Game Recaps 4/29

I was at the Akron game on Tuesday night and will have a lot of stuff to share over the next few days. Lots of stuff from manager Mike Sarbaugh and hitting coach Lee May Jr, plus interviews with players Chuck Lofgren, David Huff, and Chris Gimenez. On top of that, I also talked to three different scouts about a myriad of stuff, and one scout I talked to for close to an hour. Lots of things that I have to put pen to paper on to recall all he said as it was casual conversation and not an interview so I did not record or take notes. So, be on the lookout for all that in the coming days, and for some player feature pieces over the next week or so on the guys I talked to.

Aeros Can’t Get Over Hump in 7-4 Defeat

AKRON, OH – The Aeros erased almost all of an early four-run deficit but could never get the game back even as the Erie SeaWolves claimed a 7-4 win before 2,550 fans at Canal Park Tuesday night. The Wolves won their fourth straight game to improve to 14-10, while Akron slipped to 9-14.

Erie got out of the gate quickly, using three straight two-out doubles from Wilkin Ramirez, Max St. Pierre and Jeff Frazier to take a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Ramirez then doubled the advantage to 4-0 in the top of the third when he socked a two-run homer off Akron starter Ryan Edell down the left field line.

Edell did a nice job of getting out of a jam in the fourth as he left runners at second and third, and Akron climbed back into the contest in the bottom of the inning. Chris Gimenez reached on a two-out error by Danny Worth, and Ryan Goleski followed with a hard single to left. Nathan Panther then grounded an RBI single to right to score Gimenez and get Akron on the board, and Brandon Chaves beat out an infield single up the first base line to load the bases. Kody Kirkland couldn’t handle Jose Constanza’s chopper at third base as his error cut the margin to 4-2, and Josh Rodriguez then worked a walk to force in another run and make it 4-3 before Michael Aubrey grounded out to end the inning.

The SeaWolves got a two-run cushion back on Ramirez’s second home run of the night, a solo shot to left-center that chased Edell from the game. The Aeros answered back however, using two walks and a groundout to get runners to second and third with two away in the bottom of the sixth. Rodriguez got ahead in the count 3-1 and smoked a fastball back up the middle, but it ricocheted off the leg of reliever Marcelo Perez and stayed on the infield as only one run could score. Aubrey then flied out to end the inning with the tying run 90 feet away, and Akron would not get another runner into scoring position. Erie iced the game with two runs in the ninth off J.D. Martin.

Perez (1-0) got the win out of the Erie bullpen after starter Luke French reached his pitch count after just four innings. Perez allowed a run and hit in two innings. Edell (1-1) suffered the loss, allowing five runs and eight hits in 4.1 innings. He struck out five and did not allow a walk, and four of the hits he surrendered came with two strikes on the hitters. Freddy Dolsi earned his second save. Rodriguez went 1-4 and drove in two runs to lead the offense, and Panther reached base three times on a single and two walks while scoring twice.

Game two in this three-game series is set for 7:05 p.m. Wednesday, with Akron’s Kevin Dixon (0-3, 7.11 ERA) taking on Erie’s Andrew Kown (2-2, 6.95 ERA). It’s a Family Four Pack Day at Canal Park, with four tickets, four hot dogs, four bags of chips and four sodas for just $48. The game broadcast begins at 6:50 p.m. on SportsRadio 1350 AM and online at www.akronaeros.com.

K-Tribe Slips By Salem In 12 Innings

Jared Goedert hit a two-out RBI single in the top of the 12th inning, scoring Jerad Head a sending Kinston to a 6-5 victory over Salem. It is the first time this season Kinston has won back to back games. With the victory, Kinston also secures their second series win of the season.

It didn’t start out so well as Kinston trailed 5-0 after Salem scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning. The K-Tribe battled back with an RBI double by Cirilo Cumberbatch in the second inning. Kinston would cut Salem’s lead to two in the fourth inning after Nick Weglarz scored on a wild pitch and Todd Martin drove Carlos Rivero home on an RBI double. Kinston tied the score in the seventh inning on a two-RBI double by Head. Head drew a lead off walk in the top of the twelfth inning, advancing to second on a wild pitch and going to third on a ground out. Goedert drove him home with a solid single to center.

Kinston’s bullpen did an outstanding job of keeping Salem’s bats at bay. Neil Wagner, Josh Tomlin, Luis Perdomo and Jim Deters combined for nine innings of shut-out work. The quartet of relievers held Salem to six total hits over the last nine innings. Starter Carlton Smith recovered nicely from the first inning, at one time retiring 13 straight Salem batters.

The K-Tribe will go for the sweep of Salem Wednesday night at 7:07 pm in Virginia. Jeanmar Gomez takes the mound for the K-Tribe.

CAPTAINS BEAT GRASSHOPPERS 7-4

(Eastlake, OH) – Ryan Morris went to 4-0 and Vinnie Pestano notched his seventh save in seven chances as the Lake County Captains defeated the Greensboro Grasshoppers 7-4 on Tuesday at Classic Park. The Captains offense was lead by Roman Pena who had three hits two RBI’s and scored two runs as well as hitting his first home run of the year.

The Captains jumped on the board in the first inning. With two outs, Pena singled and went to third on Jeff Hehr’s double. Pena scored on a passed ball with Hehr taking third. Matt Brown knocked in Hehr and the Captains led 2-0. The Grasshoppers got an unearned run in the second. With two outs Bryan Peterson reached on an error by Captains second baseman Karexon Sanchez. He would score when Torre Langley doubled to the wall in right center field.

The Captains added a run in the third inning on Roman Pena’s first home run of the season to make it 3-1. The Grasshoppers tied it up 3-3 in the fourth inning on a two run home run from
Mike Stanton. The Captains regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth when they scored four runs on four consecutive RBI’s. It was an RBI groundout by Mark Thompson, RBI single by Adam White, RBI triple by Karexon Sanchez and a RBI single by Pena. Sanchez extended his hit streak to ten games with the triple.

Game two of the series is Wednesday with Game time at 12:05 PM. The Captains send RHP Chris Archer to the mound (1-2, 2.60) against the Grasshoppers RHP Brett Durand (2-0, 5.14).

Posted in: