Murphy, Dogs Edge RedHawks, Railroaders Win Seventh Straight, RailCats Down Goldeyes
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, Kyle Murphy tossing a gem for the Chicago Dogs, the Cleburne Railroaders when their seventh straight game, and the Gary Southshore RailCats down the Winnipeg Goldeyes, This and much more.
Alexander Walk-Off Single Keeps Railroaders Rolling
Hill Alexander delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to give the Cleburne Railroaders an 8-7 victory over the Lincoln Saltdogs. The victory was the seventh in a row for the Railroaders.
The teams each scored three runs in the first inning. Josh Altmann had the big hit in the top of the first with a two-run homer and Chuck Taylor added a two-run blast in the bottom half of the inning. Lincoln retook the lead, jumping out to a 6-4 advantage heading to the bottom of the fourth, but a three-run homerun by Zach Nehrir put Cleburne on top. The Saltdogs responded with a run in the top of the fifth and it looked like the contest was headed to extra innings, but the Railroaders put runners at the corners with two down before Alexander delivered a clutch single, driving home Nehrir with the game-winner.
Nehrir finished 2-4 with three runs scored and three RBI. Kacy Clemens had two hits and drove in a run. Taylor scored three times in the game and drove in two others. Hunter Cervenka earned the victory. Steffon Moore took the loss for the Saltdogs. Altmann was 2-4 with two runs scored and two RBI.
Lincoln Saltdogs Recap by Michael Dixon
Milkmen Pounce on Cougars
The Milwaukee Milkmen came out of the first trailing by two, but responded with five unanswered runs on their way to a 9-4 victory over the Kane County Cougars. The Milkmen scored two runs in the top of the third to tie the score, then put up three in the fifth. Christ Conley gave his team the lead with an RBI single, a lead they would never relinquish. Milwaukee added three more in the top of the ninth capped off by a two-run triple off the bat of Correlle Prime.
Bryan Torres, Logan Trowbridge, and Prime each had three hits for Milwaukee. Prime scored two runs and drove in two others. Myles Smith started the contest but came out after two innings. Jake Matthys came on in the fifth and tossed five scoreless innings to earn the victory.
Jack Fox took the loss, giving up four earned runs on 12 hits in 4.2 innings. Cornelius Randolph and Galli Cribbs each had three hits for Kane County.
Heidenfelder Rebounds to Lead RailCats
The Gary Southshore RailCats and Winnipeg Goldeyes combined to score 10 runs through the first two innings, but Winnipeg could not battle back as Gary Southshore earned a 6-4 victory. The RailCats scored four runs in the top of the first capped off by two run single by Chris Burgess. Winnipeg responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning on a three-run double by Raul Navarro. However, the RailCats responded with a two run double off the bat of Jesus Marriaga in the top of the second to give Gary Southshore a three-run lead.
Ian Sagdal doubled home a run in the bottom half of the inning to cut the deficit to two, but Adam Heidenfelder settled down, allowing four runs over 5.1 innings to earn the victory. The RailCats bullpen did the rest, tossing a combined 3.2 innings of scoreless relief. Jared Price earned the save.
Michael Woodworth had two hits and scored two runs for Gary Southshore. Winnipeg was led by Navarro who had three hits and drove in three. Sagdal had two hits.
Gary Southshore RailCats Recap by Ryan Zimmerman
Winnipeg Goldeyes Recap by Steve Schuster
Thompson Completes DockHounds Comeback
David Thompson delivered a two run double in the bottom of the eighth inning, completing a comeback victory for the Kansas City Monarchs as the team defeated the Lake Country DockHounds, 9-6.
Lake Country held a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the fifth when Kansas City rallied to tie the score. The Monarchs took the lead in the bottom of the seventh but the DockHounds responded with two runs in the top of the eighth to retake the lead. That sent the game to the bottom of the eighth where Thompson put his team on top for good.
Thompson finished with three hits and two RBI. Chad De La Guerra and Pete Kozma each had two hits and scored two runs. Gabriel Noriega had three hits and scored two runs for Lake Country. T.J. Bennett and Gio Brusa each homered for the DockHounds.
Kansas City Monarchs Recap by Adam Cook
Murphy, Dogs Bullpen Shuts Down RedHawks
Kyle Murphy allowed one run in five innings and the Chicago Dogs bullpen did the rest, defeating the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, 4-1. The score was tied at one heading to the top of the fifth when Chicago took the lead for good. Connor Kopach tripled to score Trent Bauer and he came home on an RBI single by Harrison Smith.
That was more than enough support for Murphy, who scattered three hits. Ryan Clark then tossed two scoreless innings before Kevin Marnon came on in the eighth to toss a scoreless inning. Brian Schlitter came on in the ninth to earn his sixth save of the year.
Tyler Grauer took the loss, allowing three runs in 7.0 innings. K.C. Hobson and Bauer each had two hits for the Dogs.
Chicago Dogs Recap by Matthew Barthelemy
Canaries-Explorers Postponed
The contest between the Sioux Falls Canaries and Sioux City Explorers was postponed because of rain. The contest will be made up as part of a double-header in Sioux Falls on August 22.
Three Stars of the Night
No. 3 – Kyle Murphy (Chicago Dogs) 5.0 IP, 3 H, 5 BB, ER, 3 K
No. 2 – Correlle Prime (Milwaukee Milkmen) 3-6, 2 R, Triple, 2 RBI
No. 1 – Zach Nehrir (Cleburne Railroaders) 2-4, 3 R, HR, 3 RBI, BB
American Association Daily Notes
The Cleburne Railroaders won their seventh straight game, the longest winning streak by the club this season. The team is 1.5 games behind the Gary Southshore RailCats for the final playoff spot in the East Division… The Kansas City Monarchs are 10-2 in July.
Transactions
Chicago: Placed LHP James Reeves on the Injured List retroactive to July 3
Kansas City: Placed RHP Nick Belzer on the Injured List retroactive to July 4
Lincoln: Activated LHP Kyle Kinman from the Injured List; Placed LHP Greg Minier on the Injured List retroactive to July 11
By Robert Pannier
