Panas Crushes Two Homers, Chlup Leads DockHounds, Canaries Win in 10

Robert Pannier August 17, 2023

Photo Credit: Jennifer Andreachi/Field Dreams Photography

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, Rob Pannier recaps the six games in the American Association on Wednesday, including the Sioux Falls Canaries winning in the 10th inning, Connor Panas homers twice for the Lincoln Saltdogs, and Marek Chlup drills two home runs in the Lake Country DockHounds victory.

Game Recaps for Wednesday

Panas Spurs Saltdogs Victory

Connor Panas homered twice and drove in six as the Lincoln Saltdogs crushed the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, 10-1. This was a great pitcher’s duel that saw the game knotted at one through the first six innings. However, Lincoln blew the game open with nine runs over the final three frames.

John Bezdicek gave up one run in five innings for Lincoln and Kelvan Pilot allowed a single run through the first six innings. However, things changed in the seventh when Lincoln scored five runs off just two hits. Four straight walks to begin the inning gave the Saltdogs the lead and Panas followed with a grand slam. Lincoln added a run in the eighth and three more in the ninth to seal the victory.

Carter Hope earned the victory, tossing two scoreless innings of relief. Drew Devine had three hits and three RBI. Sam Dexter had two hits and scored a run for the RedHawks.

Lincoln Saltdogs Recap by Michael Dixon

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks Recap by Chad Miller

Boxscore

Chlup Homers Twice to Lead DockHounds

Marek Chlup homered twice and drove in four as the Lake Country DockHounds defeated the Gary SouthShore RailCats, 9-7. The DockHounds held a seven-run advantage before the RailCats rally to pull within two, but Lake Country was able to hold on for the victory.

The DockHounds jumped out with five unanswered runs, beginning with three in the bottom of the first. Justin Lavey hit a two-run homer and Chlup added a solo shot. In the second, Dustin Woodcock led off with a solo homer and Blake Tiberi drove home a run with an RBI double. Marcos Gonzalez hit a two-run homer in the fourth, but Lake Country responded with three runs in the bottom half of the frame on a three-run shot by Chlup, his fifth of the year.

In the fifth, Lake Country added one more run. Francisco Del Valle hit a solo home run in the seventh, and Gary SouthShore rallied in the ninth to pull within two. Jesus Marriaga hit a solo home run and Del Valle added an RBI single. Daniel Lingua then hit a two-run homer.

Gary SouthShore RailCats Recap by Ryan Zimmerman

Boxscore

Milkmen Double-Up Cougars

Roy Morales had four hits and scored twice to help lead the Milwaukee Milkmen to a 6-3 victory over the Kane County Cougars. Gregori Vasquez earned his ninth victory of the season, allowing two runs in five innings. Peyton Gray earned his seventh save of the season, recording the final five outs.

The Milkmen scored a run in the first and second innings. In the fourth, Kane County tied the score on a two-run homer by Jonah Davis, his 17th of the year. Milwaukee retook the lead in the top of the fifth when Miguel Gomez had a two-run homer, his 10th of the year. The Cougars cut the deficit in half in the seventh, but Milwaukee sealed the victory of the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Cam Balego and an RBI single by Morales.

Boxscore

Canaries Down Monarchs in 10

Jabari Henry drove home the winning run in the top of the 10th to give the Sioux Falls Canaries a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Monarchs. Kansas City held a one run lead until the fifth when the Canaries jumped out on top. Darnell Sweeney tied the score with a solo home run, his 18th of the year, and Logan Eickhoff put his team ahead with an RBI single. He later scored on a single by Ozzie Martinez.

Kansas City was stymied through the first six innings, but cut the deficit to one on an RBI double by LJ Hatch in the seventh and tied the score on a passed ball in the eighth. That sent the game to the 10th where the Canaries loaded the bases before Henry provided the game-winning ground out.

Charlie Hasty earned the victory, allowing one earned run in two innings. Cole LaLonde came on in the 10th to earn his first save of the season. Chris Herrmann had three hits for the Monarchs.

Kansas City Monarchs Recap by Nolan Brooks

Boxscore

Explorers Win on Sierra Walk-Off Single

The Sioux City Explorers found themselves trailing by three heading in the bottom of the fifth, but rallied for four unanswered runs to earn an 8-7 victory over the Winnipeg Goldeyes. Miguel Sierra delivered the game-winning hit, a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth. Brandon Brosher only got one out in the game, but earned the victory.

Scott Ota led off the bottom of the first with a home run and Kyle Kasser added an RBI single. In the second, Sioux City extended the lead to four on a double by Ota and an RBI single by Matt Lloyd. Winnipeg rallied for three runs in the top of the third, capped off by a two-run single by Hidekel Gonzalez. In the fourth, the Goldeyes took the lead when Max Murphy hit his 25th homer of the year, a three-run home run. The lead became three in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Dayson Croes.

The Explorers began to rally in the bottom of the fifth when Kyle Kasser singled home Tyler Rando to cut the deficit to two. An inning later, Lloyd crushed a two-run homer, his 11th of the year. The game remained tied until the ninth when I hit by pitch and a single put runners at the corners with one down. Sierra then hit the first pitch he saw into left field for the game-winner.

Kasser had four hits and drove in two runs and Ota had three hits, scored three runs, and drove in two. Lloyd also had three hits, scoring twice and driving in three. Murphy had two hits, two runs scored, and three RBI for Winnipeg.

Sioux City Explorers Recap by Austin Thomas

Boxscore

Dogs Roll Past Railroaders

After giving up two runs in the top of the first, the Cleburne Railroaders responded with eight unanswered runs to earn an and 8-2 victory over the Cleburne Railroaders. The Chicago bullpen was outstanding, tossing six scoreless innings and both Jesus Lujano and Ryan Lidge had two hits and drove in a pair of runs.

Cleburne got off to a fast start in the top of the first as Bret Boswell had an RBI double and Ryan Hernandez drove home a run with a single. Chicago immediately responded in the bottom half of the inning as Lidge drove home a run with a double and he scored on a single by Luke Mangieri. Matt Bottcher led off the bottom of the second with his 10th homer of the year, putting Chicago on top, and Johnni Turbo had an RBI sacrifice fly. In the fourth, the Dogs blew this game open as Lujano delivered a bases clearing double and Lidge drove home Lujano with a single.

Bryan Warzek earned the victory with two scoreless innings of relief. Tanner Riley took the loss.

Boxscore

Three Stars of the Night

No. 3 – Scott Ota (Sioux City Explorers) 3-5, 3 R, 2 RBI, HR, Double

No. 2 – Marek Chlup (Lake Country DockHounds) 3-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR

No. 1 – Connor Panas (Lincoln Saltdogs) 2-6, 2 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI

American Association Daily Notes

Lincoln Saltdogs catcher Luke Roskam has now reached base in 46 consecutive games after going 1-5… The Sioux Falls Canaries are 9-1 in their last 10 games… Milwaukee Milkmen right-hander Gregori Vasquez earned his ninth victory of the season, tying him for the league lead… Winnipeg Goldeyes outfielder Max Murphy hit his league-leading 25th homer of the year.