottom of the ninth inning, but a fly out and a ground out ended the game and completed the team shutout.

Next Game: 5/8 vs (13-17) Lakeland Flying Tigers @ 6:30 PM ET

Probable Starters

FLO: Philip Pfeifer (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

LAK: Jesus Rodriguez (0-3, 5.40 ERA)

Rome Braves - OFF