Explorers Win Pitchers’ Duel, Error Costs Saltdogs, Railroaders Rally Late
American Association Daily provides insights, features, and recaps of the action from around the American Association of Professional Baseball League, as well as player and coaching profiles and transactions. In today’s edition, Robert Pannier recaps the six games in the American Association on Saturday, including the Cleburne Railroaders Rally late to defeat the Milwaukee Milkmen, the Sioux City Explorers when a great pitchers’ duel, and Chris Erwin shuts down the Lincoln Saltdogs.
Game Recaps for Saturday
Railroaders Draw Three 2’s to Down Milkmen
The Cleburne Railroaders scored two runs in each of the final three innings to earn an 11-6 victory over the Milwaukee Milkmen. As with the previous night, the lead changed hands several times, five times in fact, before the railroaders pulled away.
Cleburne began with a run in the top of the third only to see Milwaukee take the lead in the bottom half of the inning, thanks to a two run homer by Roy Morales. The Railroaders retook the lead in the top of the fourth when John Figueroa plated two with a double. José Sermo then homered in the top of the fifth to make it 5-3, but the Milkmen responded with three runs in the bottom half of the fifth, as Drew Ward delivered a two-run single and Morales put his team back on top for the second time in the game with a sacrifice fly.
The lead held through six, but the Railroaders dominated from there. Zach Nehrir homered to tie the score in the top of the seventh and Ryan Hernandez put his team on top for good with an RBI single. Figueroa drilled a home run to deep center in the eighth and Hernandez and Alex Jackson drove home runs in the ninth.
Brandon Bell earned the victory with a scoreless inning of relief. Jackson finished with four hits and Figueroa drove in four for the Railroaders. Morales had three hits and three RBI for the Milkmen.
Bourassa Dominates in Goldeyes Victory
Landen Bourassa allowed one run in 6.2 innings to lead the Winnipeg Goldeyes to a 7-1 victory over the Lake Country DockHounds. The victory moved Winnipeg to .500 while giving the DockHounds the worst record in the league.
The Goldeyes jumped in front in the bottom of the first, as the first three batters of the inning reached base before Jacob Bockelie delivered a two-run single. Lake Country cut the deficit in half in the top of the second as the club led off with back-to-back singles. A sacrifice removed both runners in scoring position and Harrison Smith brought home a run with an RBI ground out.
It remained a one run game until the fifth when the Goldeyes gave themselves some breathing room, scoring three runs on four hits. Javeyan Williams led off with a single and scored when Brynn Martinez drilled a ball to the wall, racing in for a triple. A single by Dayson Croes brought home Martinez, and he later scored on a sacrifice fly by Bockelie. Max Murphy homered with one down in the bottom of the seventh and Croes plated his second run of the game with an RBI single in the eighth to close out the scoring.
Bourassa evened his record (1-1), allowing eight hits and two walks while striking out four. Three relievers finished off the contest, tossing 2.2 innings of hitless, scoreless relief. Alex McRae took the loss.
Winnipeg Goldeyes Recap by Doug Greenwald
Explorers Down Cougars in 10
The Sioux City Explorers and Kane County Cougars battled through an incredible pitcher’s duel, but Sioux City finally prevailed, scoring two in the top of the 10th to earn a 3-2 victory over the Cougars. This was a scoreless tie through eight, as Austin Drury and Westin Muir both dominated. Drury allowed no runs on three hits in 5.2 innings while Muir gave up no runs on four hits through five.
The bullpens continued to dominate from there, but Sioux City looked like they would come away victors when Daniel Perez led off the ninth inning with a home run. Sean Rackoski came on in the bottom of the ninth and retired the first two batters, but Josh Allen tied the score with his first home run of the year. In the 10th, Sioux City retook the lead, scoring two. Kane County was able to pull within a run, but Rackoski recorded the final out to earn his third victory of the season.
The teams combined for just 13 hits, with Kane County held to four. Kyle Kasser had two hits for Sioux City.
