Myrtle Beach 5, Wilmington 1

The Pelicans got the most of out of the six hits, scoring five runs on rout to the 5-1 win. Myrtle Beach grabbed the lead in the third in one of the most unusual innings of the season. The Pelicans had two runners reach on errors, and Chris Garia broke the scoreless tie by stealing home to make the score 1-0. It was his 40th steal of the year. Preston Beck then singled to score Christopher Bostick, and the Pelicans had two runs on one hit. In the sixth they would score three more runs, this time on three hits and three more Wilmington errors. Starter Chad Bell held the Blue Rocks to two hits and one run in five innings, improving his record to 5-1. Sean Manaea took the loss, allowing five runs in 5.2 innings pitched, but his defense did nothing to help him as four of the runs were unearned. The win helped the Pelicans maintain their two game lead over Winston-Salem.

Salem 5, Lynchburg 2

The Lynchburg Hillcats jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, only to see themselves get shut down for the final eight innings on their way to a 5-2 loss to the Salem Red Sox. The win Sox kept the Red five games out of first in the Southern Division. Salem trailed 2-1 entering the seventh, but after Matty Johnson singled home Aneury Tavarez to tie the game, Carlos Asuaje followed with his second home run of the year, a three run shot, giving Salem the lead. Jacob Dahlstrand pitched seven strong innings for Salem, giving up two unearned runs on four hits. Dahlstrand is a perfect 2-0 in his two starts since joining the team, and has given up just one run in 13.2 innings pitched. Kyle Kraus closed out the final two innings for his third save of the season.

Carolina 6, Frederick 4

In a game Carolina badly needed to keep pace in the Southern Division, the Mudcats got six solid innings out of Dylan Baker on their way to the 6-4 win. Baker gave up five hits and two runs on his way to evening his record at 2-2, and Grant Sides closed out the ninth for his fourth save of the season. The Mudcats trailed the Keys 2-0 until the fourth when Jeremy Lucas hit his 12th home run of the season, a two-run shot to tie the game. Frederick starter Brandon Kline (7-6) seemed to come unglued then, giving up two singles, a walk and a double that scored three more. Frederick pulled within one when Brenden Webb led off the seventh with his ninth home run of the season, and Jerome Pena later singled in Luigi Rodriguez. However, the Mudcats got a solo shot from Logan Vick, his third, in the ninth to add some cushion, and finished off Frederick. The win kept Carolina 2.5 games behind Myrtle Beach

Potomac 6, Winston-Salem 4

The Potomac Nationals increased their lead in the Northern Division with a 6-4 win over the Winston-Salem Dash. With the loss the Dash fell two games behind Myrtle Beach in the Southern Division. The game was a pitchers’ duel through much of the day, with the score tied at 2 entering the eighth inning. After giving up a run in the top of the eighth, Potomac got four in the bottom half of the inning. John Wooten had the big hit of the inning, a line drive home run over the left centerfield fence that gave Potomac a 6-3 lead. It was Wooten’s first home run of the year. Four Nationals players had two hits in the game, and Jacob May had three hits for the Dash in the loss. Kyle Turnbull recorded his first win of the season and Gilberto Mendez got his ninth save.

By Robert Pannier
Senior Baseball Editor
Member of the IBWAA