Smith Sets Saltdogs Record, RedHawks Sweep Milkmen, Ulrich Streak Continues
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 Sunday, including Curt Smith setting the Lincoln Saltdogs franchise record for homeruns, and the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks completing their suite of the Milwaukee Milkmen. Plus, the Gary SouthShore RailCats and Sioux City Explorers avoid sweeps. This plus much more.
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Railroaders Complete Sweep of Canaries
Colton Pogue drove in three as the Cleburne Railroaders completed a three-game sweep of the Sioux Falls Canaries with an 8-6 victory on Sunday. Cleburne jumped out to a 7-1 lead, thanks to four runs in the second, a run in the third, and two in the fourth. However, Sioux Falls battled back with two in the sixth and three in the seventh and had the tying run at the plate in the top of the ninth inning before Tyler Wilson struck out Troy Alexander to end the contest.
Garrett Alexander earned the victory with six solid innings. Alay Lago and Noah Vaughan each had three hits for the Railroaders. Cade Gotta and Wyatt Ulrich each had three hits for Sioux Falls and Jabari Henry drove in three runs.
Sioux Falls Canaries Recap by Joey Zanaboni
Cleburne Railroaders Recap by Denning Gerig
Monarchs Rally to Down Saltdogs
The Kansas City Monarchs trailed the Lincoln Saltdogs 11-9 entering the bottom of the eighth inning, but a five-run frame put the team on top for good and a 14-11 victory. Gabriel Guerrero put them Monarchs ahead with an RBI single, and a fielder’s choice and an error extended the lead to three. Kevin Santa finished with three hits and four RBI and Guerrero had four hits and scored three runs. Ryan Grotjohn and Jan Hernandez also scored three runs each, as the 2-4 hitters combined to score 9 runs and drive in four. Every player in the Kansas City lineup but one had at least one hit in the game.
The Saltdogs Yanio Perez recorded four hits, scored two runs, and had two RBI. Perez also hit his first homerun of the season. Josh Altmann and Curt Smith also went deeper Lincoln.
Lincoln Saltdogs Recap by Michael Dixon
Kansas City Monarchs Recap by Jack Johnson
Early Surge Propels Explorers
The Sioux City Explorers avoided a sweep, scoring seven runs through the first three innings on their way to a 13-7 victory. Sioux City jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but the Kane County Cougars responded with four runs in the top of the third to cut the deficit to one. However, the Explorers came back with two runs in the bottom half of the frame and then held on for the victory.
Both Chase Harris and L.T. Tolbert scored four runs for Sioux City. Sebastian Zawada hit his eighth homerun of the year and scored three runs. Matt Quintana earned the victory. The Cougars were led by Mark Karaviotis, who had two hits and drove in a pair of runs. Gavin LaValley hit his 10th homerun of the season.
Sioux City Explorers Recap by Connor Ryan
RailCats Avoid Sweep with Victory over Goldeyes
The Gary SouthShore RailCats held a 5-3 lead heading in the bottom of the eighth, but blew this game open with an eight run frame in a 13-3 victory over the Winnipeg Goldeyes. That help the team avoid a sweep. Hayden Schilling and Tyler Van Marter led the way for Gary, with each recording three hits and scoring two runs. Van Marter drove in three runs for the RailCats. That helped support a solid performance by Jack Alkire, who allowed one earned run in 6.1 innings.
The Goldeyes Kevin Lachance hit his third homerun of the season. Both Kyle Martin and Austin Rei had a pair of hits.
Winnipeg Goldeyes Recap by Jason Young
Gary SouthShore RailCats Recap by Max Kelton
Dogs Complete Sweep of Apollos
The Chicago Dogs blew open a one-run game with a four-run fifth inning on their way to an 8-2 victory over the Houston Apollos. That completed a three-game sweep of Houston. K.C. Hobson had three hits, including hitting his eighth homerun of the season. He also drove in three runs. Ryan Haug walked three times and scored three runs. Michael Crouse drove home a pair of runs with a two-run triple. Garrett Christman earned the victory, allowing two runs in 5.2 innings pitched.
Yeiler Peguero had a big day for the Apollos, going 3-3 with an RBI.
RedHawks Blow Out Milkmen to Complete Sweep
The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks scored runs in five consecutive innings on their way to a 13-3 victory over the Milwaukee Milkmen. That allowed Fargo to complete their sweep of the Milkmen. The RedHawks trailed 2-1 entering the bottom of the third, but scored a pair of runs to take the lead. Fargo then scored a run in the fourth, four in the fifth, two in the sixth, and three in the seventh. Kevin Krause and John Silviano both homered and drove in three runs. Jordan George also went deep for the RedHawks. Logan Nissen earned the victory, allowing two earned runs in 7.0 innings pitched.
The Milkmen were led by Brett Vertigan, who went 2-4 with a homer and two RBI. The loss dropped Milwaukee out of first place in the North Division.
Milwaukee Milkmen Recap by Hannah McIlree
Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks Recap by Chad Ekren
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Three Stars of the Night
No. 3 – Hayden Schilling (Gary SouthShore RailCats) 3-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 Doubles
No. 2 – Kevin Santa (Kansas City Monarchs) 3-5, R, HR, 4 RBI
No. 1 – Sebastian Zawada (Sioux City Explorers) 3-4, 2 3 R, HR, RBI
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American Association Daily Notes
Sioux Falls Canaries OF Wyatt Ulrich continues his torrid streak, extending his hitting streak to 22 straight contests, the longest streak in the American Association this season. He also extended his consecutive on-base streak to 26 straight games, second-longest in the league this year. Ulrich is batting .414 during the hitting streak…Forrestt Allday extended his consecutive on-base streak to 27 straight games, the longest streak in the American Association in 2021. He has a .513 on-base percentage during the streak…Curt Smith became the all-time homerun leader for the Lincoln Saltdogs when he hit his fifth homerun of the season on Sunday. That was the 91st homerun for Smith in a Lincoln uniform…The Chicago Dogs and the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks have each won four straight games.
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Transactions
Chicago: Signed LHP Cam Booser; Released RHP Bobby Kametas
Gary SouthShore: Placed RHP Josh Vincent on the Injured List retroactive to July 1; Signed RHP Jordan Nelson
Kane County: Signed RHP Jamal Wade
Lincoln: Signed RHP Adolfo Espinoza
By Robert Pannier