By Lonnie Turner
Jon-Michael Davis had two base hits against the Burger King Braves last Tuesday night, but his last bat of the season will be one he will never forget.
With two teammates on base, he smashed a double to the centerfield fence to drive in Riley Brigman with what would turn out to be the winning run to give the Pepsi-Cola Blue Jays the regular season Minor League Championship. With the score tied at 6-6 going into the last inning, the Blue Jays put four runs on the board and held off a Burger King rally to win the second half of the season, 10-8. Having already won the first half, the Blue Jays (13-3, 6-2) won the second half based on head to head competition with the Physicians Healthcare Pirates (9-7, 6-2).
In addition to Davis with two hits, Bo-Bo McKinnon drove in three runs with an in-the-park home run and a double, and Riley Brigman doubled and singled to drive in two more runs. Charlie Nash Collins and Kris Hunt added base hits for the winners and Collins was the winning pitcher.
The Major League regular season will be decided by a best of three game series between the first half winning James Lockemy Justice Rangers and the second half champion Dillon Meat Center Reds, which begins Monday, June 10 at 5:30
Final Week Recap
MAJOR LEAGUE
Monday, June 3
Justice Rangers 5, Internal Medicine Hurricanes 4
Kobe King’s walk-off single in the bottom of the fourth inning lifted the Rangers to a come from behind 5-4 win over the Hurricanes in Monday’s single Major League game. Trailing 4-3, the Rangers got hits from Kolby Watts and Jaques Page, and then Tristian Brigman singled to score Watts with the tying run to set the stage for King’s winning RBI. King was also the winning pitcher in a relief role for Watts.
The Hurricanes were led at bat by Keith Rippy with a double and single in two trips to the plate. Also getting hits for the ‘Canes were Ryan Stephens (Single), Jared Darmon (Single), and Jackson Hayes (Double, 2 RBIs).
Thursday, June 5
Dillon Meat Center Reds 6, Dillon Family Dental Giants 0
Hunter Pittman pitched a no-hitter, allowing only two base runners as the Reds clinched the second half title with a 6-0 win over the Giants in Thursday’s first game. Pittman duplicated teammate Noah Henderson’s near perfect performance of a week ago, facing only two batters over the limit in the five inning game. Henderson went 2-for-2 to lead the Reds and the winners also had hits from Barnes Causey, Collin Hamilton, Jamarius Bethea, and JerDarius McDaniel.
Friday, June 6
Dillon Family Dental Giants 9, Internal Medicine Hurricanes 8
The Giants bounced back from their loss on Thursday to defeat the Hurricanes 9-8, taking a 9-5 lead into the bottom of the last inning. The Hurricanes got a one-out single from Jackson Hayes that sent two runners home, but he was thrown out at the plate when Joseph Desser followed with a grounder back to the pitcher. Ryan Stephens reached base on a walk and scored prior to Jackson’s hit.
In a relief role, Chandler Matthews registered his first pitching victory, getting Trent McNeill to ground out for the final out. Hunter Lane doubled twice in the game to drive in three runs for the Giants and Nick Evans hit a two-bagger for the winners. Dawson Perritt also drove in a pair of runs with a second inning single for the Giants.
Dray Thompson went 2-for-3 with a RBI triple and a single for the Hurricanes and joining Dee Brown was Joseph Desser with one base hit each.
Justice Rangers 7, Dillon Meat Center Reds 6
In the final game of the regular season, both the Reds and Rangers experimented with younger pitchers in a three-inning game that lasted an hour and twenty-one minutes. The Rangers scored four runs in the top of the third to take a 7-3 lead and held on as the Reds battled back with three runs in their half of the inning.
Chase Dudney drove in two runs before the game ended on an outstanding defensive play by Cole Carroll. Hunter Pittman hit a screaming line drive that was headed to the outfield when Carroll, going to his right, stretched to his limit to snag the ball out of the air for the third out to give his Rangers a 7-6 victory.
Richard Alderman was a perfect 2-for-2 for the winners and adding base hits were Josh Sessions, Jackson Stone, Kobe King, and John Rourke. Jared Ivey and Dudney had two hits each in a losing cause and getting one hit each were Jamarius “Endzone” Bethea and Barnes Causey.
MINOR LEAGUE
Monday, June 3
McLeod Health Marlins 4, Physicians Healthcare Pirates 3
The Marlins scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to break a 2-2 tie and hung on to defeat the first place Blue Jays 4-3 in Monday’s Minor League opener.
Three consecutive hits by Quentin Hunt, Trent Johnson, and Knox Jackson and an error resulted in the two runs to take a 4-2 lead into the final inning, but the Blue Jays didn’t go easy. Kris Hunt led off with a triple and scored on an errant throw, but after Kyle Rowell doubled and Chris Allen reached base on an infield hit, Bo-Bo McKinnon was intentionally walked to load the bases. Winning pitcher Trent Johnson forced Nigel George to ground out to end the game.
Caleb Boykin led the Jays at the plate with two hits and Riley Brigman joined McKinnon with one hit each. Hunt led all batters with three hits for the Marlins.
Tuesday, June 4
McLeod Health Marlins 7, True Value Tigers 2
The Marlins sent nine batters to the plate in a 7-run third inning to break up a pitcher’s duel between Dylan Windham and Knox Jackson, giving the Marlins a 7-2 win. Jackson’s bases loaded double cleared the bases and highlighted the outburst. Jordan Mew doubled and Chandler Pittman added a hit in the inning, which also included five bases on balls.
For the Tigers, Zach Davis led off the fifth with a single and scored along with Sha-Kyi Wheeler when Mari Huggins-Bruce cleared the bases with a single to account for the Tiger’s scoring output.
Thursday, June 6
Physicians Healthcare Pirates 11, True Value Tigers 3
The Pirates took advantage of ten free passes to score an 11-3 win over the Tigers in Thursday’s game. The winners were paced at the plate by Noah Carter with a triple and Nathan Hyler and Aaron Clewis with one hit each.
Cadillac Hunt, in his first pitching assignment, allowed only two hits and struck out six in three innings to get the win and Andrew Bryant was tagged with the loss. Mari Huggins and Zach Davis collected the only hits for the Tigers.
Physicians Healthcare Pirates vs. Burger King Braves
The Pirates won the final game of the season by forfeit.
