By Lonnie Turner
The McLeod Health Marlins (8-1) jumped to the top of the Minor League standings Tuesday night with a close 3-2 win over the Burger King (7-2) in one of the few times a game goes the full six innings. Jamison Hargrove’s double over the head of the Braves’ centerfielder sent Brenden Miles home with the winning run in the bottom of the final inning. It was one of a classic pitching duel between Hargrove and Braves pitcher Bryce Patterson, who struck out 13 and 12 batters respectively. Hargrove gave up three hits in the contest, two of which were inside the park home runs by Patterson, and McLeod had four safeties, including a triple by Miles and a double off the bat of Hargrove. The game ended with two minutes remaining in the 80-minute time limit. Both pitchers were the hitting stars of the game with Patterson’s two homers and a double and a single for Hargrove.
While the Minor League has a tight race at the top, the Majors is even so much tighter. The Dillon Internal Medicine Hurricanes edged Mullins in Monday’s second game of a double header, 5-4, to better their record at 7-1 to gain a two-game lead over the Dillon Family Dental Giants (5-3) and Physicians Healthcare Yankees (5-3). The Giants are in a second place tie with the Yankees after beating them in the rubber game of the series, 4-0, Monday.
The recap summary of games since last Friday.
Major League
Friday, April 29
Latta APC Liquidators 4, Yankees 1
Latta scored all four runs in the top of the first inning with only one hit and starting pitcher Gatlin Johnson threw two-hit ball to beat the Yankees, 4-1 in Friday’s opening game. Johnson had a no-hit shutout going until Eli Henderson hit a single with one out in the third inning and he was quickly thrown out trying to steal second base. Hayden Lane doubled for the Yankees in the bottom of the fourth to get Andrew Bryant home to spoil the shutout, but was thrown out trying to advance to third to end Johnson’s day on the mound. Preston Tyler was called on to pitch the final inning for the Liquidators and allowed a single to Dylan Windham and a base on balls before recording three strikeouts to record the save. Christian Brigman’s triple was the only hit off Bryant in the big 4-run first inning uprising and C.J. Bracey doubled to start the fourth and Camryn Williams beat out an infield hit for the only three hits for the winners.
Hurricanes 10,
Latta RML 8
In a slugfest, the Hurricanes out-lasted RML in Friday’s second game, 10-8. RML scored early in the game with four runs in the first inning only to have the Canes come back to take a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the inning. Three bases on balls an error and a single by “Aero” Ni’zeyimana led to four more runs to give the Hurricane a 8-4 lead at the end of three and three successive hits by Tripp Roberts, Reggie Graves and Jacob English gave the Canes a 10 -4 lead going to the top of the final inning. RML staged a comeback with four runs, but fell 2 short of tying the game. The leading hitters in the contest were Roberts and Graves for the Hurricanes with two hits apiece. D.J. Brogdon and Holden Matthews also had base hits for the winners. RML recorded five hits including a triple by Luke Haselden and singles by Josh Coleman, Josh Tanner, Austin Brigman and Shea Poston.
Monday, May 2
Giants 4,
Yankees 0
The Giants got six innings of shutout ball from Chandler Pittman against the Yankees Monday evening and recorded 12 strikouts on the way to 4-0 win and a tie with the Yankees near the halfway point of the season. The Yankees out-hit the Giants, 6-3, but left eight base runners stranded, three in the first inning alone. The Giants took the lead when Pittman singled to knock Cadillac Hunt in and then he scored on a wild pitch to take a 2-0 lead. Pittman was also instrumental in the final two runs when he was hit by a pitched ball and scored on a single by Ahmad German. Brady Bethea sent German across the plate with a single. Andrew Bryant went three for three in the loss with two doubles and an infield hit in his third time at the plate .Hayden Lane also had two hits for the Yankees and Mason Miller tripled.
Hurricanes 5,
Mullins 4
In Monday’s second game, all runs were scored during the first three innings. Nigel George drove in one of three runs in the first with a three-bagger and Mullins bounced back with two runs in the top of the second.
JaQuan Richardson singled to lead off the inning and Jacob Rouse was safe on an error and that set up a single from Kamar Pea that pulled Mullins to within a run of tying. “T” Davis singled and gave the Canes a 5-2 when he stole home.
Three singles in the top of the third by Colton Caulder, Gavin Dutton and Richardson tied the game, but the Hurricanes took the lead for good when D.J. Brogdon reached base on an error and scored the winning run on Nigel George second hit of the game.