Sioux City Explorers Recap by Dan Vaughan Jr. and Austin Thomas
Erwin Muzzles Saltdogs
Chris Erwin tossed 5.1 scoreless innings to lead the Gary SouthShore RailCats to a 4-1 victory over the Lincoln Saltdogs. The RailCats took the lead in the top of the second, scoring three runs. With two down, the team kept the inning alive when Daniel Lingua singled and Michael Woodworth was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Gio Diaz then reached on an error, bringing home two runs, and Jesus Marriaga followed with an RBI single. It stayed that way until the fifth when LG Castillo drove home Marriaga to make it 4-0.
That was more than enough support for Erwin, who allowed three hits and a walk while striking out three to earn his second victory of the season. Ben Miller tossed 1.2 scoreless innings. Lincoln finally got on the board in the bottom of the ninth when Nick Anderson led off with a home run, but the club was held to just five hits overall.
Francisco Del Valle finished with three hits and Marriaga and Lingua each had two hits for Gary. John Bezdicek was the hard luck loser, allowing just one earned run in 5.0 innings. Anderson had two hits.
Gary SouthShore RailCats Recap by Ryan Zimmerman
Lincoln Saltdogs Recap by Michael Dixon
Monarchs Bullpen Shines in Delivering Victory
The Kansas City Monarchs clung to a two-run lead coming out of the fifth inning, but the bullpen was absolutely spectacular, tossing four perfect frames to finish off a 5-3 victory over the Sioux Falls Canaries. Jan Hernandez scored two runs and drove in two for Kansas City, and the club erased a one run deficit, scoring three unanswered runs early on to earn the victory.
Kansas City took the lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI double by Hernandez and a run scoring single by Chris Herrmann. Sioux Falls responded right away, scoring three in the top of the second. The club loaded the bases before Trevor Achenbach was hit by a pitch, scoring a run. Marshall Rich then followed with a sacrifice fly, and Ozzie Martinez closed out the scoring with a two-out single.
The Monarchs tied the score in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly by Gavin Collins. In the fourth, they took the lead for good as Hernandez drove home L.J. Hatch with a single and an attempted double steel brought home Jacob Robson with the final run of the game.
Brandon Finnegan earned the victory for Kansas City, allowing three runs in five innings. Jordan Martinson then came on, tossing three scoreless frames, and Patrick Weigel tossed a perfect ninth, earning his first save of the season. Hernandez and Herrmann each finished with two hits for the Monarchs. Mike Hart had two hits for Sioux Falls.
Lane Grounds RedHawks
Trevor Lane allowed just two hits in five scoreless innings as the Chicago Dogs defeated the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, 7-1. The victory was the fourth in a row for the Dogs, who used five unanswered runs to dominate this contest early.
Chicago took the lead in the bottom of the second, thanks to a three-run homer off the bat of Cody Bohanek. In the third, Ryan Lidge delivered an RBI single and Josh Altmann made it a five run lead when he hit into a double play that scored a run in the fifth.
Lane came out after five, and Fargo-Moorhead was able to get a run in the sixth thanks to an RBI single by Nick Novak. However, the Dogs sealed the victory in the seventh when Donivan Williams delivered a pinch-hit single up the middle, scoring two. Correlle Prime took the loss for Fargo. The RedHawks were held to five hits.
Three Stars of the Night
No. 3 – Chris Erwin (Gary SouthShore RailCats) 5.1, 3 H, BB, 0 ER, 3 K
No. 2 – John Figueroa (Cleburne Railroaders) 2-4, R, 4 RBI, HR, Double
No. 1 – Austin Drury (Sioux City Explorers) 5.2 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 5 K
American Association Daily Notes
Milwaukee Milkmen outfielder Reggie Pruitt stole three bases… Sioux City Explorers right-hander Sean Rackoski earned his league-leading third victory of the season… The Kane County Cougars have lost all three extra inning games they have played this season.
Transactions
None
American Association Stories at Minor League Sports Report
Battle for Top Spot in East Highlights American Association Weekend Schedule
Who Is the Top Leadoff Hitter in the American Association
By Robert Pannier
