Monday’s News & Notes

Lehigh Valley 13 Rochester 2
• Ward (L, 7-5) 1⅔ IP, 1H, 3R, 3ER, 6BB, 0K, HBP, WP
• R. Garcia 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Alu 2-3, R, 2B, HR, BB, RBI; 1IP, 3H, 3R, 3ER, 2BB, 0K, HR
• Cluff 1-3, BB

Lehigh Valley rallied for five in the 4th to break open a 3-1 game as they took the series finale, 13-2 to earn a series split. Thad Ward walked six (one intentionally) of 12 batters faced, giving up a hit, three runs (all earned), and striking out nobody over an inning and 2/3rds. It was his fifth loss. Jake Alu singled, walked, and homered and drove in a run while Jackson Cluff walked and singled to lead the Red Wings’ eight-hit, two-walk offense.

Harrisburg 3 Akron 2 (10 inn.)
• Saenz 4⅓ IP, 7H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 2K
• Acosta (W, 4-3) 2IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 2K
• Cuevas (SV, 1) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Pinckney 2-5, R, HR, RBI
• Witt 1-4, 2B, RBI

Akron’s walkoff streak ended at two as Robert Hassell plated the free runner with a two-out single in the top of the 10th and Michael Cuevas set the side down in order in the bottom of the 10th to save the 3-2 win for the Senators. Dustin Saenz made it to the 5th inning for the first time in 2024, letting in both RubberDuck runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out two. Daison Acosta put up goose eggs in the 8th and 9th innings to get the win, issuing one walk and fanning two. Andrew Pinckney homered in the 1st and singled in the 4th, scoring ahead of Paul Witt’s RBI double that tied the game at 2-2. Daylen Lile also doubled to round out Harrisburg’s five-hit assault.

Hudson Valley 6 Wilmington 3
• Susana (L, 3-2) 5IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 7K, HR
• Dugas 3-4, R, 3-2B, RBI
• Brown 2-4, 2RBI

Wilmington avoided shutout #16 but not loss #69 – the last 11 in a row – as Hudson Valley doubled ’em up, 6-3. Jarlin Susana bounced back from his worst outing of the year to limit Hudson Valley to one run on a home run and three hits total over five innings. That was enough to saddle him with his second straight loss. Gaving Dugas doubled three times while Marcus Brown singled twice as the Blue Rocks scored three in the 9th to make this look much closer than it really was.

Fredericksburg 7 Columbia 6 (10 inn.)

• Sykora 5IP, 4H, 1R, 0ER, 1BB, 6K
• Beeker (BS, 1) ⅓ IP, 2H, 4R, 4ER, 3BB, 0K
• Arguelles (W, 3-0) 2IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 2K
• Bollenbacher (SV, 3) 1IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, 1BB, 1K
• Peoples 2-3, 2R, 2BB, 2B, HR, 2RBI
• Ochoa 2-4, R, 2B, 2RBI, 2K, SB(10), HBP
• Lomavita 2-5, R, RBI

The FredNats blew a 3-1 lead in the middle innings but came up big late with a homer in the 9th to force extras and two in the 10th as they snuffed the FireFlies for a 7-6 win in the series finale. Travis Sykora was brilliant once again, limiting Columbia to an unearned run on four hits and a walk while striking out “only” six. Merritt Beeker undid all that within the space of six batters as the 11th Rd. pick coughed up four runs on two hits and three walks. Anthony Arguelles picked up the win in relief with two scoreless while Matt Bollenbacher cordero’d through the 10th with an unearned run allowed on one hit and one walk. Nick “Power to the” Peoples homered in the 9th to force extras and finished with two runs scored, a double, and two RBI to lead the Fredericksburg offense.