Canaries Complete Stunning Comeback, Brusa Homers Twice, Dogs Sweep
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 seven games in the American Association on Wednesday, including the Chicago Dogs sweeping a double-header over the Cleburne Railroaders, the Lake Country DockHounds winning their third straight game behind two homers by Gio Brusa, and the Sioux Falls Canaries completing an improbable comeback to down the Winnipeg Goldeyes. This and much more.
Canaries Rally to Complete Improbable Comeback
The Winnipeg Goldeyes jumped out to a 9-0 lead on Tuesday, only to see the Sioux Falls Canaries Rally from a 13-2 deficit, scoring 12 unanswered runs to earn a 14-13 victory. The Canaries scored three in the fifth, a run of the sixth, four in the seventh, and four in the bottom of the ninth to earn the walk-off win. Cole Pengilly completed the comeback with a two-run single as part of the four-run ninth.
Winnipeg took command of this game, scoring nine runs in the top of the second. The Goldeyes sent 14 batters to the plate, as Logan Hill delivered a two-run single and David Washington hit a three-run homer, his fifth of the season. Winnipeg added three more runs in the top of the fifth when Hill hit a three-run homer and it looked like they had all but sealed this victory, but the Canaries shown no quit.
Ozzie Martinez led the way for Sioux Falls, going 3-6 with a run scored and four RBI. Gavin LaValley went 4-5 with a run and two RBI, including hitting his third homerun of the season. Everyone in the starting lineup for Sioux Falls had at least one hit. Colby Wyatt earned the victory with two scoreless innings of relief. The Goldeyes were led by Hill, who was 2-4 with three runs scored and five RBI. Washington had three hits, scored twice, and drove in four.
Winnipeg Goldeyes Recap by Steve Schuster
Dogs Complete Sweep of Railroaders
The Chicago Dogs earned a sweep of their double-header with the Cleburne Railroaders on Wednesday, winning a suspended contest to start the evening, then rallying late to win the regularly scheduled game. The sweep gave Chicago victories in three straight games.
The suspended game picked up with the teams tied at two, however, Chicago took the lead with four runs in the top of the fourth inning. Cleburne responded right away, scoring five runs in the bottom half of the frame, but the Dogs took over from there, scoring five in the fifth, two in the seventh, and four in the eighth to earn a 17-7 victory. All nine starters for Chicago had at least one hit and scored at least two runs in the contest. Harrison Smith led the way, going 4-6 with two runs scored and an RBI. He doubled twice in the contest. The top three in the Dogs order went a combined 8-19 with seven runs scored and six RBI.
Nick Shumpert had two hits and scored two runs for Cleburne. Shumpert had a double and triple. Zach Nehrir scored two runs and had two RBI.
In the regularly scheduled contest, Chicago held a 5-3 lead after scoring a run of the top of the seventh. However, Cleburne scored two in the bottom of the frame sending this game to extra innings. The Dogs scored two in the top of the eighth then held on for the 7-6 victory. Jeff Kinley had blown the save in the seventh, but earned the victory. Nick Gardewine took the loss, walking in both runs in the top half of the eighth.
The loss spoiled a big night for Cesar Trejo, who went 4-4 with a homerun and four RBI. Shumpert had three hits in the contest. Charlie Tilson, who went 3-7 in the opener, went 2-4 with a run and an RBI. Danny Mars drove in two.
Grauer Outduels Smith to Lead RedHawks
Tyler Grauer allowed one run in 5.1 innings to lead the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks to a 3-1 victory over the Milwaukee Milkmen. Grauer was fantastic for the RedHawks, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out six to earn his first victory of the season. Luke Lind came on in the ninth to close the game out for his first save of the season. That spoiled a solid performance by Milkmen starter Myles Smith, who allowed two runs in six innings.
Fargo-Moorhead took the lead with a run in the bottom of the second inning. Milwaukee responded by tying the score the top of the third on an RBI double by Aaron Hill. However, Christian Correa drove home Leobaldo Pina in the bottom of the third inning to give the RedHawks the lead for good. Fargo-Moorhead added one more run in the bottom of the eighth when Peter Maris doubled home Nick Novak.
Pina finished a perfect 2-2 with two runs scored and two walks. John Silviano also had two hits for the RedHawks.
Brusa Homers Twice in DockHounds Victory
The Lake Country DockHounds outslugged the Kane County Cougars on Wednesday, winning 12-8. Lake Country jumped out to a 4-0 lead before the teams exchanged a pair of runs in the fourth frame. The Cougars rallied to pull within two, but the DockHounds scored four in the seventh and two in the eighth, then held on for the victory after Kane County scored three in the top of the ninth.
Gio Brusa homered twice in the contest for the DockHounds, becoming the first player in franchise history to hit two home runs in a game. The club had four home runs in the contest, also a single game record for the team. Brusa finished with five RBI and three hits. T.J. Bennett was 3-4 with three runs, a homerun, and two RBI.
Cornelius Randolph had a big day for Kane County, going 3-5 with two homers, three runs scored, and four RBI. Steve Lombardozzi had three hits and an RBI for the Cougars.
Lake Country DockHounds Recap by Sam Matheny
Monarchs Edge RailCats in 10
The Kansas City Monarchs scored two runs in the top of the 10th thwarting a comeback as they defeated the Gary SouthShore RailCats, 6-4. After Gary took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, the Monarchs scored one in the second, two of the fourth, and one in the fifth. David Thompson gave his team the lead with a leadoff homerun in the top of the fourth, his second of the season. Thompson later added another solo shot in the top of the fifth, giving Kansas City a 4-1 lead.
Akeem Bostick dominated through the first six innings, allowing one earned run on four hits while striking out six. However, Brock Gilliam took over for Bostick in the seventh, and immediately allowed two runs to enable the RailCats to tie the score. That sent the game to extra innings where the Monarchs won it. Jameson McGrane came on in the bottom half of the inning to close the contest out for his second save of the season.
Thompson finished 3-4 with three runs scored, two homers, and two RBI. Pete Kozma also had three hits. Thomas Walraven and Chris Burgess had two hits and a run scored for the RailCats.
Kansas City Monarchs Recap by Caleb Grizzle
Gary SouthShore RailCats Recap by Ryan Zimmerman
Explorers-Saltdogs Washed Out…Again
For the second straight night, the Sioux City Explorers and Lincoln Saltdogs were washed out because of inclement weather. This was supposed to be a double-header. The first game of the double-header will be made up on Thursday as part of a double-header starting at 4:30. The second game was moved to July 18 at 4:30. That game will be played as part of a double-header.
Three Stars of the Night
No. 3 – Ozzie Martinez (Sioux Falls Canaries) 3-6, R, Double, 4 RBI
No. 2 – Cornelius Randolph (Kane County Cougars) 3-5, 3 R, Double, 2 HR, 4 RBI
No. 1 – Gio Brusa (Lake Country) 3-5, 2 R, 2 HR, Double, 5 RBI
American Association Daily Notes
The Sioux Falls Canaries rallied to defeat the Winnipeg Goldeyes on Wednesday, 14-13. The team trailed by nine runs in the second inning, making it the largest comeback victory in the American Association this season… Three players extended their hitting streaks to 11 straight games, the longest in the American Association this season. The Kane County Cougars Ernie De La Trinidad, the Sioux Falls Canaries Wyatt Ulrich, and the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks Drew Ward all have now hit safely in 11 straight games… The Winnipeg Goldeyes Eric Rivera extended his consecutive on-base streak to 12 straight games, longest in the league this season… The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks have won five straight games, moving the team to 8-3. The five-game winning streak is the longest in the league this year.
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By Robert Pannier