By Lonnie Turner
Thursday, April 19
Major League
Justice Rangers 11, B.B. Yankees 5
The Rangers sent 12 batters to the plate, scoring seven runs in their 11-5 victory over the Yankees in last Thursday’s first Major League game. Ross Carlyle and Nash Miller led the way for the maroon clad Rangers with two hits each, including a two-run double by Carlyle. Both hits by Miller were perfect bunts. The Yankees committed three errors in the big inning. Ereck Eck singled with two on in the first inning to drive in the first runs of the game. Ian Patterson had a double to tie the game in the bottom of the first, and stole home to score the go-ahead run, 3-2, but the lead was short lived after the big second inning put the game out of reach for the Yankees. Collecting other hits for the Yankees were Jackson Wolfe, Ryan Stephens and Richard Alderman, all singles.
Cotton’s Grocery Reds 3, Dillon Internal Medicine Hurricanes 2 (9 innings)
In a time consuming 9-inning contest that ended close to 11 PM on Thursday, the Reds defeated the Hurricanes 3-2 in the longest game played of the season. The Hurricanes took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth inning when Jackson Hayes was hit by a pitch and scored on a double by Dawson Dove, who scored on a bad throw. The Reds had taken the lead 1-0 in the bottom of the third when Jon-Mitchell Carter tripled and scored when Michael Minges was called out for sliding head-first into first base. In the bottom of the fifth, John Purnell led off with a walk and scored the tying run on a single by Noah Henderson. The game was deadlocked until Purnell again worked Hurricane pitching for a walk in the bottom of the ninth and scored on a high fly ball to deep center that was erred. The official time of the game was 2 hours and 33 minutes. Carter added a second hit in four trips to the plate and Cody White was 2-for-4 for the winners. Minges also was credited with a hit. Davis Cook singled, but was thrown out at the plate to end a Hurricane threat in the top of the seventh and the Hurricanes left the bases loaded in the top of the eighth inning.
Friday, April 20
Minor League
Pepsi-Cola Blue Jays 8, True Value Tigers 5
Trailing 5-3 going into the top of the third inning, the Blue Jays scored three runs on two walks, a hit batter, an error and a single by Riley Brigman to get past the Tigers 8-5. Pepsi scored two runs in the fourth on walks to Chris Allen and Jamaal Godbold and a hit by Chris Hunt. Heath Brown and Dawson Perritte hit safely for the Tigers.
Major League
Cotton’s Grocery Reds 11, B.B. Yankees 1
A triple by Michael Minges, a single by Micah Garcia and a bases loaded walk to John Purnell led to a four-run Reds outburst in the top of the first inning. The Reds added one more in the second, third and fourth innings before erupting for four more runs in the fifth inning. Minges added a double and Jon-Michael Carter drove in three runs with a single and double to lead the Reds at the plate. Also with two hits was Garcia, who singled both times. Jacory McCall added to the nine-hit attack with a two-run double in the four-run fourth. Delton McKenzie and Cody White each had a hit for the winners. Ian Patterson singled twice and Cole Carroll drove in a run with a single, while Conner Hyatt and Ryan Stephens contributed to the Yankee cause with one single each. Minges recorded the win, striking out 12 and walking only one, getting the complete game on the mound.
Justice Rangers 9, Dillon Dental Giants 2
The Giants were cruising along with a 1-0 lead behind the no-hit performance of Ray-Ray McGirt, who retired 11 of the 12 batters that he faced in four innings, but the Rangers took advantage of two straight base on balls passes from reliever Rameer Sowells and a pair of fielding errors to take a 4-1 lead into the fifth inning. Scotty Sweat was called in to see if he could hold the Giants after they pulled to within two runs with a triple by McGirt and a wild pitch in the fifth inning. Consecutive singles by Nash Miller and Kolby Watts led to an intentional pass to clean-up hitter Ereck Eck, but a double by Evan Paul cleared the bases to make the score 7-2. Kobe King and Jeremy Paul followed with singles and an error committed on Zacc Lampley’s ground ball allowed two more runs to score in the sixth. Eck retired the side in the bottom of the sixth to knock the Giants from the ranks of the unbeaten, 9-2.
